772.00/8–354: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Dillon) to the Department of State1
confidential
Paris, August 3, 1954—8
p.m.
479. Basdevant of Protectorates Ministry today gave us further details re Tunisian reform program:
- 1.
- Government being formed by Tahar Ben Ammar will include 4 French members in accordance with March 4 reforms but will in fact be all-Tunisian since latter will not participate in decisions to be reached in negotiations with French Government. Upon completion negotiations they will be replaced by Tunisians. French envisage that Government will include several Tunisians with title Minister of State whose job will be conduct negotiations. It is hoped thereby avoid mistake of ‘50 when member Chenik Government attempted negotiate and administer at same time.
- 2.
- Present French plans call for negotiation following
conventions:
- a.
- Military—supplementing and modernizing military provisions of Bardo Treaty.
- b.
- Diplomatic—providing closer definition of nature French representative of Tunisian interests.
- c.
- Cultural—providing for teaching French language in Tunisian schools, recognition diplomas et cetera.
- d.
- Civil service—establishing rights of French to existing jobs but providing that new recruitment will be Tunisian.
- e.
- Financial and economic—providing for some form of control over budgetary expenditures so long as French Government called on meet budgetary deficits and finance economic development programs. However, Minister of Finance will be Tunisian.
- f.
- Establishment—specifying status of French residents in Tunisia, their participation in various Tunisian bodies such as municipal councils, economic chambers et cetera.
- g.
- Judicial—establishing judicial arrangements applicable disputes between French nationalists, between French and Tunisian nationalists et cetera.
- 3.
- As cover to conventions mentioned above French Government now contemplates overall treaty but not certain yet whether it would replace or only supplement Bardo Treaty. It would provide for arbitration any action taken by Bey or Tunisian Government in contravention of conventions, with suspension of action until finding reached. This considered highly important for protection French interests since residential visa of beylical decrees is to be eliminated.
- 4.
- While Mendes, in his declaration to Bey, outlined general principles of new program, he avoided detailed reference to conventions French Government had in mind. However, general nature of conventions discussed by Minister Fouchet with various Tunisian personalities called to Paris for consultation and apparently found reasonable.
Dillon
- This telegram was repeated to Tunis, Malta, Rome, Tangier, and Algiers.↩