French Government Responds to Italian Protest
Thursday, October 2, 1947 - An official spokesman for the
Armée de l'air asserted today that they would not discontinue training flights between Ajaccio and Sidi Ahmed, Tunisie, despite the recent Italian protests. However, the
Armée de l'air declared that they would provide Italy with twenty-four hours notice before conducting a training flight. At the same time, the spokesman delivered a stinging rebuke to the Italian Aeronautica Militare, objecting to their test of a system 'designed to disrupt international civilian radio-navigation' and their 'childish oversensitivity' about military flights over international waters.
Meanwhile, Italian social left newspaper
Il Mattino denied rumors that the Italian government had ordered them to suppress their reporting on the story, claiming that they had published what they felt was appropriate and no more; the paper remains the only Italian publication to print the story.
What the Bird Has to Say -
Le Canard enchaîné
Wednesday, October 8, 1947 - In an incindiary exposé,
Le Canard enchaîné accused French prime minister Joseph Delattre of 'gross misconduct' in his personal affairs, ranging from his expense record to an allegation of misbehavior with minors.
French PM Named in Misconduct Case -
La Croix
Thursday, October 9, 1947 - Following allegations of misconduct leveled by
Le Canard enchaîné, President of the Council (Prime Minister) Joseph Delattre became the subject of a formal investigation. Delattre, speaking directly to the press, denied the rumors in absolute terms, and declared that the investigation would demonstrate his case.
Political observers note that regardless of the result of the investigation, Delattre's position in the cabinet is particularly weak. Delattre is a member of the center-left Front Républicaine, which formed a coalition government with the center-right Alliance Républicaine following the 1946 elections. The Front Républicaine charged a high price for their participation, demanding and receiving the premiership in the cabinet. The Leftist Delattre, who lacks experience in international politics, was one of the only candidates that both parties could accept, and heads a center-right cabinet which he cannot control. The balance of governmental power instead lies in the hands of President Quentin Clemenceau and Vice President of the Council Edmond Michelet, with Delattre widely regarded as a 'spare wheel' in the political scene.
Syrian Army Increases Military Build-up
Tuesday, October 14, 1947 - In a press release made public yesterday evening, the Syrian government announced its intention to order another eighty-eight medium tanks from China, as well as solidifying their intent to license-manufacture the type under the name
al-Walid. The expanded Syrian order will be sufficient to equip two more tank battalions. The Syrian Army is also rumored to be interested in the Yugoslavian-built M47 motor infantry carrier.
Lambert Expedition Departs Toulon
Thursday, October 23, 1947 - The research ship
Naturaliste departed Toulon today, bound for the Antarctic coast in order to deliver an expedition team to Charcot Station. The expedition, headed by Capitaine de Corvette Mathieu Lambert, plans to construct a brand new central building at Charcot Station, featuring a twelve-man dormitory, permanent research quarters, and a wireless station. The old central building at Charcot Station - a four-man temporary structure constructed in 1937 - will be decommissioned and turned into a storage shed.
French Army Ends Operation Scipion
Monday, October 27, 1947 - In a final report released today, the French Army disbanded
Groupement Scipion, the Légion étrangère's mission to the Inner Niger Delta region. Groupement Scipion, consisting principally of the
1er Régiment étranger de parachutistes (1er REP), the
1er Régiment étranger de génie (1er REG), and several other support units, was activated in September of 1944 in order to suppress Islamic bandits in sub-Saharan Africa. As no combat has occurred since July of this year, the Army senior command declared an end to Operation Scipion, transitioning full control back to local authorities.
In the Army's official report, released today, the conflict was officially named the Inner Niger Delta Insurgency, with the response by the French colonial authorities and local officials falling under the catch-all name "Operation Scipion". Overshadowed in the popular press by the violent and bloody anticolonialist operations against the Dutch in Oubangi-Chari, the conflict pitted a small number of Islamic combatants - believed to number no more than fifteen hundred men at their peak - against the skill of the French Foreign Legion and the locally-raised Senegalese Tirailleurs. In the final accounting set out by the Scipion Report, the French Army indicates the following statistics:
According to the official report (titled
Report on Operation Scipion), the insurgency was primarily carried out by a loosely-organized group called the
Frères de Mahomet (FM), which was started by a group of Islamic Arabs who came in from Libya or possibly Egypt. Recruiting locally, often by force, the FM began operating in the difficult-to-traverse Inner Niger Delta, operating in the countryside and attempting to build up power and authority by controlling food sources (principally rice), either through raiding villages or pirating river traffic. The militants rapidly overwhelmed local village law enforcement, resulting in the necessity of employing the military, in the form of the locally-recruited Senegalese Tirailleurs and the French Foreign Legion.
Groupement Scipion, composed of the French Foreign Legion troops and supporting members of the French Air Force and Navy, took the lead in combatting the FM and other related groups, while the Senegalese Tirailleurs cordoned off secured areas to prevent the spread of the insurgency. Recognizing the overwhelming material superiority of the military forces, the insurgents avoided combat and focused their efforts on controlling the local populace. The French Army combatted this by protecting villages and rice shipments, ensuring the local population remained unsympathetic to the insurgent forces.
French Airliner "Stalked" by Italian Jet
Wednesday, October 29, 1947 - An Air France Bloch MB.970 Transatlantique airliner, with 92 passengers and 7 crew, was reportedly shadowed by an Italian Cinghiale jet fighter while on a flight from Paris to Athens, during which it flew its filed flight-plan over Italian territory. The Transatlantique's pilot first noticed the jet midway through the flight, and flashed the aircraft's landing and navigation lights to indicate discomfort at how close the Italian pilot got to the airliner. The jet then reportedly dropped back into the airliner's aft quarter, where the aircraft crew had a great deal of difficulty observing its movements. After nearly thirty minutes, the jet disengaged and dove away.
French Government Issues Complaint to Rome
Friday, October 31, 1947 - President Clemenceau summoned the Italian ambassador to the
Palais de l'Élysée to demand a formal explanation for the October 29 airliner incident, alleging that an Italian military jet endangered a French civilian airliner during a scheduled flight over the Italian peninsula. The focus of the French complaint was leveled at the proximity of the two aircraft, which the pilot and crew felt was too close for safe operation.
Delattre Resigns
Monday, November 3, 1947 - Prime Minister Joseph Delattre resigned his post in the government today, attributing the move to his inability to control the cabinet he is appointed to lead. The resignation briefly fueled rumors regarding the likely result of a misconduct investigation; however, the French parliament announced their findings barely two hours after Delattre's resignation became public knowledge. The head of the Ethics Committee announced that he had found no serious justification for the charges exposed by
Le Canard enchaîné in early October. With regard to the accusation of mishandling public funds and improper behavior with minors, the investigation declared that Delattre had made 'some questionable calls', but that they found no ethics violations meriting legal action.
The Front Républicaine advised President Clemenceau that Delattre's replacement must come from the ranks of their own party, or they would leave the coalition they have formed with the center-right Alliance Républicaine.
Voisin et Hennequin
Wednesday, November 12, 1947 - In the seventh issue of
Voisin et Hennequin, the heroes find themselves assisting the Sultan of Ti'en to defeat his rebellious half-brother, Prince Bilan, who has taken refuge on the island of Belitung Mangkal. Supported by a band of mercenary airmen known as the Seven Yellow Pennants, Prince Bilan seizes several French and British oil tankers travelling through the narrow Mangkal Straits, threatening to cause more damage unless the French and British support him against the Sultan. While the diplomats hesitate, Voisin and Hennequin propose an aggressive action to defeat Jinlung, the mysterious ace leader of the Seven Yellow Pennants, and permit the Sultan's loyal troops to reconquer the island of Belitun Mangkal.
President Names New PM Candidate
Thursday, November 13, 1947 - President Quentin Clemenceau nominated Front Républicaine politician Bastien Maillard, currently a deputy in the lower house of Parliament, as a replacement for Joseph Delattre.
Sahara 'Rally-Raid' to be Opened to International Competition
Friday, November 21, 1947 - Organizers announced that the 4th Sahara Run - an automotive offroad 'rally-raid' between Algiers and Dakar sponsored by the French Army, will be open to foreign competitors for the 1948 race, scheduled to begin on March 20th of next year. As with French civilian entries, foreign competitors are required to either present qualifying credentials from their national motorsport organization, or have sponsorship from their national military, a vehicle manufacturer, or other reputable automotive organization.
Sébillot Resigns
Thursday, December 11, 1947 - Minister of the Interior Marcel Sébillot resigned from his post in the Cabinet today, citing that he wished to step out of political life after serving over six years at Place Beauvau, serving both under President Clemenceau and President Theisman.
Unconfirmed rumors, however, indicate that the true reason for Sébillot's departure might instead lie with 'irreconciliable differences' with recently-placed Prime Minister Bastien Maillard. According to reports circulated by
Le Figaro, Sébillot tendered his resignation directly to President Clemenceau; the President initially refused it and then offered to name Sébillot as the Ambassador to Belgium, which Sébillot declined.
Le Figaro also noted a rumor from the
Palais de l'Élysée that Madeline Barthelemy, the Minister of Finance, offered her resignation yesterday to the president, but was talked into retracting it after speaking with Clemenceau.
Annual Events
Friday, December 12, 1947 - The Salon nautique international de Paris (a nautical trade show) and the Salon du Cheval opened simultaneously at the
Centre des nouvelles industries et technologies in the La Défense district of Paris.
Maillard Resigns
Tuesday, December 23, 1947 - Less than two months after being appointed prime minister to replace Joseph Delattre, Bastien Maillard resigned his post, citing 'a complete inability' to work with the other members of his cabinet and with President Clemenceau. Maillard's resignation puts the coalition cabinet in difficult straits, as the leading
Alliance Républicaine continues to depend on their coalition with the center-left
Front Républicaine to maintain a majority government.
Miscellaneous 1947 News
Taos Amrouche publishes her first novel (autobiographical),
Jacinthe noir.
* * * * *
Addendum:
4th Sahara Run
Background: The Sahara Run was first organized by French Army officer Captaine Thierry Giraudeau, principally as an informal way of challenging motorized troops based in French North Africa. In 1941, Giraudeau led a grueling military vehicle testing and desert-mapping expedition traversed West Africa, starting in Abidjan and ending in Algiers. Giraudeau organized an unsponsored race between units of the XIe Corps d'Armée in January of 1942. In December 1942, another race of approximately 2,300km was organized by the Tirailleurs Senegalaise between Dakar and Timbuktu; the winners challenged XIe Corps to a cross-Sahara race. Giraudeau organized an event for 1943, but the Army leadership opposed the idea. In 1945, Giraudeau argued convincingly for military support, resulting in an Abidjan-to-Algiers rally-raid as the 1st Sahara Run. The Tirailleurs Senegalaise repeated their Dakar-Timbuktu rally in 1943 and 1944, but in 1945 merged their event with Giraudeau's Sahara Run. In 1946, Giraudeau instituted the car/truck and motorcycle divisions, and the course began in Dakar and ended in Algiers; this pattern has been repeated in following years. In 1947, the race allowed French civilians to enter provided they were sponsored by a manufacturer or motorsport organization (although most entries were still from the French Army), and in 1948 the event was opened to international participation, again requiring sponsorship.
Rules as of 1948:
-- Car/Truck Class: one vehicle with a driver and a navigator.
-- Motorcycle Class: one motorcycle with a rider.
-- Start Date: March 20th.
-- A team may possess two chase trucks; they must have all spare parts and supplies used by the team and their vehicles (including the chase trucks themselves) for the duration of the race. The crew of the chase trucks is not limited, but must not be exchanged during the race.
-- Teams must carry their own fuel, including for the chase trucks. A fuel dump may be pre-placed in Timbuktu (halfway point) for resupply.
-- The vehicle and the chase trucks must have a working wireless radio (to call for assistance if stranded).
-- At least one member of the team must qualify as a field medic (to address injuries and ensure proper nutrition/hydration, etc).
-- The team members must submit to a daily health inspection to ensure proper rest, nutrition, and hydration. The inspector may invoke a twelve-hour or twenty-four hour penalty on the basis of health concerns. Two penalties, regardless of length, result in disqualification from the competition.
-- Ramming and sabotage is not permitted and grounds for disqualification (potentially of both teams, if fault cannot be proven).
-- Teams are permitted to carry firearms for security, if desired.
-- If the vehicle is damaged beyond repair, the team is disqualified with a 'did not complete' mark.
-- If a team member is injured in such a way as to require medical attention, the team is disqualified with a 'did not complete' mark.
-- Each division of the French 2e Armée (Armée d'Afrique), and each regiment of the Tirailleurs Senegalaise, is guaranteed one spot in the car and motorcycle classes. The French Foreign Legion is guaranteed three spots in both categories to fill at their discretion.
-- Civilian and foreign competitors must present qualifying credentials from either a recognized national motorsport body, a recognized automotive manufacturer, or their nation's armed forces.