PARIS LETTER
241
Mr. Gallus, in "1'lntransigeant," throws out this slogan: "Let us win
lhe
After-war!" For ance he
has
advanced ideas.
...
Why not, without
lurther delay, begin with the After-war?!
(from the
Canard)
The
Merle
writes:
There is some hope. One could read recently in
various papers of the left (left! righe! left! righe!) an advertisement for
Paul
Faure's paper. Head: "The Socialist Country." Sub-head: "For lib–
erty, lor peace." A good sign, they ha-ve already suppressed bread.
(An
allusion to the slogan of the Popular Front: "Bread, Peace, Liberty.")
In addition, a veritable chronicle of fine phrases has become a per–
manent feature of the
Canard.
Here are three examples:
From "Le Malin" of the 1st of lanzu;t,ry 1940:
~'Morally,
our enemies
are condemned, politically the war
is
won, noMing is left but to gain a
military victory."
(No comment.)
Good news: our dear Genevieve Tabouis writes in l'Oeuvre that it
seems indisputable to everyone that the Allies have already won the war.
Since Genevieve Tabouis says it, it
is
true. But then why do they annoy a
lot
of good fellows by keeping them on the Maginot Line?
-"Finally, it is not correct to say that there is a shortage of cofJee. We
are not without c.ofJee, since we are able to
find
some. Only, since one can
not
fiiuJ
the kind one likes, there seems to be a shortage." (Paris-Soir,
Ianuary 6)
This official truth is elsewhere made perfectly clear by a sort of
publicity placard iii the
Merle,
in which we read, in caps:
YOUR CHICKORY WILL BE
JUST AS TASTY, MUCH
MORE DIGESTIBLE AND MUCH
MORE ECONOMICAL
with a small amount of
COFFEE
There are also the classical references:
"The -day on which the bayonets begin to think, we will be lost."
(Frederick
II)
"Also one forces the citizens to put in an appearance and to live so to
speak on their doorsteps, in order to know better u..Jtat they are doing and
accustom them to the baseness of human passions by this continual slav–
ery."
(Aritstotle)
"The remarkable part of this infernal business, is that each leader
has
his flags blessed
and
solemnly prays to God before going out to exter–
minate his neighbor."
(Voltaire)
Sometimes the impertinence takes on a truly audacious character:
The mobilization of dogs
has
been anTlounced. Parbleu!-the sheep were
mobilized a long time ago (in the German army
01
course!)
The editors are not at all submissive. Quite the contrary. They
address their censors:
