FRANCE: Laval v. Leahy

The diplomatic tug-of-war between the U.S. and Germany for the favors of Vichy was so tough last week that worn old Marshal Petain must have felt that he was being torn limb from limb. For the moment, U.S. diplomacy seemed the stronger, but there was always the chance that Germany would abandon diplomacy for destruction.

While robust Ambassador Admiral William D. Leahy tugged for the U.S., Adolf Hitler threw into the contest Germany's best friend in France, the political contortionist Pierre Laval, a man so abhorred by masses of Frenchmen that no mention...

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