Office of the Historian

740.00112 European War 1939/5856: Telegram

The Chargé in France (Tuck) to the Secretary of State

Vichy, June 27, 1942—1 p.m.
[Received 6:39 p.m.]

928. A competent and thoroughly reliable Foreign Office contact has given me the following information which he requests should be regarded as strictly confidential.

1.
As a condition to the resumption of the North African program, the German representative on the Armistice Commission recently insisted upon German control of French ships and cargoes between Casablanca and United States ports; Casablanca and the Antilles; Casablanca and Lisbon and Casablanca and Dakar. Such control would be limited to war materials only.
2.
The French Government, being anxious to obtain the rapid resumption of the program and aware that under the terms of the [Page 327] Armistice Convention the Germans have the right to exert control over all French ships and cargoes, has agreed to accept the German control as above indicated, but on the strict understanding that under no circumstances would this permit any control at Dakar or the presence of German and Italian officials there. My informant added that the Germans have since unofficially agreed and will shortly notify the French Government officially that there is no intention of demanding German control at Dakar.
3.
The Italian Government recently made the suggestion to the French Government that an Italian Vice Consul be attached to the Spanish Consulate at Dakar. Governor Boisson,76 who is now in Vichy, threatened to resign rather than to permit the presence of any German or Italian officials at Dakar.

The French Government has received an official assurance from the Germans that they will not increase the number of the members of their military inspection commission at Casablanca.

My informant added that by giving in to the Germans on the question of control, the French Government was thus able to obtain the assurance that German officials would not be stationed in Dakar and that there would be no increase in the number of the inspection commission at Casablanca.

Repeated to Murphy.

Tuck
  1. Pierre Boisson, High Commissioner in French West Africa.↩