Unfortunately France and Germany have now not a vestige of
mutual trust, and it is therefore extremely difficult for them to conduct any kind of negotiations. The mere mention by Mr. MacDonald, in his speech at York, of " trust " and " confidence " in the repara- tions dispute has produced a storm of protest in France. Yet it is a fact that " trust," or as it is called in financial quarters " credit," is the only way of getting money out of a ruined debtor. To sum up, the Experts' Report has had a good reception, but not quite a good enough one to make us really confident about the future. We cannot believe that France is really so easily converted, or as her Nationalists would say " beaten," as this. M. Poincare has several cards up his sleeve yet. Only the unlikely eventuality of a great swing to the Left at the French elections can really make us hopeful of the European situation.
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