851.00/12–547: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Caffery) to the Secretary of State
5231. The official mentioned in my 5186, December 3, stated in confidence this morning that as a result of information which the Interior Ministry had obtained in the past three days its views on the reasons for Moscow pushing the French Communists to its present line of militant action have undergone considerable clarification since his last conversation on December 2. The Interior now has a report which it believes accurate that Thorez, upon his return from Moscow, outlined the Soviet position along the following general lines:
Moscow is convinced that the Marshall Plan to aid European recovery would serve to promote the formation of a western European bloc which would permit the US under cover of economic aid to expand and organize its zone of influence in western Europe to the point where this zone would prevent extension of Communist influence and would serve as dangerous jump-off place for attacking Soviet Russia. Faced with such menacing possibility Soviet policy requires bold action to neutralize capitalist assistance to France and Italy and to prevent establishment in these two key countries of prosperous regimes and therefore under American influence. Tactics of “legality” followed by French Communist Party since liberation are hopelessly inadequate to cope with the new situation resulting from the Marshall Plan and this is the reason for the adoption of a plan of revolutionary activity which is aimed at destroying American hopes of economic stability in western Europe, thus preparing the way for ultimate Communist control of this area.
According to Interior Ministry reports, the Soviet leadership believes that the reaction of the democratic governments of western Europe (in particular France and Italy) would be too slow and too weak to counteract the revolutionary action of a small group of determined Communist militants and that the US Government would not intervene directly in France or in Italy to prevent or suppress the illegal action of the Communist militants. Therefore the Communists would only be opposed by the existing weak and indecisive governments which are incapable over long period of resisting continuous action against them in the economic, financial, industrial and social fields. Thus the present action of the Communist parties in France and Italy is designed not to grab power by a coup d’état at this time but rather to cause the present democratic governments in western Europe to collapse one after another under strong Communist blows against their national, economic and social structures, thus precipitating the abandonment of Europe by the US and leaving the door finally open [Page 814] to Communism. While, according to the report, the Communists realize course of action they have been ordered to take in France and Italy runs the risk of leading to the outlawing of the party, they feel this is not a certainty in view of their parliamentary and electoral strength in both countries. Against the possibility of being outlawed, however, it is necessary to prepare for going underground and such preparations are now in course. Furthermore those services which will engage in sabotage and illegal action must go underground now.
With the foregoing in mind, Thorez reportedly stressed necessity for stepping up the tempo of the party’s revolutionary action in the coming period. He also is said to have emphasized that for the time being Communist shock troops should not resort to the use of firearms.
In discussing the implications of the present situation with the militant Communist labor leadership in the CGT Thorez reportedly explained that while Moscow fully realizes that the present tactics might cause serious disaffection among working class elements which have heretofore supported the Communists, such losses must be accepted since if the militant Communists do their job of sabotaging French economy effectively, living conditions of the working class would so deteriorate and there would be such widespread misery that a new and desirable situation would be created which the Communists could exploit and recapture the masses which temporarily had deserted them.
I have reported the foregoing at some length because the Interior Ministry, including Minister Jules Moch, believes it to be an accurate resumé of Thorez explanation of the French situation as viewed from Moscow.1
Sent Department 5231, repeated to London for USDel as 930, to Moscow as 552, Rome as 299.
- In telegram 5252, December 6, 6 p.m., Caffery added that he had “discussed the present situation in France at length last evening with Interior Minister Jules Moch. He expounded at length his views of Communist reasoning and tactics along the precise lines set forth in my 5231 December 5. Prime Minister Schuman was present and concurred in Moch’s analysis.” (851.00/12–647)↩