When Italy stabbed France in the back in 1940, Ambassador André François-Poncet told Mussolini's Foreign Minister and son-in-law, Count Ciano: "Remember, France is immortal! You will pay for this!"
Last week Gaullist France condescended to offer a forgiving but not forgetting hand to defeated, degraded Italy. Paris granted Rome limited diplomatic recognition, agreeing to exchange "delegates" who will have the personal rank of ambassador but will not be fully accredited until Italy has paid & paid.
This decision was a triumph for Italy's Catholic, conservative Foreign Minister Alcide de Gaspari, a Tyrolian who was once a member of prewar Austria's Bundestag...
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