News of the Week
THE result of the first ballot in the French general election, which took place Last Sunday, would have been of little consequence if it had revealed a slight swing to the Right, for there would have been the likeli- hood that that would be corrected by the second ballot, when the Radical-Socialists and Socialists regularly mass their votes behind the candidate, of whichever of the two parties, who did best on the first round. But the swing to the Left, intensified as it certainly will be on Monday, when the second ballot results are known, is a fact of European importance, the more so since there is an increasing tendency for the Left parties to condemn
M. Tardieu's foreign policy and demand a more concilia- tory attitude on France's part on all European questions. That may make a very considerable difference to the general prospects, both at Geneva and at Lausanne. The French disarmament plan, however genuinely it was intended as a step towards a real reduction of armaments, cuts rather seriously across the general run of thought at Geneva and the situation would be considerably eased if a new French Cabinet were prepared , (as it might or might not -be) to abandon the idea of the inter- nationalization of aggressive weapons and join with other Powers in concentrating on their abolition. M. Tardiest has rather burnt his boats in that connexion, but M. Herriot has his hands free.
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