326 Commonwealth Government to Cranborne
Cablegram 275 [1] CANBERRA, 23 October 1944
TOP SECRET MOST IMMEDIATE
Your telegrams D.1564 [2], D.1570 [3] and 286 [4] of 19th October.
We welcome the proposal to recognise the present French
administration as the Provisional Government of France and will be
glad to convey Australian recognition in terms similar to those
used in your telegram D.1570.
2. In view, however, of the presence in Canberra of a French
Charge d'Affaires [5] we feel that we should communicate this to
him for transmission to his Government rather than through Mr.
Duff Cooper.
1 Repeated to the N.Z. Prime Minister as no. 231.
2 Document 324.
3 Dispatched 20 October. On file AA:A989, E44/350/4/6. It conveyed
the text of the communication referred to in Document 324,
paragraph 8.
4 On the file cited in note 3.
5 On 3 January Cranborne advised that the French Committee of
National Liberation in Algiers agreed to an exchange of diplomatic
representatives with Australia. (See cablegram 2 on file AA:A989,
E44/350/5/5/1.) The initial French appointee as Minister to
Australia, Jacques Coiffard, proved unnacceptable to the
commonwealth Govt (see Evatt's unnumbered cablegram to Duff Cooper
of 12 April, on file AA:M100, April 1944) and it was not until 12
December informal Royal Approval was given for the appointment of
Pierre Auge as French Minister to Australia. (see Bruce's
cablegram 173A of 12 December, on file AA:M100, December 1944.)
Following recognition of the French provisional Govt on 23October,
however, Roger Monmayou, Secretary of the Free French Delegation,
became Charge d'Affaires. F. H Stuart arrived in Paris as Charge
d'Affaires on 7 June 1945 to establish the mission in France.
[AA:A989, E44/350/4/6]
