M. Queuille's Tour de Force
It is such a remarkable feat for any French Government to remain in office for a whole year, that to ask for evidence of its accomplish- ments, other than that of survival, is to ask a great deal. Yet --.1ch evidence can undoubtedly be provided by M. Queuille, in the stabilisation of wages and prices, the strengthening of the exchange value of the franc, and the concomitant improvement in industrial production. And it should never be forgotten that the very survival of his Government was in itself a service performed by M. Queuille to the Fourth Republic, for last September, after a succession of inflationary crises, exhausting elections, labour troubles, and changes of Government, it began to be doubtful whether France could pull through without major changes in the fabric of the State. But now, after a year of comparative quiet, another storm is brewing, and, The reserve of energy thus built up will certainly be needed. The wage structure is a crazy patchwork of legal fictions and extra- ordinary bonuses, which stands up by external pressure rather than internal cohesion. There arc ominous new signs of a fresh rise in prices. France may have plenty of food, but the imported proportion has risen as a result of relaxations in restrictions, with the inevitable outcry from the farmers. Perhaps most menacing of all are the signs of restlessness among the Socialist Ministers, for the vacilla- tions and ambitions of the Socialists have done as much harm to France since the war as any other single factor. And the Com- munists, although comparatively quiet, are as ready as ever to exacerbate any mischief which may occur. In the circumstances the prophets who foretell another whole year of office for M. Queuille should temper their laudable optimism with reserve. Nothing funda- mental has changed in French politics, and one miracle does not necessarily lead to another.
