A minor episode in French politics was big news for Europe last week: for the first time General Charles de Gaulle and the French Communist Party clashed openly. Strengthened by recognition, the French Government decreed that the Communist-led Patriotic Militia (Milice Patriotique) must surrender its arms. The Patriotic Militia is a group of irregular home guards not connected with the F.F.I. A small group before liberation, the militia has grown rapidly since then.
Five days later the Political Bureau* of the French Communist Party refused to accept the order, but the Cabinet's two Communists held on to their jobs.
Said the Politburo's statement:...
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