851.014/5–2047
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Assistant Chief of the Division of Western European Affairs (Wallner)
| Participants: | Mr. Bérard, Minister Counselor, French Embassy |
| Mr. Reber—WE | |
| Mr. Wallner—WE | |
| Mr. Trivers—CE |
Mr. Bérard referred to the announcements made by the French Government at the New York and Moscow Council of Foreign Ministers meetings that certain urgent administrative measures would be taken in the Saar with the view to its eventual incorporation into the French economy. He said that these measures had been delayed pending determination of the frontiers of the Saar territory, but that since further delay would cause too great a burden to fall on the French treasury, it had been decided to carry them out immediately. The purpose of his visit was to inform us that the French Government intended to introduce the Saar mark into the Saar territory on June 15, 1947, withdrawing the German mark from the territory on that date.
Mr. Bérard went on to explain that his Government had intended to apply this currency conversion to all territory within the boundaries of the Saar as enlarged by French action in 1946, since it was not anticipated that the views of the British and American Governments on the revised boundaries, communicated by the French to those Governments on May 20, 1947,47 would be received in time. The French Government had not intended, however, that this decision should in any way prejudice the final delimitation of the Saar territory. Yesterday, however (Mr. Bérard went on), the British Government had informed the French Government that it accepted the May 20 boundaries. Consequently, the French Government had decided this morning that it would apply the currency conversion to the Saar territory as delimited in the French note of May 20. He emphasized again that this administrative decision in no way prejudiced such final delimitation of the territory as might be subsequently agreed upon. He said that his instructions required him to make the point perfectly clear that the [Page 1079] French Government was not “jumping the gun” on us and placing us before an accomplished fact.
Mr. Bérard then gave us the following time table:
On the night of June 7 to 8 the Customs officers now stationed on the 1946 borders would be withdrawn to the borders as delimited in the French note of May 20;
The announcement of the currency conversion would be made on June 10;48
The actual currency conversion would take place on June 15.
Mr. Bérard requested that this information be held in closest confidence until June 10. He said that while he did not know what the rate established between the German mark and the Saar mark would be, he knew that it would be favorable to the Saar inhabitants and that if the news leaked out there would be a great movement of capital from all the Rhineland into the Saar, with the result of a heavy charge on the French treasury.
Mr. Bérard took advantage of this visit to review at some length the familiar French arguments for the enlargement of the Saar territory beyond the 1920 frontiers. He gave us a lengthy justification of the frontiers as set forth in the French note of May 20, 1947.