Manifestant v. Assassin

Last year Guy La Chambre was Under Secretary in Edouard Daladier's Ministry of War under Premier Sarraut. When Daladier moved up to Premier last January, he made his friend a full Minister of Mercantile Marine in that unlucky Cabinet of nonentities that sat white-faced in the Chamber of Deputies during the bloody riots of last winter (TIME, Feb. 10). M. La Chambre will never forget that night when the rioters howled "Assassins!"

He had almost forgotten it one day last week as his car nosed slowly through the crowded streets of St. Malo in Brittany. Suddenly a total stranger stepped on the running board of M. La Chambre's car, jerked open the door, leaned in and slapped M. La Chambre twice across the mouth. "I was a manifestant on Feb. 6." the stranger shouted, "and you were only an assassin." Then he pushed his card into M. La Chambre's hand, muttered "I await your seconds," and made off.

Guy La Chambre is no mean fencer but has not the habit of a duelist. However, it seemed to him last week that this challenge was somehow mixed up with the innocence of the entire Daladier Cabinet, the honor of French politics and maybe with the Stavisky Case. It might settle the whole issue of "manifestants" and "assassins" as against "rioters" and "statesmen." He read the card: "Jacques Renouvin, Avocat." Then he sent out his seconds.

Two days later MM. La Chambre and Renouvin met in a dawn-grey field near St. Malo. M. La Chambre, being the insulted one, had chosen the weapons: standard dueling rapiers with bell guards. The referee, famed Fencing Master Phillippe Cattiaux, held out his rapier and the combatants rested the needle points of their shivering blades on it. The referee dropped his rapier. Zing! Clang! M. La Chambre slashed M. Renouvin's blade aside, stuck M. Renouvin decisively in his working arm. A few seconds old, the duel was over. M. La Chambre was no assassin and M. Renouvin was only a rioter, but neither man was willing to shake hands on it.

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