269. Memorandum of Conversation0
SUBJECT
- U.S.-French Relations
PARTICIPANTS
- The Secretary
- Ambassador Hervé Alphand, French Embassy
- Mr. William R. Tyler, Assistant Secretary, EUR
- Mr. Johannes V. Imhof, WE
Ambassador Alphand referred to discussions with the Secretary and with the Attorney General on US-French relations and on the lack of [Page 761] communications between the two governments.1 He said he had written about this to Couve de Murville and had received a reply. Couve de Murville had said that he did not feel that this was a problem. Ambassador Bohlen was an excellent ambassador and would have access, whenever he desired, to the French Government and to General de Gaulle. Ambassador Alphand said he hoped that this would also apply to him. If we had something we wished to discuss we should avail ourselves of these channels.
The Secretary asked whether this meant that we were supposed to take the initiative. Ambassador Alphand replied evasively. He referred to the exploration which took place after the Nassau conference, pointing out that Ambassador Bohlen was immediately received by Foreign Minister Couve de Murville and by General de Gaulle but that there had been no indication of a special offer to France. Ambassador Alphand added that of course the French had not asked for anything. The Secretary said that we had no information that a different offer to France would have been appropriate. We had expected that there would be a discussion. There had been none. Ambassador Alphand said that the French Government had made its position clear. After General de Gaulle’s press conference, the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and he (Alphand) had repeatedly clarified the French position. Ambassador Alphand referred to the positive points in President de Gaulle’s press conference, including de Gaulle’s offer to cooperate in the strategic and technical field, if asked. Ambassador Alphand said that with regard to the multilateral force the French had informed us that they would not block the discussion. On the other hand, it was not appropriate for the French to make proposals of their own.
The Secretary said that as a result of recent French decisions, France now had some difficulties in her relations with some of her allies, including the U.S. Nevertheless, it seemed to be the French position that all the others would have to come to Paris and that it was not up to France to take the initiative. The Secretary noted that General de Gaulle had often made a distinction between the Atlantic Alliance, the importance of which he recognized, and NATO which he felt should be reformed. Nevertheless, General de Gaulle had never made proposals concerning a reorganization of NATO. Ambassador Alphand said he thought that the French had no blueprint for a reorganization of NATO. He also thought that everybody agreed that NATO was in need of reform but that it was difficult to decide precisely what to do about it. He added that the French had taken the initiative many times and had made a great number of suggestions in the past but that most of these suggestions had not been considered, an exception being the case of Laos.
- Source: Department of State, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 65 D 330. Secret. Drafted by Imhof and approved in S on March 6. At 2:56 p.m. on February 28 Tyler had called Rusk and said that Bundy had been talking with Alphand about seeing the President. Bundy reported that he had discouraged the idea, “but not entirely,” since there was not much to talk about at that moment. Rusk told Tyler that there was no problem if the Ambassador wanted to drop in on him. (Ibid., Rusk Files: Lot 72 D 192)↩
- For a memorandum of Alphand’s conversation with Rusk, see Document 267; no record of the discussion with the Attorney General has been found.↩