synarchy movement of empire book ii - Pierre Beaudry's Galactic ...

conditions are catastrophic or dishonorable, I hope the Marshal,
cured of his illusions, will agree with us that we must continue the
war…And the French people, when they learn that an honorable
peace is impossible, will be ready to support the supreme sacrifices
which we will have to ask of them.}" He made no mention of the
fleet.
Chautemps argued that continuing the war from North
Africa would be perceived by the French people as an irresponsible
act of deserting them in their most needed hour of calamity. Thus,
the deception that Chautemps was introducing in the debate was
the perfidious appearance of being just in the eyes of public
opinion. This was a typical politician {save the face} trick to
provide each and every member of the Council for a way to cover
their asses, while all of them already knew that the Germans would
not be "moderate," and that they, themselves, had no intention to
"continue the war."
2- Reynaud immediately saw this as a cleaver trick, because to ask
for the {conditions} of an armistice was the same thing as calling
for armistice itself; and that once you had stepped into that trap,
you had already accepted to stop the fighting, and you could no
longer retract yourself.
Reynaud argued that first, a cease-fire would cost less lives
because it would be effective immediately, and secondly, it would
give France a second chance to win on the side of its British and
potential American allies; while an armistice would take several
days, cause more French lives, and give no chance whatsoever of
winning.
That evening, Reynaud wrote in his diary: "{I then had a
few seconds of debate within myself which were the gravest of my
life…If I resigned, I would be playing Chautemp's game. My
successor would open the way for Petain and his partisans to make
an armistice…I therefore agreed to transmit the demand [to the
British], but on condition that I specify it came from the majority
of the cabinet.}" (Shirer, p.812)
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