France and the Elections On another . page of this issue
a French Correspondent discusses the prospects for the elections which begin in France next Sunday. The voters are approaching a decision of the utmost importance for themselves and Europe in a mood of great calm which contrasts strangely with the critical future which awaits them. The calni may indeed be only temporary : it is interesting that the Socialists have been forced to be more revolutionary in their propaganda than ever before. But it may be that the emotions of the electors have been soothed by the business revival which France is now experiencing. For the first time in five years the monthly receipts from indirect taxation have exceeded the estimates, and arc 125,000,000 francs over the receipts for March, 1935. M. de Regnier, the Minister of Finance, has drawn the conclusion that the 1936 Budget will be genuinely balanced and that the policy of economy has, at last, justified itself. It is a bold deduction, but unemployment has fallen from 489,639 to 457,750 since February, and a striking rise in the purchasing-power of the peasant has affected business generally and should also. have considerable effect in the elections. France's financial troubles have so seriously preoccupied successive Govern- ments that a respite from them would be a notable. contribution to national stability.
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