PARTISAN REVIEW
In matters concerning the R.P.F., however, General de Gaulle
took a stand from the first. From his Strasbourg speech on, he has
proclaimed that the United States alone could help France, and that
he was anxious for this help to whatever degree did not put French
sovereignty in question.
You know as well as I that there can he neither political nor
national defense by a country whose Government is incapable of
choosing its enemy.
It is my conviction that any real French Government (I mean
by that a Government which
wills
and not a Government which
negotiates ad infinitum) is compelled to choose. I might add that
the country has already made its choice, and that this shows at times
vaguely, at times sharply, as the danger of conflict approaches or
recedes.
In France, there are approximately 6 per cent of real Commu–
nists (whether party-card holders or not), and about 15 per cent
of more or less desultory sympathizers. In the face of a concrete
threat, I predict that the 6 per cent will remain Communists, and
that practically all of the others will be with you, or neutral. You
may draw your own conclusions.
Burnham:
What about the French writers and intellectuals?
I am delighted to find that so many of them are moving away from
Communism. But toward what? The manifestoes in favor of the Third
Force, which
Combat
printed, were signed by a considerable number
of intellectuals. The words, however, seemed orthodox, and rather
pale abstractions. Among those who signed were several of the
Existentialists, whom we have come to know in the United States
during the past two years. It is amusing to note that the Existential–
ists, whose books define man exclusively in terms of "choice," are
lining up with the Third Force; that is to say, at the moment of
crisis th.ey have refused to choose.
M a[raux:
Why not set the names of those who did not sign
the manifesto opposite the names of those who did:
B~rnanos,
Camus,
Claude!, Romains, myself (I almost forgot) ... ? Those who signed
this Third Force manifesto belong to two very different groups:
Christian Democrats and Socialists. I know most of them, and I
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