"Butter And Cannon"

Fortnight ago when the Cabinet of Camille Chautemps fell, France dropped into something approaching political chaos (TIME, Jan. 24). Last week after everyone available had tried in vain to form a new Cabinet, France emerged from chaos with M. Chautemps once more Premier. His new Cabinet, as finally set up, excluded the Communists, dropped the Socialists, was comprised exclusively of his own moderate, middle-class party, the Radical Socialists who are a minority in the Chamber. But so relieved were all parties to see a government set up, that the Chamber approved the Cabinet 502-to-1.

In Paris reports were current that the French Embassy in Berlin had warned its home Government of a possible Nazi coup unless politically torn France quickly pulled herself together. She not only did so but instantly established a new Ministry for National Defense & War coordinating the War, Marine and Air Forces under Radical Socialist Edouard Daladier. General Marie Gustave Gamelin, Army Chief of Staff became Chief of the Army, Marine and Air Force with the title Chief of Staff for National Defense. This was said to "place France on a wartime footing." Just three weeks ago General Gamelin permitted a subordinate general on active service to disclose that a Communist plot to seize the state had been nipped (TIME, Jan. 17), and ever since fresh power has been flooding to the Staff, regardless of shaky politics.

Since France's monetary fears were on a par with her military fears, M. Georges Bonnet (called last year from his post as Ambassador at Washington to become Finance Minister) was promoted to be Minister of State and Financial Coordinator. He neatly defined his new job: "It has been said that in a neighboring country [Germany] it became necessary to choose between butter and cannon. Cannon were chosen. Here in France we want both butter and cannon. It is a difficult task."

The Finance Ministry passed to Paul Marchandeau, Mayor of Rheims, a battle-scarred holder of the Croix de Guerre and Legion of Honor. He is the sort of man sound men call sound. Even so, on international exchange the franc remained weak while France sat tight in the badly rocked boat of her political equilibrium. For despite every effort made by all parties concerned to conceal it, the Popular Front of Communists, Socialists and Radical Socialists was in a state of disintegration, and the chances of its long survival seemed slim. In his ministerial declaration Premier Chautemps frankly confessed that he headed a "transition government."

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