[SIZE=3]
Summary[/SIZE]
October 1
The submarine
Calypso was laid down today in the port of La Rochelle.
October 4
Construction on the Amaria dam in Guinea finished today following several years of work. The dam, located on the Konkouré River, will produce 65kW of electricity, and shall power an aluminium smelter. The facility has become the first aluminium smelter in operation in Africa.
October 5
French aero-engine and automobile manufacturer Hispano-Suiza unveiled a Char-8 Montbrun medium tank powered by an extremely novel gas turbine engine design, the result of five years of research and development by Dimitri Sensaud de Lavaud. Hispano-Suiza is also reportedly working on a racing motorcar with the gas turbine engine, which reportedly produces nine hundred horsepower.
October 6 -
Le Figaro, Evening Edition
A force identified as the Italian-organized "Nuovo Partito Socialista-Comunista Avanguardia di Monaco" (NPSCAM) has launched an attempt to seize the city-state of Monaco, overwhelming the Monagasque police force, the Carabiniers du Prince, and taking control of the major points within Monaco.
Read more...
October 7
French military forces, identified as the 13th Régiment de Dragons Parachutistes, entered Monaco just before midnight last night to crush the Nuovo Partito Socialista-Comunista Avanguardia di Monaco, or "Avanguardias", who had assumed control of the tiny coastal city-state yesterday morning in a shocking coup de main.
Read more...
October 8
Editorials -
Read more...
October 9
The Greek coastal freighter
Efimia was released from French Naval custody today following a thorough investigation of the ship's role in the Monaco Incident. According to French authorities, the ship was chartered by an independent agent to carry a cargo of wheat from Palermo to Genoa. Instead, the ship was forcibly commandeered in the night by armed Avanguardia members, who forced the captain to leave Palermo and steer for Monaco. Another ship, the yacht SS
Atmah, was similarly commandeered in the harbor of Monaco and used to house several hostages. The French government declared these two incidents would result in charges for piracy awaiting a number of Avanguardia members.
October 10
Four days after the attempted Communist takeover of Monaco, life is getting back to normal in the seaside resort. The exception, however, are the protestors: on the one hand, a handful of pro-Communist demonstrators objecting to the suppression of the Avanguardias, and on the other, those calling for the abdication of Prince Louis II, who has yet to return to his princedom in the aftermath of the attack.
October 11
In a press conference at the Élysée Palace, President Theisman repeated his earlier assertion that the Monaco Incident was not a covert or overt attempt by the Italian government to take over the princedom. "It appears," Theisman continued, "That SIM, the Italian military intelligence agency, was monitoring the Avanguardias and a large number of other foreign and domestic political minority groups, but had not received any actionable intelligence about the Avanguardias' intentions to launch an attack against Monaco. The Republic of France believes this to be a regrettable oversight, but not conclusive proof of malicious intent." Speaking to the ability of the hijacked Greek freighter
Efimia's ability to transport eighty of the combatants into Monaco without detection, the President contended that naval patrols repeatedly spotted the freighter, but the vessel behaved normally at all times and gave no reason for an inspection.
October 13 -
Le Canard enchaîné
What the Bird Has to Say: In this Wednesday's satirical cartoons, Prince Louis II of Monaco dances with a bevy of actresses while Italian revolutionaries seize Monaco. The cartoon is captioned "Prince of Monaco? No, my dear, I am Prince of the Ritz."
October 13
The drama-romance film
L'Éternel retour, directed by Jean Delannoy, written by Jean Cocteau, and starring Madeleine Sologne and Jean Marais, opens in Paris.
October 14
Prince Louis II of Monaco returned to his princedom for the first time since last week's attempted seizure by Communist revolutionaries. He was greeted by a crowd of a thousand silent individuals who displayed a banner asking him to abdicate. The Prince's return was reportedly due to the insistence of French President Theisman, who had a private meeting with the Prince on the twelfth. Although the topic of their discussion has not been leaked, some insiders believe President Theisman had very harsh words for the aging Prince, who has shown little interest in the events of the past week.
October 15
Prince Louis II of Monaco has announced his official abdication in favor of his grandson, Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi, who will take the throne as Rainier III. The twenty-year old Prince Rainier promised to restore the Monagasque faith in the monarchy and in the Grimaldi family. Rainier's mother, Princess Charlotte, previously abdicated her place in the line of succession in favor of her son.
October 16
Minister of National Education Jules Bernard has resigned, announcing that he had decided to excuse himself from public service. The move comes as quite a surprise to political observers, since Bernard was expected to hold the post until his candidacy for president, as a member of the French Socialist Party, would be announced in mid-1944. The minister's apparent intent to retire from public life raises doubts about the intentions of one of the prospective future leaders of the French Union.
October 17 -
Le Figaro
President Theisman announced that the vacant post of the Minister of National Education would be offered to Deputy-Minister Jean-Jacques Saval. Unlike his predecessor, Saval is a member of Theisman's tripartisme
Alliance républicaine, but is not a close friend or coworker of the President.
October 18
Minister of National Defense Lemaréchal presented to the French Parliament a plan to extend current mechanization developments through the French Army through the course of 1944 and 1945. The confidential report is rumored to focus on the upgrade of existing 'foot' infantry divisions rather than the creation of new forces. The known exception will be the 202nd Brigade de Chars being formed in Indochina using a mix of local and French Colonial personnel and equipment.
October 20 -
Le Canard enchaîné
What the Bird Has to Say: In this week's editorial section, members of the French leftist parties blame Minister of National Education Bernard's retirement on backlash from the Avanguardia attack on Monaco.
October 21
The submarine
Thetis was completed today at the naval yards of La Rochelle.
October 22
The
Salon de l'Automobile opened today in Paris. Three hundred manufacturers from around the world demonstrated their products, announced new automobile models, and made deals. Among the new cars being presented is Hispano-Suiza's newest car, the J14 Tornade, which features a three hundred c.v. engine, one of the most powerful production cars in the world. Renault also announced their intention to open a Balkan branch in Plovdiv Bulgaria, to be called Bulgarrenault and operated in conjunction with the local firm Metalhim.
October 23
Éditions Denoël released René Barjavel's science-fiction novel
Le Voyageur imprudent, a story about a time-traveler who goes back in time to kill his grandfather.
October 26
The government of Monaco announced that after due consideration, the Avanguardias would be tried in military courts as unlawful combatants. For reasons of practicality, the trials will likely be held on French soil.
October 27
The first two aviso-dragueurs of the
Arabe class, named
Arabe and
Algérien, were launched today in the shipyards of Nouméa, Nouvelle-Calédonie. The two ships sponsors, distinguished Japanese ladies, were selected to help maintain a thread with the previous
Arabe class, destroyers built in Japan for the Marine Nationale during the Great War. At the launch ceremony, Contre-amiral Alain Dacoury paid tribute to the French and Japanese sailors who contributed to Allied victory in the Mediterranean Sea between 1914 and 1917.
October 29
Construction of Paris's
Boulevard Périphérique was completed today after two and a half years of nearly constant construction. The 35km long road, constructed by
Société Anonyme pour la Construction et l'Entretien des Routes, encircles Paris, following the route of the old 1841 Thiers wall.
November 1 -
La Provence
The Yugoslavian destroyer-leader
Zagreb arrived in the port of Marseilles today, the first stop on an international cruise currently being undertaken by the Yugoslavian Royal Navy. This powerful ship, fresh from the Bar shipyards, is armed with eight twelve-centimeter guns and ten fifty-five centimeter torpedoes. Yugoslavian Foreign Minister Boris Furlan, as well as Prince Tomislav, arrived aboard the ship.
Zagreb was welcomed to Marseilles by Contre-amiral Virgile Lapeyre, who has recently been promoted to command the
Forces Légères d'Attaque in Bizerte. Contre-amiral Lapeyre extended an invitation for the Yugoslavian First Striking Group to join in a naval exercise with the FLA in 1944.
November 3 -
Le Canard enchaîné
What the Bird Has to Say: In this Wednesday's editorials,
Le Canard enchaîné offers the opinion that in honor of the British admiral Sir Dudley Pound, the British Royal Navy "ought to rename the battleship HMS
Beatty in his memory, as Admiral Pound is more deserving of such a memorial."
November 4
The Syrian government announced that it has secured a military development loan from France which will be used to acquire new aircraft for the Syrian Air Force. As part of the loan, the Syrian Army agreed to order a number of Panhard EBR armoured cars from France. Damascus intends to repay the four year loan with shipments of phosphates, cement, and agricultural products. Speculation about Syria's planned purchases abound, particularly in the light of the recent showing by the Yugoslavian Soko Aircraft Firm of their Orao fighter. At present, the Syrian Air Force still uses aging Dewoitine D.520 fighters. Of the twenty-two aircraft acquired during independence, only sixteen are still rumored to be in flyable condition. Close-support forces are in even more dire straits, depending on Breguet 19 light bombers and an octet of Loire-Nieuport dive-bombers.
November 6
The new fleet submarines
Roland Morillot and
Charles Drujon were launched today from the Marseilles shipyards.
November 8
Trials of the Avanguardias began today in a French military court. Three members of the group pleaded guilty to charges of illegal armed insurrection and filibustering and were sentenced to ten years of hard labor in North Africa.
November 9
The new comic series
Voisin et Hennequin, published by
Société Parisienne d'Édition, appeared on shelves today.
Voisin et Hennequin follows the adventures of two aviators of the Armee de l'Aire, Lieutenant Wenceslas Voisin and Lieutenant Claude Nicolas Hennequin. Drawn by a veteran artist who helped produced the bestselling
Reynard comic series, this first issue sees the quiet and stoic Voisin and flamboyant Hennequin sent to the fictional French colony of Côte Rocheuse, which is under threat from tribal rebels led by Abdul el-Hakim and his beautiful daughter Galila. Vousin and Hennequin face the additional threat of a mercenary fighter squadron led by the villainous Colonel Dirksen, which is aiding the rebels. To complicate matters, Voisin falls in love with army nurse Joséphine Lalanne, while Hennequin sets his lofty sights on the exotic Galila. According to
Société Parisienne d'Édition, the new series will run for at least nine episodes, covering the planned "Côte Rocheuse Rebellion" arc.
November 10 -
Le Canard enchaîné
What the Bird Has to Say: in this week's satire cartoons, Minister of Public Health Jean-Baptiste Méliès is mocked for his statement that smoking cigarettes is an unhealthy habit.
November 11
President Theisman and senior members of the government and military celebrated Armistice Day paying their respects to French soldiers fallen in war. The President made two public appearances at Arras and Cambrai.
November 12
A Bloch MB.972 Transatlantique airliner crashed today two kilometers outside La Suze-sur-Sarthe, southwest of Le Mans. The MB.972 had previously suffered a mechanical failure in a trans-oceanic flight from New York City, landing at the Irish airport at Shannon. There it transferred its passengers to a second aircraft, and after inspection was flying back to France for maintenance and overhaul. It is believed that three Air France crewmen aboard the aircraft were all killed. Air Minister Jean-François Jannekeyn promised an investigation into the aircraft's loss.
November 15
The final four
escortiers d'escadre of the
Étendard-subclass destroyers were launched today in La Rochelle. These four ships, named
Claymore,
Carabine,
Épée and
Trident, are the final ships of the
Jaguar-class. Although divided into three sub-classes, these warships are one of the most numerous classes of warship in the world, with forty-eight units in service or approaching completion.
November 17 -
Le Canard enchaîné
What the Bird Has to Say: in this Wednesday's investigative article, Le Canard enchaîné examines leaked reports about the cost of the French Army's plans to mechanize three more divisions of infantry, in addition to creating several new armoured brigades.
November 19
The contre-torpilleur
Vauquelin was launched today from the shipyards of La Rochelle.
November 20 -
Le Figaro
Two Avangardias being tried for illegal armed insurrection were additionally convicted of piracy. Having exhausted their appeals, they were hung with all due dispatch.
November 22
The Armee de Terre's
Aviation Légère de lArmée de Terre has circulated the requirement for a troop and cargo-carrying helicopter capable of carrying twelve to fourteen men or more at a speed of one hundred knots and a range of three hundred kilometers. France's sole helicopter manufacturer,
Societe Francaise Du Gyroplane, has no known machines or paper designs capable of meeting this requirement. The
Aviation Légère de lArmée de Terre cited their experience in Morocco as well as the recent event in Monaco as important events in showing the need for a machine with more capacity than the existing SH.20 Cigale.
November 23
Gnome-Rhone reports the first successful bench test of an axial turbojet engine, believed to be designed with technical insight from Atlantean and German sources. The design is currently known under the designation 'Turboréacteur Axial, Curtana' or TRAC.
November 24 -
Le Canard enchaîné
What the Bird Has to Say: In the investigative journalism section,
Le Canard enchaîné leaks the information that the so-called "Great Colony Swap" (as dubbed by opponents) between Britain and France will take place on January 30th, 1944.
November 26
The French Army confirmed rumors that it has received permission and funding to convert three infantry divisions to mechanized divisions before 1945. In addition, the Army plans to create two new tank brigades in the Metropole region, rework the four
Brigades de Reaction Rapide, create an armoured brigade with Légion étrangère manpower, and support Indochina's creation of their own armoured brigade. Although the changes will not result in an increase in manpower, an order for approximately fifteen hundred armoured carriers, three hundred tanks, and eighteen hundred trucks is expected before 1945.
November 29
The association football team Olympique Noisy-le-Sec is founded in Noisy-le-Sec, a suburb of Paris.
November 30
The French Army has established the
Manufacture de Machines du Haut-Rhin to manufacture and experiment with small arms for the French Army.
December 1 -
Le Canard enchaîné
What the Bird Has to Say: In this week's edition, the editors look into a leaked report about the cost-benefit analysis of swapping Tchad to Britain in exchange for the Togo mandate and clear ownership of the New Hebrides.
December 2
French naval ships from the Atlantic Fleet came to the assistance of the Polish liner MS
Chrobry today following the declaration of an emergency. A drunken and belligerent first-class passenger smashed a bottle of port and attacked another man with the broken bottle, accusing him of seducing his wife. The head steward intervened and was badly injured in the scuffle. Two other crewmen and another passenger were also injured. The French destroyer
Baie de Chesapeake, conducting antisubmarine exercises off Finistère, rendered assistance, taking the passenger into custody and evacuating the injured head steward to the naval hospital at Brest. The arrested passenger will be turned over to the Polish police.
December 3
A technical investigation committee began meeting today to investigate the crash of an Air France Bloch MB.972 Transatlantique near La Suze-sur-Sarthe. The investigation committee is similar to that formed following the downing of France-Hydro Flight 714 earlier this year. Some members of the Air Ministry have made calls for the formation of a permanent body organized to investigate air crashes.
December 6
Four new
Étendard class destroyers were completed today in La Rochelle. Following sea trials, they will be accepted into the Marine Nationale.
December 8
The city of Lyons lit their traditional "Fête des Lumières" today.
December 9
The Salon du Cheval de Paris opened today. One of the world's premier equestrian events, it will run until December 16th.
December 11
Édith Piaf's new song
De l'Autre Côté de la Rue has become a bestselling record in France.
December 14
The new pipeline running to the port and refinery of Bougie, Algeria has been completed and enters operation.
December 15
The destroyer
Forbin was completed today in La Rochelle. This ship, the first of a class of powerful new contre-torpilleur, carries the new French 13cm dual-purpose gun. Five other ships are under construction and two more are planned. The Marine Nationale is reportedly interested in ordering four more ships in 1944.
December 17
Contre-amiral Yves Desailly, former commander of the
Forces Légères d'Attaque in Bizerte, has been promoted to command the Indian Ocean Flotilla.
December 20
The French government released a report publicizing the progress remaining before the January 30th deadline for territorial changes in Tchad, Togo, and the New Hebrides. According to the report, the government is preparing a special funding bill to begin improvements in the new territories and the Togo mandate. Minister of Colonies Georges Mandel indicated that if the bills pass, France would spend approximately 25% more on infrastructure development and 40% more on education initiatives in Togo than Britain spent in 1943. Mandel indicated that one of the highest priorities was establishing a system to provide clear drinking water in the major cities.
December 22
The final military trials for the Avanguardias was held today in an unknown location. Eight of the men sentenced today will be turned over immediately to the Greek government for trial regarding their role in the hijacking of the Greek coastal freighter
Efimia. The French government only recently confirmed rumors that at least one senior member of the Avanguardia movement was not present in Monaco when the 13th RDP stormed the principality and rounded up the group.
December 25
France celebrates Christmas.
December 28
A French expedition led by Sous-Lieutenant Gustave Remy has departed to conduct a survey of the Mount Nimba Region of Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire. His junior rank notwithstanding, Sous-Lieutenant Remy has been busy acquiring an impressive career in exploration over the past four years, having recently summited Mont Blanc, Mount Elbrus, and Aconcagua. Remy is leading a team of surveyors and biologists to investigate the Mount Nimba region for possible creation of a nature preserve.