851.00/5–2646: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Caffery) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 25—4:40 p.m.]
2573. I am told in confidence by a reliable official of the Interior Ministry that Molotov was deeply chagrined over the outcome of the constitutional referendum. According to a report believed reliable by the Interior Ministry, Molotov called together the French Communist leaders and told them that this setback was unfortunate but that it would not help matters if they started a violent attack against the Socialists in an effort to recoup Communist prestige lost by the referendum. Molotov said that while the Socialists were enemy number one of the Communists, a violent Communist attack against the former would simply drive them into the arms of other French elements of the Left-Center, and would push them closer to the British Labor Government. This in turn might result in a Franco-British pact which would form the basis of a western bloc designed to bar Communist penetration in Western Europe. Molotov is reported to have concluded by stating that whether or not the Communists gained seats in the June 2 elections was of no vital importance at this moment. He advised them to devote all their energy to strengthening the internal discipline and organization of the French Communist rank and file.
In connection with the foregoing, it will be recalled that Molotov was for a considerable period the actual if not the nominal Secretary General of the Comintern. Furthermore, Communist tactics and propaganda since the referendum have—despite bitter anti-Communist attacks by the Socialists—been defensive and in some cases almost conciliatory.
Sent to Washington as 2573, repeated to Moscow as 200, to London as 369, to USPolAd Frankfurt as 40.