



Dr Victoria te Velde-Ashworth





· The 1940 suggestion for union almost certainly originated with the French, rather than Churchill. The idea seems to have come from Jean Monnet - the "father" of the European Community, then with the French economic mission in London - together with the French ambassador and an official of the British Foreign Office. De Gaulle saw many practical objections but, given the circumstances, agreed. Churchill also agreed and later the same day De Gaulle phoned the then French prime minister, Paul Reynaud, with the text of a proposed declaration. Reynaud was overjoyed, but his Petainist-dominated cabinet scuttled the idea. Like being married to a corpse, said Petain, believing like many of his supporters Britain could not hold out for long. A Petain supporter thought that it would reduce France to the status of a British dominion, saying: "Better to be a Nazi province. At least we know what that means."

Ivor Shelley

London