France decided to grant Israel de jure recognition three weeks ago, but has been waiting for some sign of recognition of Israel from the Arabs because of the fact that the French Empire is to a great extent composed of Moslems, a Foreign Ministry spokesman announced here today. He said that formal negotiations between the Arab states and Israel are the kind of recognition for which the French Government is looking.
A final, official decision will be reached within the next 48 hours, depending upon international developments. A meeting of the Council of Ministers has been called for Wednesday to discuss the issue. Meanwhile, authoritative sources deny reports that France has changed its mind on the U.N. partition decision. They point out that the French Government is particularly interested in the partition plan since it provides for the internationalization of Jerusalem.
Andre Blumel, president of the French Union of Zionists, today charged Claude de Boissanger, French representative on the U.N. Palestine Conciliation Commission, with having been anti-Semitic in the past. He referred to de Boiasanger’s loyalty to the Petain regime and the fact that he served as San Francisco consul for the Vichy Government in 1941. Blumel said that de Boissanger once commented on the appointment of a Jew to office by Gen. Charles de Gaulle as follows: “You may Judge who de Gaulle is by the name of his representative.”
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