18 JANUARY 1946, Page 1

NEWS OF THE WEEK

REPORTS from Paris indicate that General de Gaulle and his Government may soon find themselves in a critical position. Apart from the position in the Assembly, where co-operation between the three major parties continues to be uneasy and precarious, econo- mic conditions are weakening public confidence in the Government to an extent which even General de Gaulle's prestige may not be able to overcome. Economic discontent has been sharpened by the con- tinued activities of the black market, which some of the large insurance companies have been accused of supporting, and especi- ally by the Paris butchers' strike, which has paralysed distribution at a time when there is no real shortage of meat ; bread rationing also has not increased the Government's popularity. On his return from the Riviera this week, General de Gaulle's first task has been to tackle the food crisis, by measures which include the immediate reopening of butchers' shops, an increase in the bread ration for manual workers, and the arrest of the leader of the Paris butchers' union. Some idea of the indignation aroused by the black market is given by the proposal, rejected by the Cabinet, that the death penalty should be imposed for black market offences. The real danger of France's continued economic troubles is that one or other of the Government parties may feel that it is no longer profitable to support a Government which must bear responsibility for them ; the withdrawal of one of the parties would provoke a far-reaching crisis which General de Gaulle, in his character as the man of destiny, might feel called upon to solve by unorthodox means. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Commission of the Assembly con- tinues with the work of drafting the constitution. This week it wrote into the draft constitution a clause providing for French recognition of the United Nations Organisation—on condition that France never sacrifices any part of her national sovereignty.