Mr. Churchill to Frenchmen
Frenchmen in occupied and unoccupied France and in the French Empire overseas will have heard with mingled feelings Mr. Churchill's address broadcast in their own language last Monday. Since the fall of their country they have been subjected to propaganda poured out upon them not only by the Germans but also by the Vichy Government, which has sought to justify itself and win the favour of the enemy by vilifying the British. Since they have also had ample opportunity not only to judge for themselves that the enemy plan the seizure of Alsace-Lorraine, Savoy, Nice and Corsica, but also the disinte- gration of their national life and culture. The French will gradually come to understand that British action against their warships was directed against Germany, and in the ultimate interest of themselves; and, for the rest, nothing will impress them so much as our steadfastness and success in the fight, and the assurance that this country is going on to the end, and that France will share in the benefits of victory. It must not be supposed that there is nothing the French can still do for the cause apart from that important work to which General de Gaulle has already set his hand. The General's work may be extended in the French Empire, and the more surely if Frenchmen overseas have the certainty of French sympathy at home. And even at home, under the eyes of the Germans, there are things that may be done—but on that, as Mr. Churchill says, Les oreilles ennemis nous ecoutent.
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