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I have had a very interesting comment on the St. Nazaire raid from M. Mendes-France, Under-Secretary for Finance in M. Blum's Government, and the latest Frenchman of importance to reach this country, after a dramatic escape from prison in the traditional method—cut bars, scaled walls, concealment in France, disguise, small-boat voyage from Thonon to Geneva, doctored passport, Lisbon, England. Nothing, he insists, heartens France (he stayed concealed there for two months after escaping from prison, and thus renewed touch with public opinion) more than such raids, for they foreshadow the deliverance for which France is waiting. I asked about the raid on the Renault works, and the loss of life involved. If lives had been lost, and nothing of importance achieved, he said, there would have been a good deal of murmuring. But the works were to all intents and purposes wiped out, and there was general agreement that, dis- tressing as the inevitable loss of life was, the price for destruction so widespread and important was well worth paying. It was note- worthy, he added, that despite all the Germans' attempts to get Frenchmen to the microphone to denounce Britain, they secured no word of denunciation from anyone. Even a child of twelve, who had lost her father in the raid, and was taken to the micro- phone to be interviewed through her sobs, would answer nothing to the commentator's "And it was the blackguard English who did this," except that !` it is terrible to lose one's father." M.
Mendes-France declares roundly not that most people, but that everybody, in France listens to the B.B.C., despite all the penalties threatened. He himself, a lawyer and politician in peace, but an aviator in war, hopes to start soon for a theatre where he can play his part in the latter capacity.
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