72. Telegram From the Embassy in France to the Department of State 1
432. Reference: Embassy telegram 106, July 9.2 I have just had most satisfactory interview with Lacoste. After talking with Mollet yesterday, Lacoste telephoned and asked if he might come to see me. I insisted on calling on him and saw him at his office this afternoon.
I told him that I had wanted to see him for some time because my main job in France was to maintain good relations between our two countries, not only on the governmental level but also on that of public opinion. I told him that I thought that Franco-American relations were in good shape everywhere except possibly in Algeria, where there still seemed to be a number of misunderstandings [Page 243] regarding US objectives. I asked Lacoste if there was anything I could do to help clear up these misunderstandings.
Lacoste replied by saying he first wished to thank me for my speech of last March and also for my recent reiteration of the same principles which had come at a most useful moment. He said he also wished to thank the US for their extremely important help in making available military equipment, particularly helicopters, for the Algerian campaign. He then said that for understandable reasons the French throughout North Africa, but particularly in Algeria, have been in a very sensitive state of mind during the past months. He said there have been certain American private individuals who have expressed views or initiated action in Algeria which were very unhelpful to the French position. He said that he had reacted violently to the acts of these Americans and that he now realized that he had reacted too violently. He said that he now fully understood that there was no US Government support for the acts of any of such individuals, including those of Irving Brown. Therefore, in the future he would be very careful to make it evident that the US Government was not in any way acting contrary to French interests in Algeria. He clearly implied that this had not always been his view, that he was now convinced that he had been wrong in his previous estimate of the situation and would not his earlier anti-American statements [sic]. He told me that during Council of Ministers meeting this morning Pineau, knowing that Lacoste was going to see me later today, had said that US had been most helpful to France in its North Africa policy. Therefore, it is obvious that the matter was discussed this morning by the full Council of Ministers.
Finally, Lacoste said that if any question should arise in the future which gave him any concern he would bring it personally to my attention so that we could settle it between us without any public differences of opinion. Lacoste then said that he had very good relations with Clark, of whom he had a high opinion, and that he would continue maintain these good relations.
In view of fact that Mollet had discussed this matter with Lacoste, and that whole subject has been aired in full Ministerial meeting, I feel that there is reason to hope for a substantial improvement in Lacoste’s attitude.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.51S/7–2556. Secret. Repeated to Algiers.↩
- Telegram 106 reported on Dillon’s meeting with Mollet on July 9 to discuss the unfriendliness which seemed to characterize relations between French and U.S. officials in Algeria. Mollet advised it was not a serious problem and that Lacoste considered U.S. policy fair. (Ibid., 611.51S/7–956) This approach followed telegram 4 from Algiers, July 5, in which Clark complained in strong terms about the belief pervasive in Algeria that the United States sought to supplant France. He asserted that Americans were ostracized and all who associated with them were viewed with suspicion. In this message, part of which the Ambassador showed to Mollet, Clark suggested that another Dillon speech might reassure the French. (Ibid., 751S.00/7–556)↩