The Élysée Palace, official residence of the President of France.
CHAPTER 12 – ABUSE OF POWER
11:02 (Paris Time)
Tuesday, August 30, 1932
Department of Army Weapons Technical Direction
French War Ministry, Paris
France
“Can’t you accelerate on reopening that reserve production line? Our ammunition stocks are quickly evaporating with all that shooting in China… Okay, I will tell General Lemieux. Do your best in the meantime.’’
The department administrator of the Army Weapons Technical Direction had barely time to put down his telephone receiver when five men entered his office, apparently introduced in by his secretary. The functionary rose from his chair to greet them.
“Yes, gentlemen? What may I do for you?’’
The leading man stepped forward and offered his right hand while answering him.
“Good morning, Monsieur Daoust! My name is Alphonse Pinault, Aide to Prime Minister Herriot. I was told that you were the one in charge of explosives production for the Army.’’
“Among other things, Monsieur Pinault.’’
“Good! I came here on the request of the Prime Minister and am escorting those four gentlemen from the Soviet Ministry of Defense, who came to France to learn about the production process of our Metallex explosive. Could you get them copies of the chemical process we use to produce Metallex?’’
Fernand Daoust felt both alarm and suspicion at once: Despite having been in production at French state arsenals since 1912, Metallex high explosive was still classified as a national secret, with complete interdiction to export it to other countries.
“Monsieur Pinault, I need to remind you that the formula and the production process of Metallex are classified ‘Secret, For French Eyes Only’. It cannot be exported to any other country and is for use only by French forces. To make an exception to those rules, I would need the express, signed permission of both the Minister of War and of Miss Tasha Lenoir, the scientist who invented Metallex in 1912. Do you have such permissions?’’
From amiable, the expression on Pinault’s face changed to annoyed.
“No, but we came under the authority of the Prime Minister in person, who made a promise to the Soviet government to help them develop their own Metallex production line. Since the Soviet Union is the ally of France in the war against China, the need for this should be obvious, no?’’
“Maybe, but the security rules concerning the secret of Metallex are very strict and cannot be broken. Even if Minister Boncourt signed up on this, you would still need to get the written approval of Miss Lenoir, the inventor of Metallex. When she gave us the formula of Metallex and allowed us to produce it in our state arsenals, it was under the express condition that only French forces would have access to Metallex and that it would never be exported or its production license given to another country. Any violation of those contract clauses would result in the immediate loss for us of the production license for Metallex, which would revert to being the exclusive property of Miss Tasha Lenoir.’’
“But, that’s nonsense! We are at war! Do we really let a simple woman dictate our defense policies?
“In this case, yes, Monsieur Pinault! I am sorry, but I will have to refer this to a higher authority.’’
Daoust was reaching for his telephone receiver when Pinault took a step forward.
“Do you realize what could happen to you by contradicting like this the express will of the Prime Minister? Who are you calling?’’
Daoust gave the aide a dubious look, not intimidated one bit.
“Rules are rules, especially where army weapons are concerned. I am calling Major General Lemieux, the head of the Army Weapons Department.’’
“Screw General Lemieux! Prime Minister Herriot can replace him at will, like he can replace you in an instant.’’
Now fully on his guards, Daoust eyed hard the political aide.
“Mister Pinault, I find your insistence on this subject highly suspect. If you threaten me further, I will have to call in security.’’
That shut up Pinault long enough for Daoust to get General Lemieux on the line. On hearing what was going on, Lemieux became angry.
“I don’t care what this political hack says. Exporting such an important military secret as the formula and production process of Metallex would have been first discussed between me, Minister Boncourt and Miss Lenoir before anyone would have gone to see you. This reeks of political opportunism. Tell these men to come and see me but don’t give them any classified information on Metallex. In the meantime, I will advise Monsieur Noël, of the Sûreté Générale, of this irregularity.’’
“Understood, General.’’ replied Daoust before hanging up and looking frostily at Pinault and at the four Soviets.
“General Lemieux is expecting you in his office, gentlemen. I am sorry, but I can’t help you.’’
“Your obtuseness will be reported to the Prime Minister, mister.’’ spat Pinault before leaving with his followers.
Before Pinault’s group could negotiate the long corridors of the War Ministry and arrive at General Lemieux’s office, the latter had the time to place a quick call to Léon Noël, whose Sûreté Générale was in charge of protecting state secrets and installations, and to place a second call afterwards. The response he got on that second call was definitely not a happy one.
“WHAT? I never gave my consent to give to the Soviets the formula of my Metallex explosive. They would be in fact about the last people I would want to get that formula. General, I can assure you that the Prime Minister never approached me on this subject and that nobody asked for my consent on this. This, in my opinion, is a very dangerous development and deserves to be taken very seriously. When those people will get to your office, tell them that I refuse to allow my Metallex to be exported to the U.S.S.R. or to give them its formula. If anything, I would suggest that the security around the plants producing Metallex should be reinforced. The Soviets may try to get clandestinely what they couldn’t get by political means.’’
“I agree, Miss Lenoir. Uh, do you have any idea why Prime Minister Herriot would try such a stunt, miss?’’
“Yes! Crudely speaking, our good Prime Minister is a communist stooge and an ass-licker of the Soviets. He believes everything that Party Secretary Trotsky tells him and wishes to introduce communist policies and practices in France. To be frank, I still don’t understand what the French voters were thinking when they elected him and his clique.’’
“Well, me neither. Be assured that I will be firm with his aide, Miss Lenoir. Have a good day.’’
At the other end of the line, in Buc, Tasha Lenoir was pensive as she put down her telephone receiver. Of all the inventions that she had made the French government benefit from, that of the Metallex explosive was easily the most sensitive one, no puns intended. The destructive power of Metallex was so great, being 3.6 times that of TNT at equal weight, that she simply could not face the possibility that its secret could spread around the World. War was already a terrible thing, but war on a world scale with the general use of Metallex by all combatants would be beyond terrible. If fact, only a nuclear war could top such horror. She thus just could not take any chances that the secret of Metallex could be passed to such an unscrupulous, uncaring bunch as the present Soviet government, simply because the French Prime Minister was a communist stooge. This was clearly a good time to fully use her considerable hidden political powers, she thought while composing a new number.
17:04 (Paris Time)
Office of the President of the Republic
Golden Room, Élysée Palace
55 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 8th Arrondissement
Paris
Édouard Herriot was hiding his irritation as he was being introduced in the study of the President of the Republic: no doubt that this last minute call for him to come to the Élysée Palace had to do with the raucus raised by his aide’s visit to the War Ministry this morning. He certainly had not expected the strong reaction that had come from that visit, which he had expected to go with little or no trouble. However, according to Pinault, he had slammed into a particularly obtuse and rule-bound functionary, who had then called his superior in the ministry, thus starting this whole thing. Inside the Golden Room, he found President Albert Lebrun sitting behind his polished work desk, a stern expression on his face. Notably, Lebrun stayed sitting and didn’t come to him to greet him, instead speaking to Herriot in a cold voice as a valet closed the door of the office behind Herriot.
“Prime Minister Herriot, I was informed that you sent your aide to the War Ministry, along with four Soviet explosives experts, where they tried to obtain copies of a chemical process that is classified ‘Secret, For French Eyes Only’. Is that true?’’
“It is, Mister President, but I can easily explain why I sent him there.’’
“Then, go on!’’
Taking first the liberty of sitting down on a chair near the President’s work desk, the short but solidly built Herriot then spoke up, his tone assured.
“Mister President, the Soviets are presently fighting our common enemy, Japan, and are helping distract the attention of many Japanese divisions that otherwise would have gone down to Shanghai to oppose our units there. By allowing the Soviets to be able to produce their own Metallex explosives, we would multiply the efficiency of their forces and thus also increase their ability to help our own forces in China. It is as simple as that, Mister President.’’
“Then, why go by such a sneaky way as in this morning, instead of following the official procedure to have a secret declassified? Well, I will tell you why: because you would have been rebuffed, and for very good reasons. Yes, the Soviets are presently our allies against the Japanese, but their policies also are often the opposite of ours and, whether you accept that reality or not, the fact is that the Soviet Union is presently a one-party state and a dictatorship. Once we give the secret of Metallex to the Soviets, then there will be no way to reverse the results of that. Metallex has ensured French military dominance against our adversaries for twenty years now. It gave our forces the superior firepower that allowed us to crush the Prussians in 1914, thus saving our country from being invaded and occupied. It also helped us sink a British battle fleet when it tried to rob us of our just portions of our spoils of war in 1915. More recently, our Metallex-filled missiles, shells and bombs helped our navy to sink the bulk of the Japanese Navy and to obliterate Japanese command centers in Japan, thus saving us from possibly losing Indochina to a Japanese invasion. Us having the exclusive use of Metallex-filled munitions ensures the long-term security of France against all its enemies, present and future ones. That is why the formula and production process of Metallex is still a French state secret and will stay so forever, Prime Minister Herriot.’’
“Aren’t you exaggerating the importance of that Metallex, Mister President?’’
“Not one bit, Herriot. You know that I was educated as a mining engineer. As such, I know and understand well the power of explosives and their use. As War Minister in 1913, I was one of the few politicians and officials who watched a comparative demonstration of the power of Metallex against dynamite and TNT and that demonstration deeply impressed me. Well, I am not ready to let such a powerful weapon become available to a foreign government as unpredictable as that of the Soviet Union. That you tried to give to the Soviets the secrets of Metallex via such a sneaky way proves to me that you perfectly understood the implications of your actions and that you consciously chose to favor your sympathies for a foreign government over the long-term security of France. Coming from a common French citizen, I would call that ‘treason’. Coming from the Prime Minister of France, I call that ‘high treason’. I thus relieve you of your post as Prime Minister and dissolve your cabinet as of today. Furthermore, I have asked the Sûreté Générale to bring legal charges of high treason against you. Consider yourself assigned to residence until the start of your trial for high treason.’’
Suddenly red with anger and fury, Herriot jumped on his feet and shouted at Lebrun.
“YOU CAN’T DO THAT! YOU DON’T HAVE THE LEGAL AUTHORITY TO DO SUCH THINGS AND RELIEVE ME AS PRIME MINISTER. ONCE THE PARLIAMENT WILL LEARN ABOUT THIS, IT WILL BE YOU WHO WILL BE THROWN OUT!’’
Lebrun’s reaction was to look up at him with barely disguised contempt.
“I don’t think so, Herriot. The leaders of both the Senate and of the Chamber of Deputies have been briefed by me on this affair just before your arrival here and agreed with me that your actions have made you unfit to be Prime Minister of France. An interim Prime Minister will be named by me until new national elections can be arranged. You may now go to your private residence, but the Hôtel Matignon, being the official residence of the Prime Minister of France, is now out of bounds for you. And please don’t try to leave France.’’
That was all too much for Herriot, who was a man easily angered. Shouting his rage, he charged Lebrun’s desk like an angry bull, intent on going around it to grab the President by his collar. That was when Lebrun raised his right hand, unmasking the small, strangely shaped pistol he had been hiding under his desk. The pistol simply produced a weak buzzing noise for half a second, but that was enough to send Herriot crashing nose first on the carpet, knocked out cold by Lebrun’s stun pistol. The President was contemplating the unconscious Herriot when the director of the Sûreté Générale, Léon Noël, rushed in the President’s office with a stun pistol in his hand and with two presidential bodyguards right behind him. Noël had one quick look at the inert Herriot before eyeing with concern Lebrun.
“Are you alright, Mister President?’’
“Yes, my good Noël. Decidedly, this little pistol is amazingly effective : Herriot never had a chance to touch me at all.’’
“Well, Miss Lenoir’s inventions rarely disappoint, I must say.’’
“Indeed! Since he tried to attack me physically, I suppose that Herriot is now going straight to a cell.’’
“Definitely, Mister President. Jacques, Paul, pick up Herriot and cuff him, then bring him to the cells at the Sûreté.’’
Noël watched with Lebrun as the unconscious Herriot was carried out of the office, then looked at the President.
“The political repercussions of this affair could be severe, even though your actions were perfectly legal and justified. For one thing, a new cabinet will have to be formed and a new Prime Minister named. Since we are presently at war with Japan, France cannot afford to be without a government for very long. May I ask who you have in mind to replace Herriot, Mister President?’’
“The first name that comes to my mind is that of Gaston Doumergue, my predecessor as President just before the short tenure of Paul Doumer. While he is now officially retired from politics, he still is a very popular man in France and is well respected by all. However, if he accepts to become interim Prime Minister, he will still have to name a cabinet that will be both effective and acceptable to the Chamber of Deputies. That is not going to be an easy job.’’
A crazy idea then came to the mind of Léon Noël, who gave a mysterious smile to Lebrun.
“Mister President, I just had an idea that could help Doumergue in his new job…if he accepts it, of course.’’
“Go on!’’ said Lebrun, immediately interested to hear that idea.
09:59 (Paris Time)
Wednesday, August 31, 1932
Town hall plaza, town of Tournefeuille
West of Toulouse, High Garonne District
Southern France
The few people present in the downtown plaza of the small town of Tournefeuille, which counted just over 900 inhabitants, had to move out of the way when a SUPER COLIBRI approached for a vertical landing. Those Tournefeuille citizens were then able to see that the aircraft was painted the colors of the French government service. Only seconds after landing on the pavements of the plaza, the rear cargo ramp of the VSTOL transport was lowered and a big, shiny black Kruger PRESTIGE limousine with a small French flag flying from its front right corner slowly rolled out of the aircraft. It took up speed as soon as it was off the ramp and then drove down one of the streets connected to the plaza. Mere minutes later, the limousine stopped in front of a large but modest-looking house situated on the outer edge of the small town.
Jeanne-Marie Doumergue was washing a few fresh vegetables she had just picked up in her small garden when she saw through the window of her kitchen a big limousine stop in front of the house. She immediately stopped her work and turned around to shout at her husband, who was reading the morning newspaper in their lounge.
“GASTON, YOUR VISITORS ARE HERE.’’
“I WILL TAKE CARE OF THEM. THANK YOU!’’
Gaston Doumergue, a small man who was now 69 years old, hurried to the main door to receive his visitors, who had called him last night to warn him that they would come today. Gaston gave President Lebrun one of his typical affable smiles for which he was famous.
“Mister President, I am truly pleased by your visit. I am however a bit surprised by the presence of Miss Lenoir and Miss Hien with you and Director Noël.’’
“They came at my request, Gaston. I am afraid that we have to discuss things that are both urgent and highly sensitive. Do you have a place where we could talk in strict intimacy?’’
“Of course! Follow me to my private study. Would you like my wife to bring us something to drink, tea, coffee or wine?’’
“Maybe later, Gaston. Thank you for the offer.’’
“Then, this way, please.’’
The group of three men and two women then went up to Doumergue’s private study on the upper floor of the house, a small room with a view on the farmers’ fields bordering the town. The ex-president excused himself with a smile as he brought extra chairs in the small study.
“I am sorry if my study is a bit tight for a group meeting: this house actually belongs to my wife Jeanne-Marie, so I had to take whatever room was available for my private study. Requisitioning my wife’s own study would have been rude…and ill advised.’’
Tasha grinned at his last sentence.
“Aaah, a man who is sensitive to his wife’s needs and wishes: I like that!’’
Doumergue nodded his head in response while taking place in his work chair behind his desk. He then gave a sober look to Lebrun.
“So, what is happening, Albert? The President of the Republic does not normally pay visits like this one to retired politicians, unless something important is at stake. That you came with the biggest private employer in France only reinforces my suspicions.’’
“You are right, my friend: something important and also worrying happened yesterday in Paris. Basically, I was forced to have Herriot arrested on charges of high treason.’’
That made Doumergue stiffen in his chair, while his eyes widened.
“My God! What did he do?’’
“He tried to give French state secrets to the Soviets.’’
Lebrun then spent some two minutes to explain the events of the preceding day in Paris, both at the War Ministry and at the Presidential Office. That left Doumergue shaking slowly his head in disbelief.
“I knew that he was enamored of the Soviets, but to try to give them the secret of Metallex… That certainly qualifies as high treason in my books, especially now, while we are at war with Japan. So, you need me to become Prime Minister and form a new cabinet, that’s it?’’
“Yes, if you accept, of course. However, the constant ministerial instability that we have witnessed in the last few years tells me that the way ministerial cabinets were formed is flawed and needs to be changed. We tried many times to create some kind of national political unity by forming ministerial cabinets with members coming from the various parties represented in Parliament. However, those cabinets too often ended up being dysfunctional, because the ministers all had different opinions on how to do things, or refused to listen to each other. That in turn resulted in governments that too often stood for only a few months to a year before having to be dissolved and replaced. Hell, since the start of 1930, the country has seen no less than seven different governments. This is no proper way to govern France, especially in a time of war.’’
“First off, I accept to take the post of Prime Minister. Next, what do you propose that we do about the cabinet, Albert? We can’t just ignore the political reality in the Chamber of Deputies, which is pretty much controlled by leftist parties at this time.’’
“What I believe should be done would be to form a more homogenous cabinet with ministers who would collaborate and communicate with each other, instead of each following their personal beliefs and methods. Some non-political ministers could also be named to add true expertise in the domain of their ministries.’’
“Is that last point why you brought Miss Lenoir and Miss Hien with you on this visit?’’
“Not really, Gaston. Both of those ladies are already very busy administering and directing important sectors of our private economy, while Miss Lenoir also spends much of her time doing advanced scientific research, research that has greatly helped France to become the most advanced nation on Earth. However, they could advise you from time to time, using their, uh, ‘special and unique experience’, to help you find innovative solutions to political or economic problems.’’
That made Doumergue, who knew about Tasha’s and Hien’s big secret, look sharply at Léon Noël.
“And Monsieur Noël, does he know…’’
“He does, Gaston.’’ answered Tasha Lenoir. “I revealed my secret to him two months ago, after I provided to the French security services my new stun pistol. You can thus discuss freely with him that aspect of me and of my three friends.’’
“Good! That will simplify a lot this conversation. Do you already have some recommendations or counsels in mind for me, Miss Lenoir?’’
“I do have a few, Gaston, and please, simply call me Tasha.’’
“Very well, Tasha.’’
“Excellent! First, I would caution you not to forget that the World is presently going through a severe economic depression. While France has up to now been able to avoid the kind of economic and financial troubles that the Americans, Germans, British and many others are experiencing, our national economy is not immune to that depression. One way to keep avoiding that depression is to continue with our present interventionist policies of public works and vigorous exportation of our goods. The Americans have made the mistake of cutting their government expenditures to the bone while attempting to keep to a balanced budget. In reality, they are only fuelling more unemployment and plant closures. They further worsened their situation with their stupid import tariffs, which only resulted in retaliatory tariffs by the other nations of the World. Furthermore, they still haven’t understood fully how their lax banking regulations and policies contributed to the creation of that depression and have yet to tighten those banking and stock trading regulations. On the interior front in France, don’t lose sight of the expectations of the average French citizen: keep them happy and employed while helping the more unfortunates via social measures and you will avoid the kinds of riots and workers strikes the other countries of Europe are experiencing these days. I know that this sounds quite like the policies advocated by leftist and socialist parties here in France, but I happen to personally believe in them: trying to satisfy only the higher classes of your society always end up badly. Practicing social policies will also keep the French leftist parties off your back…mostly. On foreign affairs, be firm and pass the interests of France first and foremost. The present fighting in China may be a big burden for the French treasury, but we must fight it to the finish and ensure that Japan will no longer be able to represent a danger to us or to our overseas colonies in the Pacific. That’s it in a nutshell for the moment, but don’t hesitate to call me or Hien whenever you will need new advices from us.’’
Doumergue, like Lebrun, nodded his head while listening to Tasha.
“All sound advice, Tasha. I will do my best to beat it inside the brains of my future cabinet ministers. Uh, can you tell us something about what you know about the next future years of France. What else can our country expect in the next decade or so?’’
“I am sorry, Gaston, but the historical files we had with us when we were accidentally transported to the year 1912, instead of the Paris of the year 2624, were very limited and vague. Those files predict a world war that was supposed to be triggered by Germany in 1939, but the way the First World War played out for us, going on for only six months and ending with the crushing of Germany, did change many of the parameters that would otherwise lead to a war in 1939. Germany is still a demilitarized state and the main German troublemakers who would have caused this war are either dead or out of the game. On the other hand, we have a Soviet Union under Party Secretary Leon Trotsky that advocates the exportation of the Bolshevik Revolution to the ‘bourgeois’ countries of the World. That Soviet Union is by the way very different from what our historical files said about the U.S.S.R. in this century, so I would be hard pressed to tell you what to expect from it today. As for Japan, it basically started its war with China as predicted, but has now managed through the arrogance and thirst for power of its militarist leaders to find itself alone in China while fighting the Chinese, us, the Americans and the Soviets. Its military power is alread