No. 243 :
M. Georges Bonnet, Minister for Foreign Affairs, to M. BARGETON, French Ambassador in Brussels. Paris, August 25, 1939, 11 p.m.

I SEND you herewith the French Government's reply to the broadcast appeal by His Majesty the King of the Belgians, which you should communicate without delay to the Prime Minister.

"The noble and magnanimous appeal made by His Majesty the King of the Belgians in the name of the representatives of the Oslo group of States meeting at Brussels has been welcomed by the French Government with keen and profound sympathy.

"The contributions which France has made on every possible occasion to the service of peace, her constant anxiety that all differences between peoples should be settled by peaceful means, can leave no doubt as to the general attitude of the French Government; it remains always ready to cooperate in any initiative aimed at creating an atmosphere favourable to the easing of the international situation.

"On the other hand, it is resolved not to accept any settlement imposed by violence, or under threat, and believes that this attitude contributes to the cause of peace, and, at the same time, to the creation in Europe and throughout the world, of conditions in which the independence of every state would be guaranteed and the respect of their most sacred rights assured."

Georges Bonnet.