GAULLE Charles de. 2 L. A. S., 20 and 26 January 1953, to his son Lieutenant Philippe de Gaulle (in Oran); 4 and 2 pages in-8 headed Le Général de Gaulle. Against the plan for a European army, and about Marshal Pétain. 20th January. "Here, the cold, snow and ice are beginning to give way. As for me, I'm recovering normally - which means not very quickly - from my recent operation [cataract], which, with its after-effects, is an unpleasant ordeal. Among the appropriations that the R. Mayer cabinet is preparing to 'block' is a sum concerning naval air bases. I hope that this will not have serious consequences for the early development of our naval aviation? For R. Mayer himself, I agreed that he should be given the authority to practically abandon the tightrope walk of the so-called "European" army treaty under the pretext of amendments and protocols. We are keeping a close eye on the operation because I do not want this monstrosity, which would involve losing the French army to a German military hegemony. However, I have to say that French public opinion and the French masses have never been more spineless, more indifferent or more selfish"... 26th January. "For your information, I am enclosing the text of Mr François-Poncet's acceptance speech at the Académie Française, where he succeeded Marshal Pétain. This gave those Vichyists who initially thought they were Vichyists for the right reasons, who then had to recognise the error and the fault of the Marshal, but who, after all, nevertheless ... etc., the opportunity to express themselves once and for all through the voice of this ambassador. This one is, moreover, appropriate as far as I'm concerned and the Resistance is concerned. We can, of course, go on and on about Mr François-Poncet's arguments, in particular about the famous 'shield' that Pétain is said to have been, but which did not prevent France from being pillaged, the French from being held in servitude, the fleet from being lost, and so on. As it stands, however, his speech is not without interest and reflects the profound opinion of a large proportion of the "notables", including most of the former officers of the army and navy"... LNC, II, p. 1105 and 1106.