France's Recovery Since M. Daladier on his colonial tour learned
to speak the language of strength and not of weakness, French. public opinion has undergone a remarkable rhsnge. The spirit of Munich is indeed still alive ; M. De:at can ask "War for Danzig? "and M. Bonnet is still in the Cabinet, but defeatism no longer has the disruptive and disintegrating force of last September. This defeat of defeatism rests on a basis of objective fact. First of all must be placed the organisation of a new Peace Front and Great Britain's introduction of conscription ; and France sees in the moderation of Signor Mussolini's latest pronouncement evidence that he may be disabused of his belief in the value of blackmail as a diplo- matic weapon. The internal situation is also encouraging. In a review of economic conditions published this week, M. Reynaud mentions, among the changes that have taken place in his five months of office, the return of £83,000,000 of expatriated money, the increase in savings bank deposits, the improvement in Government credit, a rise in rentes, in revenue, and production, and a fall in unemployment. Proof of this general improvement may be found in the un- qualified success of the £34,000,000 conversion loan issued last week. In the Chamber M. Daladier secured a vote of confidence by 378-230; the voting did not reflect the real state of opinion and M. Blum, for the Socialists, who voted against the Government, emphasised that it would have been unanimous if the Chamber had voted on foreign policy alone.
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