Triumph & Tragedy

In the dying hours of 1954, the deed at last was done. By the narrow but still sufficient margin of 27 votes, the French National Assembly ratified West German rearmament within NATO.

The vote, when it came, was a victory for the West and a defeat for the Russians. It was also a defeat for France. For four years and three months the West had been kept waiting by France. Last week, behind the public satisfaction expressed by Western statesmen, there was a relief that it would not be necessary again to wait for France.

For in accepting the Paris accords, France surrendered its last legal veto over

Allied policy towards Germany. If the National Assembly had ratified boldly, with generosity and magnanimity, France might have retained the influence over policies which the U.S. and Britain instinctively accord to those whom they most respect. Instead, the little men of the National Assembly brought France down to their own untrusting, untrustworthy level. The Western Big Three would henceforth be the Western Big Two.

The four-year fight to add 500,000 young Germans to the Western defense is still not won. So far, only three of 14 NATO Parliaments (Britain, Norway and Iceland) have completed ratification. Italy's Lower Chamber ratified last month, and Senate approval is assured; the Bundestag has accepted in principle, and Chancellor Adenauer expects to get its final vote in February. The U.S. Senate still must ratify. So must the French Senate, which could create another delay, though Mendes-France expects it to ratify within 60 days.

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