Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Africa, Volume XVIII

70. Telegram From the Embassy in France to the Department of State¹

Paris, March 20, 1956—6 p.m.

4344. Re Deptel 3439, Mar 17.² I greatly appreciate the spirit behind reftel.

In view of fact that Mollet was dining with me at Residence last night, the 19th, I decided to send him preliminary draft of my speech late Monday afternoon³ in the hope that I could informally cover the same ground with him that night.

The results were most useful as after dinner Mollet drew me aside and we had about a ten minute private talk. He thanked me warmly and asked me to convey his thanks to the Department for the support given to his policies in my speech.⁴ He said that he most particularly appreciated one paragraph which he felt was primarily addressed to public opinion in the United States. This was the second paragraph in the portion of the speech devoted to Algeria beginning “while my government has been and is well aware of this problem … “.⁵ Mollet said he felt it was most important that American public opinion come to realize that the French Government was not pursuing a colonialist policy in Algeria and that this problem could not be considered in the same context as other colonial problems but rather as a much more difficult problem of coexistence.

Mollet then told me that there were only two things which France asked from the United States. The first was greater comprehension on the part of American public opinion of the task facing France in Algeria and of the desire of the Mollet government to arrive at fair and liberal solutions. He said he hoped very much that American public opinion could gradually be educated as to the true facts of the Algerian situation. The second thing which France needed from the United States was assistance in the rapid procurement of helicopters.

As can be seen from the paragraph which Mollet picked out, I am in full agreement with his thesis that there is great danger in allowing the American public to over-simplify the Algerian problem and to consider it as merely another colonial problem. Due to the large and long established French population in Algeria the problem there is much more difficult and the differences between the French population in Algeria and the local Moslem population has more similarity to, for example, the Israeli-Arab problem than it does to such a purely colonial situation as Indochina. We will do what we can with United States correspondents here but it would be most helpful and indeed essential for Department spokesmen in giving press guidance and in making public statements to always bear this difference in mind and to avoid treating the Algerian problem as a simple problem of colonialism. I feel that the speech which I have just delivered should do good here in France where it should have considerable impact. It will, however, be necessary that it be followed up by other statements indicating sympathy for the French position in North Africa. Such statements naturally would be much more general in nature. It seems probable that Secretary or President may be questioned regarding policy outlined in my speech. I hope they will give general support to it in the same manner as Eden closing his speech in House of Commons, gave his blessing to Jebb’s statement.⁶

My only other suggestion is a strong recommendation that we proceed with the greatest possible speed to give the French a favorable answer to their recent request for the diversion of 14 helicopters from United States Army orders this summer and fall. I do not see how we can avoid eventually giving approval to this French request and I hope that such approval can be given rapidly and graciously rather than having it dragged out of us by long and increasing French pressure in such a manner that we lose the greater part of the benefits of our decision.

Dillon

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 751S.00/3–2056. Secret.
2. Telegram 3439 counseled Dillon not to expect mutual understanding and confidence in relations between the United States and France regarding North Africa. (Ibid., 611.51/3–1756)
3. March 19.
4. A translation of the address which Dillon made in French at a luncheon of the Diplomatic Press Association of Paris on March 21 was transmitted in telegram 4325 from Paris, March 20. (Department of State, Central Files, 611.51/3–2056) Telegram 267 from Algiers, March 20, reported Lacoste’s favorable comments on the speech. He hoped it would dispel some of the suspicion of the United States among the French military. (Ibid., 611.51S/3–2056)
5. Ellipsis in the source text.
6. Macmillan endorsed Jebb’s statement in response to a question in Parliament on March 15. See Parliamentary Debates, House of Commons, vol. 550, p. 557.