How Restless is France ?
The present signs arc that the sudden bout of political activity in France which has been in progress since the pound was devalued will not come to an immediate climax in a first-class political crisis. There is little in the economic situation, or in the position of M. Queuille's Government, to suggest long-term stability, but the events of the past week have not yet produced a combination of motive and determination sufficient to upset either. The rank and file in the trade unions have not felt that the threat to the standard of living introduced by devaluation is sufficient to justify the strike movement inevitably advocated by the Communists. A little further tinkering with the much-patched wage-structure might be enough to forestall serious trouble for the time being. General de Gaulle's new pronouncement, in which the joint menace of a Russian atomic bomb and a rapid German recovery were linked in a new attempt to shake the existing political parties to pieces, seems unlikely to do more than shake them together for self-preservation. The first attempt to secure a recall of the National Assembly before the arranged date of October 18th has failed, the chance that M. Queuille might seize the oppor- tunity to reconstruct his Government in the face of changed circumstances is receding, and France is settling down to a further spell of unstable equilibrium. Irritation with Britain for devaluing the pound at short notice, displeasure at the thought of Germany's entry into the devaluation competition, and impatience with a Govern- ment which can only survive by refusing to be very active may be held in check separately, but if anything occurred to fuse the three the combination would be dangerous.
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