It is, as I have said, extremely difficult for an English reader to realize what French political life really is, for it is so very [Pg 252] different from political life at home, and though it might more easily be compared perhaps to the political life of the United States it differs in many ways and in many essentials from that also. But French political life does resemble the political life of America in one way, in contrast to the political life of England. Its very foundation is familiarity, and the French politician is not generally respected by his compatriots as one who knows more than themselves. He is admired as one who has more cunning. The French used to take pride in the familiarity with which they treat their politicians, for familiarity such as is the mainspring of France’s politics used to be called Egalité, and is still one of the words, in this disguise, with which the French politician loves to conjure2, and succeeds in conjuring3, votes out of an empty hat.
If I were asked to name the most powerful political class in modern France I should plump for the marchand de vin. The marchand de vin, the keeper of the little wineshop, with the zinc4 counter and the little tables with their stone tops beyond it, which is the equivalent of the [Pg 253] English public house, is quite the most powerful electoral agent existing in France, and he is recognized as such by every French politician. At election times, or for that matter, at any time, no French politician can afford to neglect him, and he controls votes without number in every town, every village, and every district throughout the length and breadth of the country.
So true is this that every Government is obliged to recognize the fact of the marchand de vin’s importance, and each succeeding Government is put in the curious position, as it succeeds the Government before it, of being obliged, on the score of public morality, public health, and public well-being5 to discourage the consumption of strong drink in words, and to encourage it in act. There are laws in France which permit certain people to make and to sell alcohol. Governments from time to time have endeavoured to remove or to restrict the privileges which these manufacturers of alcohol enjoy, but they have never succeeded because the bouilleurs du cru as they are called, are much too strong for them and much too strongly backed. Each succeeding [Pg 254] Government knows, or if it does not recognize the fact at first, the fact is very soon made clear, that everybody connected with the wine and spirit industry must be conciliated if votes are to be obtained, and retained, and although France has for a good many years now called herself a republic she is really a monarchy6 under the thumb of a despot, whose name is King Marchand de Vin, and who is only nominally7 under the control of Parliament. Parliament controls the marchand de vin nominally, perhaps, in France, but as the marchand de vin elects the members who form Parliament, as the marchand de vin controls and regulates the votes of the many-headed, the marchand de vin reigns9, and will continue to reign8 supreme10, for France will not stop drinking wine till England abjures11 beer.
To the observer who has the advantage of aloofness12 as his point of view, the thing which impresses more than anything else as the principal characteristic of French politics is their selfishness. This peculiarity13 is almost as remarkable14, perhaps even more remarkable, than the curious complications of the many political parties. To begin with, in studying the parties the first thing which strikes one in addition [Pg 255] to their number is the fact that they are all, with the exception of the Royalists and Imperialists who call themselves Conservatives, as advanced or more advanced than any party at all in either England or in Germany. The German Socialist15, for instance, of the reddest type, has tenets which, if he were a Frenchman, would probably make him vote with the very moderate Left, and Monsieur Millerand, who used to be looked upon as such a dangerous Socialist not very long ago is now considered by the Socialists16 themselves old-fashioned and reactionary17, while Monsieur Briand is in French eyes a very moderate reformer, if he be considered a reformer at all.
But here I am beginning the impossible task of attempting to divide French politicians into parties, and explaining the views of these parties in plain language. I must not allow myself to be led away, by the Chinese puzzle fascination18 French party politics invariably exercise, to attempt this task. I could not succeed, for by the time this book is on the market French parties will no doubt have changed and shaken down again into other and different shapes, for French political combinations hold together as cohesive19 forces with little [Pg 256] more certainty than the bits of coloured glass in the kaleidoscope. Every time a question of the least importance gives a turn to the handle, the parties of the day, the week, or the month before disintegrate20 and fall into other combinations of infinite shades of colour.
But we may talk of the selfishness of French politics, for this, unfortunately, does not change. In a country where politics are so mixed that the elector understands very little about them, it is not difficult to catch votes by arguments of another kind. Our business just now being with the Caillaux drama, it may not be a bad method of explaining how French politicians gain the authority to govern, by some sidelights on the election at Mamers of Monsieur Joseph Caillaux. Immediately after Madame Caillaux had shot the editor of the Figaro dead her husband resigned office. He was of course obliged to do this. Immediately after his resignation he announced that he intended to retire from public life entirely22, and would take no part in politics in the immediate21 future. He had hardly made this announcement, which I mentioned on page 79, before he changed his mind, and announced that [Pg 257] owing to the insistence23 of his constituents24 he would be a candidate for re-election when the general election took place, but that he would not canvass25, and that his friend Monsieur D’Estournelles de Constant would canvass for him, while he himself would remain in the retirement26 demanded by the situation of his wife. A very few days after this second change of plans Monsieur Caillaux changed his mind once more and determined27 to canvass Mamers. He has been re-elected. It is not uninteresting to glance at the reason why.
Any foreigner might have imagined that there was no possible chance for any body of electors to re-elect Monsieur Joseph Caillaux as their representative. The fierce light which played so recently and so unsparingly on his political career had scarcely shown him to be a desirable member of Parliament. It would be difficult, one would think, for Frenchmen to vote for the man who had made such a number of mistakes, and who had been connected, as Monsieur Caillaux was connected, with the negotiations28 disclosed in the chapters in this volume on Agadir and the affaire Rochette. But the foreigner would [Pg 258] not realize, and Monsieur Caillaux realized, very conclusively29, that the peasants of the Sarthe district cared little or nothing for the revelations in the Paris Press, and cared a great deal for Monsieur Caillaux’s personality.
To anybody who has not lived among them, the ignorance of the French peasant in the country districts on the affairs of his country must be incredible. How crass30 this ignorance can be may be imagined from the absolute fact that in many parts of Monsieur Caillaux’s constituency the electors, who have returned him to the Chamber31 of Deputies again, are absolutely convinced that Monsieur Calmette is not dead at all, and that the story of his murder by Madame Caillaux has been put about by Paris journalists merely to do Monsieur Caillaux harm. The peasants of the Sarthe believe, in many cases, that Monsieur Calmette is still alive, and is keeping out of the way, in hiding somewhere. “Tout ?a, c’est des histoires de Parisiens” is the popular view. The distrust of the townsman in general, and of the Parisian in particular, which prevails in many French country districts and in Normandy and Brittany [Pg 259] even more than elsewhere, was a remarkable asset for Monsieur Caillaux when he asked for the suffrage32 of the Sarthe peasantry.
Some idea of this asset and the way in which he used it can be obtained from his letter to his constituents in which he thanks them for electing him. The letter, which is dated “Mamers, May the 1st,” has been posted on the walls all over the constituency. “My dear friends,” writes Monsieur Caillaux, “How can I express my gratitude33, and my emotion? In spite of the pressure exerted by the whole strength of the reactionary parties, in spite of the money which flowed like water, in spite of an unqualifiable campaign of calumny34 and of lying, the constituency of Mamers has given me a majority of nearly 1500 votes over my opponent.” [Pg 260]
“You have avenged35 your deputy for the odious36 attacks and the defamation37 of which he has been the object. You know that their origin was his love of peace, which was made clear in the treaty of November 4, 1911 (this is the Agadir treaty), and his wish to make rich men contribute more freely to the expenses of the country.
“Once more I thank you from my whole heart. More than ever I will be the untiring defender38 of your rights and of your interests. More than ever I will do my utmost to ensure to France and the Republic order, stability, and reform. Believe, my dear friends, in my affectionate devotion to your interests.
“J. Caillaux.”
Does not this letter breathe with surprising clarity humbug39 of the broadest? Whatever one may think of Monsieur Caillaux, no one has yet accused him of poverty, and his opponent in the Sarthe was quixotic enough to refrain from much mention of the Caillaux drama at election time, so that the campaign of calumny was purely40 imaginary. And, to top everything, when he did mention it and the Rochette case in a final poster, Monsieur Caillaux challenged him to a duel41, for “maligning the electors of Mamers!” The duel was “fought” before journalists, photographers and the cinematograph. The snapshots show that Monsieur Caillaux fired in the air, and his opponent fired into the ground. So [Pg 261] everybody laughed, and “honour was satisfied.” But Monsieur Joseph Caillaux is looked upon as a victim in the Sarthe! The peasants there understand nothing and care less about foreign politics. They approve Monsieur Caillaux’s opposition42 to three years’ military service, because Germany is far away and is only a name to them, and they prefer their sons to be called away from the land for two years instead of three. They approve Monsieur Caillaux’s suggestion of taxing the rich, because they have never troubled to understand it, and it sounds good to them, and most of all, and above all, they approve of Monsieur Caillaux because he is rich, powerful, and generous in his constituency.
It must be understood that I am using Monsieur Caillaux and the Sarthe as an example of the conditions which prevail in many parts of France. The French elector in many of the country districts is decidedly more ignorant than one could believe possible, and in almost all parts of the country he is selfish. Here, again, I may be allowed to quote some of the electioneering literature of the Sarthe to show the kind of benefits which appeal to French electors. Political considerations, [Pg 262] benefits to the nation, national defence, big projects—“Tout ?a c’est des balivernes”—is the French peasant’s verdict. A candidate who is wise will, if he wants to gain favour in a constituency, tell his constituents as little as possible about political measures and as much as possible of the things concerning them directly which he has done in the past, and which he hopes to do in the future. The drainage of a village will gain more votes than the most important law imaginable for the benefit of France. Monsieur Caillaux, or rather his friends, reminded the people of the Sarthe that Monsieur Caillaux had obtained for them heavy subventions from the Pari-Mutuel for the support of a hospital, that in the last few years he had secured over ￡4000 for them from the Government for local interests, that all kinds of institutions had been helped, that the nuns44 had been well treated (oh! Monsieur Caillaux!), that this village had a new pump, and that one a new road, in a word, that owing to the power of Monsieur Caillaux, and the cleverness of Monsieur Caillaux, and the influence of Monsieur Caillaux, the peasants of La Sarthe had obtained, and were likely to obtain, greater advantages than the peasantry of any other part of France as long as he remained their member. [Pg 263]
These were the reasons which caused Monsieur Caillaux’s re-election, and these are the reasons which militate above all others in France at election times. The natural result of elections conducted on the narrow-minded basis of selfish advantage is that the deputies, when they are elected, are as selfish as their constituents’ reasons for electing them have been. I suppose every country has the government which it deserves. The French are very certainly governed by a body of men who do not neglect their own interests. I do not mean to imply that they do neglect those of their country, but I do say that the conservation of power and their own welfare take the first place in their minds, and that is so certain that “L’Assiette au Beurre,” which expression we may translate “The Cream Jug” is dipped into very freely by members of all parties who have access to it, in every French Parliament. The principal vice43 of the government of France, to my mind, [Pg 264] is the payment of deputies. The class of man is growing in France who serves his country because his country pays him six hundred pounds a year to do so, and because there are plenty of pickings over and above the annual stipend45 of ￡600. A French deputy makes very free use of his right of free travel on all the railways, supplies his family and friends with free stationery46, economizes47, through his influence, in countless48 little ways, money which the ordinary citizen has to spend from the fruits of his labours. The French politician is essentially49 a professional of politics, places party considerations above all others, because these keep him in power and allow him access to the “cream jug,” and is not in the least ashamed of using his influence for personal benefit either directly or indirectly50.
I do not think it unfair criticism to point out that it is this mentality51 which makes for such corruption52 in French politics as we had to deplore53 at the time of the Panama scandal, for such corruption as was seriously suspected during the progress of the Rochette case, and for the undue54 use of influence which is considered quite natural on the [Pg 265] part of individual members of the governing bodies of France, by which I mean not the Government alone, but also the Chamber and the Senate, which undue use of influence culminated55 in the shameful56 apotheosis57 of the scene in the room of the Prime Minister which resulted in the postponement58, with its consequences, of the trial of the financier Rochette. The inner history of the Caillaux drama differs in details from the inner history of other French scandals, but it differs very little from them in essentials. In every case when one of these unsavoury ulcers59 on France’s fair name festers and bursts we find the same pus in it. The root of all the evil is the inherent selfishness of the French character, and I am not disinclined to believe that there is a great deal of inherent dishonesty too at the root of the evil. A Frenchman will often refuse to keep a promise in commercial matters because the man to whom he made it can produce no written proof that the promise was given. Business men will refuse business interviews without the presence of a witness. There are severe laws in France compelling, under severe penalties, the restoration to the unknown [Pg 266] owner through the police authorities of anything of value found lying about. But ask anybody who has picked up money in the street what he would do with it if nobody saw him pick it up. The Frenchman is frank. He will laugh and will maintain his right to pocket this find, because if he loses anything he knows that the person who finds it will pocket it if he dare. I have seen respectable Frenchmen swindle other respectable Frenchmen out of a halfpenny in a Paris omnibus. It is not the halfpenny that is important, it is the mentality which underlies60 the theft. It may seem a far cry from the theft of a halfpenny to the Rochette scandal, but you can trace the connexion very easily if you care to think the matter out. And if you think it out with care, you cannot fail to see that this basis of selfishness, permeating61 upwards62 through every vein63 of French private, public, and political life, has been directly responsible for the Caillaux drama and for the results which that drama has had and will have on the life of France in the future.
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1
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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conjure
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| v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法 | |
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conjuring
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| n.魔术 | |
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zinc
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| n.锌；vt.在...上镀锌 | |
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well-being
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| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
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monarchy
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| n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国 | |
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nominally
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| 在名义上，表面地； 应名儿 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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reigns
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| n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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abjures
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| v.发誓放弃( abjure的第三人称单数 )；郑重放弃（意见）；宣布撤回（声明等）；避免 | |
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aloofness
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| 超然态度 | |
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peculiarity
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| n.独特性，特色；特殊的东西；怪癖 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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socialist
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| n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的 | |
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socialists
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| 社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 ) | |
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reactionary
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| n.反动者，反动主义者；adj.反动的，反动主义的，反对改革的 | |
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fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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cohesive
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| adj.有粘着力的；有结合力的；凝聚性的 | |
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disintegrate
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| v.瓦解，解体，（使）碎裂，（使）粉碎 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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insistence
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| n.坚持；强调；坚决主张 | |
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constituents
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| n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素 | |
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canvass
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| v.招徕顾客，兜售；游说；详细检查，讨论 | |
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retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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conclusively
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| adv.令人信服地，确凿地 | |
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crass
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| adj.愚钝的，粗糙的；彻底的 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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suffrage
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| n.投票，选举权，参政权 | |
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33
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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calumny
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| n.诽谤，污蔑，中伤 | |
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avenged
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| v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 )；为…报复 | |
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odious
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| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
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defamation
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| n.诽谤；中伤 | |
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defender
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| n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人 | |
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humbug
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| n.花招，谎话，欺骗 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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duel
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| n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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nuns
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| n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 ) | |
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45
stipend
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| n.薪贴；奖学金；养老金 | |
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stationery
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| n.文具；(配套的)信笺信封 | |
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47
economizes
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| n.节省，减少开支( economize的名词复数 )v.节省，减少开支( economize的第三人称单数 ) | |
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48
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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51
mentality
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| n.心理，思想，脑力 | |
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52
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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53
deplore
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| vt.哀叹，对...深感遗憾 | |
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54
undue
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| adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的 | |
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55
culminated
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| v.达到极点( culminate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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apotheosis
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| n.神圣之理想；美化；颂扬 | |
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58
postponement
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| n.推迟 | |
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59
ulcers
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| n.溃疡( ulcer的名词复数 )；腐烂物；道德败坏；腐败 | |
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60
underlies
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| v.位于或存在于（某物）之下( underlie的第三人称单数 )；构成…的基础（或起因），引起 | |
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permeating
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| 弥漫( permeate的现在分词 )； 遍布； 渗入； 渗透 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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vein
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| n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络 | |
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