Memorandum by Joseph P. Walshe
'Recognition of Monsieur de Laforcade as Minister of the new French
Government in Dublin'

I informed Monsieur de Laforcade to-day that, since the Pétain Government had ceased to exist and the de Gaulle Government was being set up in Paris, we now accepted him in the fullest sense as Minister of France. In consequence, we accepted his Government as the Government of France and we had instructed Mr. Murphy to go to Paris at the earliest possible date and make contact with the new authorities there. We were not sure whether these instructions would reach Mr. Murphy within any reasonable time and whether on account of the difficulty of communications and transport, he would be able to get to Paris for another six or eight weeks.¹ Meanwhile, we should be glad if he would inform his Government by the quickest means of the new situation. Our country did not want to play politics with France. Our sole interest was to remain on friendly terms with his country, and we did not feel called upon to make any special declaration of recognition, our assumption being that, when a Government was established in France, it was exclusively the business of the French people. We preferred to regard ourselves as having been in continuing relations with France, and we hoped for that and other reasons that it would not be necessary for Mr. Murphy to present new credentials. His credentials had been presented in 1938 to the Head of the French Republic, and the new Government, in so far as we were concerned, did not constitute any change in France's governmental régime.

Monsieur de Laforcade expressed his gratitude for our speedy recognition and assured me that he would communicate the situation to his Government at once. He was a little bit afraid, however, that his Government might ask us to change our Head of Mission because of his long relations with the Vichy Government. I at once rejected this idea, telling Monsieur de Laforcade that it amounted to an admonition to our Government for having remained neutral. Neutrality was our own exclusive business. We did not interfere in any way with French internal policy and never intended to. That was why we did not think that it was appropriate for us to make a public declaration of recognition. Mr. Murphy had acted on the orders of his Government, which he had faithfully carried out objectively and without the slightest degree of partisanship. Any proposal by his Government to change Mr. Murphy would be very unwelcome indeed to our Government. Apart from the implications already mentioned, there were other considerations. We were a small country, not long established as a State and had not yet built up an adequate personnel in our Department. Mr. Murphy was a very experienced officer and if he had to be replaced, it could only be by some junior man without any knowledge of France, or by a man near retiring age, who could not be expected to take the enthusiastic interest in his post which is characteristic of Mr. Murphy. I left Monsieur de Laforcade in no doubt whatever that the acceptance of Mr. Murphy was the expected corollary to our immediate recognition of the French Government.