Foreign Relations of the United States, 1951, Europe: Political and Economic Developments, Volume IV, Part 1

No. 158

Conference files, lot 59D95, CF 51

United States Minutes of the Meeting Between President Truman and President Auriol, Cabinet Room of the White House, March 29, 1951, 10:30 a.m.

Washington, March 29, 1951, 10:30 a.m.

secret

Present:

• France
• Vincent Auriol, President of the French Republic
• Robert Schuman, Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Henri Bonnet, Ambassador of France to the United States
• Bernard Beck, Counselor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Robert Cru, interpreter
• United States
• The President of the United States
• Dean Acheson, Secretary of State
• David K.E. Bruce, Ambassador to France
• W. Averell Harriman, Special Assistant to the President
• Joseph H. Short, Secretary to the President
• George M. Elsey, Administrative Assistant to the President

President Truman opened the meeting by stating that he would be very glad to hear whatever statement the President of France cared to make.

President Auriol said he wished to begin by thanking President Truman for the fine reception that he had had, and his pleasure at being in Washington. He would mention only general policies because foreign policy was in the hands of M. Schuman, who would be discussing details with the Secretary of State. President Auriol said that he was able to confirm the statements and agreements made by Premier Pleven in January. He was glad to do that in the name of his country. There had been no change in French policies, even though there had been a change in the Cabinet. When M. Pleven returned to France in January, there had been general debate in the Assembly and in the Senate, and there had been unanimous support for the policies which M. Pleven had described to President Truman. This was true even in the Assembly, where the situation was sometimes difficult.

President Truman interrupted to say that he knew what that was like since he had Congress to deal with.

President Auriol wanted President Truman to know that the armament plan which had been discussed in January is now under way. It is moving ahead despite three things which had occurred. The first of these was the ministerial crisis. That had not been serious. It had only lasted about ten days, and the new cabinet was about the same as the earlier one. The crisis had not affected the work of the Government at all; it certainly had not affected foreign policy. The second incident which had occurred was the strike. That was over now and it had not seriously affected production or armament. The third incident was a visit of General de Lattre de Tassigny, who had come back to France asking for reinforcements for his forces in Indochina.

It was important that everyone understand, President Auriol continued, that recent strikes were a consequence of price increases and a rise in the cost of living which, in turn, is due to increases in the price of raw materials. The strikes were purely economic. They were not political like the ones which occurred in France in 1947 and 1948. Those were strikes of a very serious political nature, and the communists had caused a great deal of trouble. The situation is different now and the recent strikes were very different. The communists tried to exploit these and they had failed entirely. The climate is entirely different from that of two years ago, and this is true in spite of the heavy burdens which the French people find themselves carrying.

President Auriol wanted President Truman to know how grateful the French people are for the generous help of the Marshall Plan, which has produced remarkable results. Production is now 40 percent above that of 1938. Even with this help, there are heavy burdens. There is still much reconstruction necessary to overcome the destruction of the war. The rearmament program is a heavy burden, because it consumes energies that otherwise could be turned to reconstruction. Still another burden, also very serious, is the fighting in Indochina.

President Auriol said that he wished to assure President Truman as forcefully as he could that, despite these burdens, despite the disagreements which led to ministerial crises and strikes, France is a country united in her determination never to accept another occupation. The French people are united in their determination to protect themselves against aggression. They have decided to rearm, and to fight if necessary. The French people, said President Auriol, are hurt when they read accounts in newspapers about their not fighting or their not wanting to defend themselves. They will fight.

France would like, President Auriol went on, to have collective security through the United Nations. Since that is impossible, France will go “all out” for the Atlantic Pact and a system of regional security. France accepts without hesitation all the responsibilities of the Atlantic Pact. The French know that there would be nothing left of the country after a Soviet occupation. Of course, France could be “liberated” after an occupation, but it would not be France. It would be a corpse. The whole social structure would be different. The same things would happen that are now going on in Eastern Germany; the country, the society, the people in Eastern Germany are deeply and profoundly changed. France wants to avoid that at all costs.

President Auriol said he understood how it was possible for false reports to appear in the papers to the effect that France would not fight. Sometimes even Frenchmen give false information to newsmen—false information or false impressions. When they are in politics, they sometimes forget about their country. When they are in a campaign, they sometimes say things they shouldn’t. The truth is that the French people will fight to defend their country and any statement that they will not is false.

President Auriol then turned to the question of Indochina. In his recent visit to Paris, General de Lattre had reported in full on conditions in Indochina. The situation there has been very considerably improved since General de Lattre first went out. He has had wonderful success. The political situation is improved, also. To emphasize their determination that the Associated States should be independent and self-governing, President Auriol and M. Schuman have been pressing Emperor Bao Dai to hold popular elections. It now seems that Bao Dai will create a consultative assembly, looking toward the day when a general election can be held throughout the country and a regular assembly elected. This election will be held as soon as the military situation permits.

While General de Lattre was in Paris, he asked for 15,000 men, more planes, and more artillery. It was very difficult to refuse him, because he knows what he needs. He has already thrown back two offensives. He sees a third one coming up. Of course, he wants to throw that one back and then take the offensive himself. Taking all things into account, the French Cabinet decided to give General de Lattre most of what he wanted. President Auriol explained that this had been a very difficult decision to make. Moch, the Defense Minister, was very reluctant to give more men to General de Lattre but President Auriol and Foreign Minister Schuman had insisted. Moch then gave General de Lattre twelve battalions—12,000 men. The troops which will be sent out to Indochina will be colonial troops from North Africa, but by sending these twelve battalions, France may have difficulty in raising the ten divisions by December of this year which the rearmament plan calls for.

Secretary Acheson interrupted Ambassador Bonnet, who was translating for President Auriol, and asked him to explain what he had meant when he said that France might not be able to raise the ten divisions.

Ambassador Bonnet said that, as the Secretary knew, France had promised to equip ten divisions by the end of 1951. Because 12,000 more men were going to be sent to Indochina than had been planned, it might be that France could only equip nine divisions by the end of December. This did not mean any permanent lowering of French plans, but only a delay. General de Lattre expects to send the twelve battalions back by the summer of 1952, since by that time he will have created twenty-five new Viet Nam battalions. The tenth division promised for Europe should be ready by mid-1952 and there would, at worse, be a delay of only six months. Perhaps Mr. Moch was a little pessimistic in this. Perhaps they could do better.

President Auriol said that he was sure the President understood that it is a matter of arms and weapons that causes delays. It is not a question of men. There are very large reserves. If there were plenty of weapons available, tremendous forces could be raised in almost a few hours. Whenever the question of building weapons can be adequately answered, France will be able to do much better.

At this point, M. Schuman explained how the sending of a few thousand men to Indochina could cause a delay in all of their plans. The losses in Indochina are largely losses of officers and noncommissioned officers. To replace these, there is a very heavy proportion of officers and n.c.o.’s going out in the twelve battalions from Africa. Losing these cadres makes it more difficult to raise an army at home at the same time. Also, the government will have to go to Parliament for a new law to extend compulsory service to a term of two years, and there will have to be a new law to raise the pay of non-commissioned officers to make service more attractive to them and to keep them from leaving at the end of their terms. It is the intention of the government, M. Schuman said, to ask the new Assembly to vote on those measures after the general election, which will probably be in June. The government does not want to ask the present Assembly for these new and necessary laws. This delay in getting the new laws will be responsible for some delay in the rearmament program.

President Auriol spoke again, this time on the German question. He fully realized, he said, that France and Germany cannot be enemies forever. The French people are ready to offer the German people their confident friendship. They ask only that the German people not forget what they have done to France and to Europe twice in recent years, and that there be a truly democratic government in Germany. It is this desire of the French people to come to friendly terms with the Germans that has led the French government to advance the Schuman Plan and to take leadership in getting that plan accepted. He added that the French government is also considering a similar proposal in the field of agriculture. It is this desire to bring Germany into the European family that has led to French initiative in establishing the Council of Europe. It is for this same reason that the French government would like to see a European army, with German units in it. France desired to see a rejuvenated Europe with full German participation.

President Auriol said that, of course, France wanted Great Britain to be a part of a united Europe. Europe would not be complete without Great Britain and the British would be helpful in keeping a stable and well-balanced continent.

President Auriol said he would like to give President Truman his personal feeling about Germany which he thinks most French people share. Will Germany ever give up the hope of being reunited? He doesn’t think so. If western Germany is not in a united Europe, the west Germans could make a deal with the USSR to get back some of the territories they had lost, or they could prepare for war. They could build up an army and try to take back by force the lands of eastern Germany. Either of these would be bad. Therefore, France wants a united Europe with Germany in it.

President Truman said that he appreciated most highly the frankness with which President Auriol had spoken. He was glad that he had spoken freely and fully on the subjects which were uppermost in his mind. As for himself, President Truman said, he wanted to state that the United States is a traditional friend of France, it always has been and he hoped that it always would be. He thought that President Auriol should remember, however, that we have certain limitations in this country and we cannot always do all that we would like to be able to do for our friends.

The United States suffered comparatively light manpower losses in the first World War and our losses were not too great in the second World War. But, President Truman said, our material contributions have been very great. They have put a very heavy burden on all the American people. Our contributions did not stop with the winning of the war. Since World War II, while he didn’t have the exact figures at hand, the President said he thought that we had spent about one hundred billion dollars for the rehabilitation of other countries—of many other countries. Our resources are not inexhaustible. We can’t go on like this, and we can’t do the whole job ourselves. That is why we have been so anxious for industrial countries like the western European ones to get back on their feet, and to help us share the load.

Furthermore, President Truman said, we have a great deal of difficulty in this country in keeping the interest and the support of our people in these vital and necessary measures to build a stable and peaceful world. There is a terrible problem of complacency in the United States. Right now, it’s bad in Congress. It is going to be very difficult to get appropriations through this Congress, both for the military program and for the foreign economic program. To overcome some of the complacency and suspicion, we must have a strong showing from our allies of what they are doing in the common cause. Otherwise, we won’t get what we need from Congress.

President Truman said he was sure that he understood the feelings of the French people about Germany. If we were in French shoes, we would feel the same way. One of the greatest things in history, Mr. Truman said, is the Schuman Plan. It is a remarkable proposal, and one that would have been impossible thirty years ago. He honored and admired the French for that proposal.

President Truman said that he thought the Schuman Plan demonstrated that we now have a new approach to peace. Thanks to the United Nations, we are approaching our problems in a new spirit. Never before in history have the victors worked to restore the vanquished. Never before in history has a country stretched itself to the breaking point to rehabilitate its enemies. The President said that he wanted these unprecedented endeavors to be a success, and he thought they would be. But we must not let any details interfere with these great goals we have in mind. The big thing we want is peace and we have big plans for it. We must not let minor disagreements about details get in the road of what we all want so earnestly.

The President remarked again that he was highly appreciative of President Auriol’s statements. He was glad that the President of France had come to Washington and he hoped that this visit would cement good feelings between the French people and the American people. As for further detailed discussions, he thought that the Secretary of State and the Foreign Minister and the Ambassadors could go into them. He did not think that he and President Auriol needed to go into any details.

As a personal token, President Truman said he would like to give a personal gift to President Auriol. President Truman then presented President Auriol a set of book-ends, made from wood and stone removed from the White House during its reconstruction. President Auriol thanked President Truman warmly for the gift. The two Presidents shook hands, and the meeting adjourned at 11:34 a. m.

The following agreed statement was subsequently released to the press:¹

“The President of the French Republic and the President of the United States conferred today for one hour on the common problems of their two countries.

“The President of the French Republic outlined to the President of the United States conditions in France, the progress of the French rearmament program and the present situation in Indo-China where French forces and forces of the Associated States are successfully opposing communist aggression. The remarks of the President of the French Republic included a statement that the French people were determined to defend themselves against foreign aggression and that, in this spirit, they were giving all-out support to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He emphasized that all these efforts were directed toward the maintenance and strengthening of peace.

“The President of the United States stated that he was encouraged by President Auriol’s remarks and expressed his confidence that peace could and would be maintained and that the democratic peoples would preserve unshakeable unity in pursuit of their great objective: peace for all the world.”

1. The text of this agreed statement is printed in Department of State Bulletin, April 9, 1951, p. 563.