M. Briand Departs
Though the manner of his going did not in every way become him, the disappearance of M. Briand from the French Cabinet is an incident of historical importance. That it marks the end of a chapter is by no means certain. Reports as to the real state of the late Foreign Minister's health differ, and it may be that a period of rest will restore his vigour. But the mere fact that he has laid down an office which he has held without a break since 1925 is an event in itself. A standard-bearer of the Left in some Cabinets, M. Briand was something of a prisoner in others, including the administration from which he finally resigned. As representative of France at Geneva and other international conferences he always showed the best side of France (the Naval Conference at Washington in 1921 was a signal exception), and he played an undeniably great part in Europe. Locarno was one landmark in his international career, the initiation of the Kellogg Pact negotiations another, and his personal relations with Dr. Stresemann went far towards creating the Franco-German detente so lamentably invisible to-day. A cynic on the surface, he has, in fact, advanced unswervingly in the past seven years towards a goal, European reconciliation, to which a deep earnestness impelled him.
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