AFRICA AND THE FRENCH
Sm,—The elimination of Admijal Darlan has by no means brought about a clear situation in French Africa. Darlan and the other adherents of Vichy who profess to have come over to the side of the Allies arc only the first presentations of a problem which may become more extensive, and which we might have foreseen. We talked as if there were just two classes of Frenchmen to be considered—those who, with General de Gaulle, were for carrying on the fight against the Germans and those who were for co-operation with the Germans, and we pictured these litter, when the day of victory came, receiving at the hands of their countrymen the due reward for treason. We see now that there will be a third class to make a complication. The day of victory will be preceded by many months during which the defeat of Germany becomes more and more probable, and thousands of the adherents of Vichy will not wait for the day of victory to desert the sinking ship. They will be offering their co-operation to the Allies during the latter phases of the struggle. They may at the same time be opposed to General de Gaulle, because they foresee that in a France dominated by Gaullists after the war they are likely to lose their positions, if worse does not befall them. How are we to treat this class of the late-converted? Can we afford to reject their co-operation, while the final victory is not yet won? Can we accept their co-operation without disloyalty to la France Combattant? That is the problem facing us in Africa today ; it may face us elsewhere tomorrow. The class in question will constitute a problem for the French themselves when they take over their country again, set free from the
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