Algiers to Alsace

Unlike beefeating Britishers, an average Frenchman is not acutely Empire-minded, but last week Frenchmen from Algiers to Alsace took to the streets to protest against giving one square mile of French territory to Italy. This was France's answer to the "spontaneous" outcry in Rome's Chamber of Deputies fortnight ago that the French possessions of Tunisia, Corsica, Nice and Savoy be given to Italy.

On. Most of the French demonstrators, and many of the Italians in private, refused to take seriously Premier Mussolini's "unofficial" campaign for French lands. In Paris some 6,000 non-serious Sorbonne students paraded the streets with placards demanding "We want Vesuvius! We want Venice! Ethiopia for the Negus!" (see map). At the quiet Alsatian border town of Strasbourg, students answered Italy's demands with shouts of "We want Sicily! We want Sardinia!" and in Algiers, capital of the French colony which adjoins Tunisia, hundreds of natives joined university students and chanted "Sicily and Sardinia for France--Italy for the Negus Negusti!"

More seriously, 1,000 French and Arabs, marched to the Italian Consulate General at Tunis, capital of Tunisia, and hurled bottles of red and blue ink at the white walls until its sides were splattered with France's national colors. One bottle arched through a window and reportedly splashed a portrait of King Vittorio Emanuele. Bands of Italians and Frenchmen roamed the streets singing their rival national hymns, La Marseillaise and Giovinezza.

Meanwhile in Italy a studied unofficial campaign against France continued. The controlled press fumed against "French provocations" and in every Italian city of any size "spontaneous" delegations of school children, excused from classes, were sent tramping through the streets to shout "Down with France! Tunisia, Corsica to Italy!" Some 1,000 Nazi Strength Through Joy visitors in Naples enlisted for one of these parades to show the "solidarity"' of the Axis.

As the demonstrations and press fulminations grew in intensity, the situation took on a grave aspect. With as much publicity as possible an Italian royal decree was issued which provided special armaments appropriations of $65,000,000, a 20% increase over the regular military expenses already appropriated. Italy's Chief of Staff and Under Secretary for War, General Alberto Pariani. who has recently visited Berlin, was pointedly dispatched to inspect the defenses on the island of Sardinia, eight miles south of Corsica.

On his side of the border, French Premier Daladier announced that he plans to visit Tunisia and Corsica in January. French submarines and an airplane squadron, ostensibly on "routine duty," appeared in Tunis and the Tunisian armed forces of 25,000 men were held ready to man the Little Maginot Line, a string of small forts, pillboxes and airplane landing bases dotting the long Tunisian-Libyan border. To Paris French Resident-General Erik Labonne sent a report recommending strengthening of defenses, strict limitation of Italian immigration into Tunisia.

Off. The French Government, despite official disavowal of responsibility for the campaign by Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano, could no longer ignore the demonstrations and attacks. French Foreign Minister Bonnet requested his German counterpart, Herr Ribbentrop, then in Paris to sign the Franco-German "friendship pact" (see p. 16) to ascertain Adolf Hitler's position. The Fuehrer made no public statement but Paris diplomatic sources allowed it to leak out that Hitler had assured them that the Italian demands were "ill timed" and would receive no immediate support from him. At week's end, as suddenly as it was turned on, the anti-French campaign was ordered off. Italian newspapers, which receive daily orders on what to play up, were ordered to cease howling about "Italian national aspirations" and a few student groups who took to the streets to demonstrate were quickly discouraged by stern-faced Carabinieri.

Why? Many and varied are the explanations offered for Italy's actions in the past two weeks. The most obvious explanation is that II Duce, like Hitler, is determined to shake down the British-French program of "appeasement" for all he can get. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain is scheduled to go to Rome early in January and Premier Mussolini hopes to wangle from him certain concessions which will further improve Italy's position in the Mediterranean. For a fortnight Mussolini acted in the best dictatorial manner-- demanded everything in the hope that he may settle for something out of court.

The main things Signor Mussolini is anxious to get out of court are: 1) an increase in Italy's stake in the British-French dominated Suez Canal, and 2) the transfer to Italy of control over the French-owned and French-built Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad, Ethiopia's only rail outlet to the Red Sea. Both these measures would strengthen Italy's hold on her colonial lifeline and would provide a cheaper supply route to and from Ethiopia.

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