851.00B/4–2547: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Caffery) to the Secretary of State
1719. Qualified observers here of the world Communist movement, especially those formerly connected with the Comintern, are increasingly inclined to believe that the French Communists are being directed to accelerate their agitation in the French colonies to the extent even that they may not be able to remain in the government. In this connection the Resident General of Tunisia recently expressed to [Page 703] intimate friends in Paris that he is gravely concerned over the mounting native agitation backed by Communists in Tunis and expects trouble there in the near future.
In the meanwhile the debate continues between the group in the Communist Party leadership favoring passing to opposition to the government and the group which defends remaining therein. My 1364, March 31, 7 p. m.1 According to a reliable source the real head of the CGT, Frachon, who has remained more or less neutral in this debate up to the present is now tending to join the Mauvais-Fajon block in favor of opposition. Frachon attended the Political Bureau meeting held on April 17 where he stated that an increasing number of Communist militants in the CGT, particularly in the Paris region, no longer willingly accepted the thesis that the Communists should remain in the govt. Frachon insisted that “working class opinion should be taken into consideration, particularly since membership in CGT is falling off owing to the workers failure sometimes to understand Communist trade union policies.” This remark probably alludes to recent developments in Paris region where workers and even Communists have revolted against trade union leaders in a few factories.
Great importance is attached by Communists here to Marty’s visit to Algeria where he is attending congress of Algerian Communist Party and they expect his report on the situation there to furnish them material in support of the new statutes on Algeria proposed by the Communist Party for discussion in the Assembly.
Sent Dept 1719, repeated Moscow 290, Berlin 146, London 337.
- Not printed. It cited “trustworthy evidence available to Embassy” to the effect that the dispute in the French Communist party between the majority opposition group led by Léon Mauvais and Etienne Fajon and the minority led by Thorez, Billoux, and Jacques Duclos concerned tactics and in no way involved “the question of a revolt against Moscow”. The telegram reviewed the history of the party since 1920 and concluded as follows: “It must again be emphasized that the very Communists who are now being described in the press as ‘Nationalists’ have personally performed all the backbreaking somersaults which subservience to Moscow has required of their party in the past. In the circumstances stories to the effect that certain Communist leaders are opposing Moscow; that they are Frenchmen first and Communists second; that Moscow is no longer guiding the general lines of French Communist policy, should all be viewed with the deepest skepticism.” (851.00B/3–3147)↩