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    The United States' retaliation against France came directly and swiftly. Under Eisenhower's instruction, Congress immediately canceled economic aid to France.  And the Secretary of State also issued a tough warning to France.  In Eisenhower¡¯s view, this was a warning, asking De Gaulle to rein in his efforts.  According to the think tank around the five-star general, the French should give in.  Yes, in the eyes of the Americans, France's approach to the Soviet Union was actually a blackmail method by gangsters. It was nothing more than following the Soviet Union's pretext to extort more economic aid.  As long as the United States shows the French a little kindness, the French will soon become honest.  But something unexpected happened to the Americans. After de Gaulle learned that the United States had suspended economic aid to France, he announced two things: "The first is to restore tariffs on American goods and ban the import of some American goods. Secondly,  It was announced that a preferential and interest-free loan agreement had been signed with the Soviet Union. "These two pieces of news hit the Americans hard like a sap. Only then did they realize that the French were not a blackmail method at all, but a blackmail method.  I mean it.  Suddenly the Eisenhower government was a little panicked, especially the big donors behind Eisenhower were quite dissatisfied.  For example, the DuPont Group was very angry and asked Eisenhower to solve this problem immediately.  So why is DuPont so angry?  As the world's leading chemical group at the time, DuPont took advantage of the Marshall Plan to successfully occupy the French market during World War II.  For a time, it was like a fish in water in the French market.  And now De Gaulle has announced that a large part of the goods imported from the United States are DuPont's chemical products. If the French really do this, DuPont's sales in France will show a diving trend.  Do you think DuPont would be happy?  As a major financial backer that supported Eisenhower¡¯s coming to power, DuPont was quite influential in this U.S. government.  And Eisenhower quickly felt the impact.  Not only DuPont, General Manager of General Motors, who is now the Secretary of Defense Wilson, also immediately came forward to warn the president: "Some General Motors products are also on the list of French import bans This aroused strong concern from the General Motors Board of Directors, and the Board of Directors  I hope you, President, will solve this problem as soon as possible" "Well, Eisenhower was a little overwhelmed. A series of American companies sent representatives or congressmen to lobby. For a while, he, the president, was in a state of despair.  In desperation, Eisenhower could only send Secretary of State Dulles to France for consultations, hoping to find a way to solve this problem.  So are the talks between Dulles and de Gaulle still going well?  How to say it?  I'm afraid it's not that ideal for Dulles. That's not to say that De Gaulle doesn't like Dulles at all.  De Gaulle was not that stupid. De Gaulle's attitude was blameless, and he even kept his attitude very low.  It stands to reason that Secretary of State Dulles can be received by the Prime Minister or the Minister of Foreign Affairs, but de Gaulle personally went to greet the US Secretary of State. In his words to reporters: "The French people will never forget the American people's love for France."  In order to express our sincere gratitude to our American friends, it is appropriate for me to go and greet him in person.¡± I have to say that de Gaulle was so smart, and his low profile won unanimous appreciation.  Even those French people who previously thought he was more friendly to the Soviet Union than his allies, or who were simply close to the United States, have also changed their views on this somewhat domineering president. In later generations, the fashionable terminology is to say that they have turned from bad to bad or turned from bad to bad.  In short, his low profile made his approval rating even higher.  Later, De Gaulle proudly said to his friends: "Just by lowering your profile, I won a lot of public support. This deal is a great deal. And it also put the Americans on the fire!" Why did De Gaulle say that he would  What did the Americans set on the fire?  Because Dulles's attitude during his visit to France was very clear. Not to say that he was completely tough, but at least it was relatively tough. To put it bluntly, he was here to prosecute the enemy.  And when Dulles stepped off the ramp of the plane and saw that it was de Gaulle himself who was greeted at the other end of the red carpet, he couldn't help but be surprised.  He was definitely not flattered. Dulles was an old fox. As Secretary of State, he was actually more difficult to deal with than Eisenhower as President, because he was well versed in international politics and international relations. He often dealt with old foxes from various countries and had long been accustomed to bending them.  Winding around the door to clear.  Eisenhower was more like a professional politician. He was good at internal office politics and developing interpersonal relationships. However, his ability in international affairs was limited and he was not as sensitive as Dulles.  Seeing that it was de Gaulle who came specially to greet him, Dulles knew that this trip to France would not be easy, so judging from the photos taken by reporters later, a trace of worry could be seen in the brows of the Secretary of State when shaking hands with de Gaulle.  and seriousness.    Similar to Dulles's conjecture, although de Gaulle did not immediately come forward during the formal talks, but the French Prime Minister talked to him, the conversation was almost fruitless. The French were very firm and did not agree to cancel some of the  The ban on American goods also did not agree to suspend cooperation with the Soviet Union.  After the two sides went back and forth for n rounds, Dulles finally got fed up. He demanded direct talks with De Gaulle and gave an ultimatum: "If the French government has no intention of solving practical problems and does not care about friendship with the United States,  Then the U.S. government doesn't want to waste time. "To be honest, this is no longer something Dulles can do. He must let the French see the true attitude of the United States and force France to abandon foreign policies that are unacceptable to the United States.  But what Dulles didn't expect was that his statement was quickly exposed by the "incompetent" translator of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and French public opinion circles immediately started to boil.  As mentioned before, de Gaulle¡¯s strategy towards the United States and the Allies made some French people unhappy. This part of the French people are pro-Allies and pro-American, and they are sincerely disgusted with the corrupt Soviet Union.  But de Gaulle's humble welcome made them quite satisfied, which made some French people think that the president still respects public opinion and respects the United States.  But now that Dulles's domineering remarks came out, coupled with the deliberate guidance of the relevant French departments, this group of French people who were originally pro-American were very angry. Although this group of people were pro-American because of their ideology,  It's beautiful, but essentially you still love your motherland. If your motherland has done everything it should do, and the Americans are still aggressive, then they will think that it is the United States that is at fault.  Dulles¡¯ private ultimatum aroused the anger of all France. Many radical French people even put up slogans demanding that Dulles be ousted and withdraw from NATO immediately. This was almost unimaginable a few years ago.  And Dulles knew that he had been cheated. Needless to say, this must have been de Gaulle's instruction, otherwise a mere translator would have dared to leak diplomatic secrets.  But Dulles was deceived and there was nothing he could do about it. Although the French did not act authentically, he still said these words, and he had to say these words. If he were to do it again, he would still do it.  An ultimatum of sorts.  An old man like Dulles will not show mercy in the field of diplomacy, so even if the French public opinion is one-sided and shouts that he should be killed, he will not be moved. Since the French are shameless, then he can be shameless. Who is afraid of whom?  !  Therefore, he was quite tough in the talks with De Gaulle, almost explicitly threatening De Gaulle: "If the French government does not end its insistence on going its own way, it will soon be isolated. The U.S. government will do everything possible to safeguard the common interests of its allies. Mr. President, please think again."  Then go ahead!" After saying these words, Dulles left directly. In his opinion, what should be said has been said. If the French still don't know how to advance or retreat, then there is no need to talk nonsense.  So what is de Gaulle¡¯s attitude?  Judging from the later memoirs of several of De Gaulle's confidants, De Gaulle seemed very calm, not to mention calm, at least mentally prepared for the American threat.  On the evening of the day when the unpleasant meeting with Dulles ended, de Gaulle suddenly delivered a speech to the nation.  This national speech was so sudden that many French people were caught off guard, because de Gaulle¡¯s speech was shocking: ¡°Many citizens are paying attention to the negotiations between us and the US government. According to the Americans, the main reason for this negotiation is  It's because of the Soviet Union. Yes, many people will echo this opinion and think that France's closeness to the Soviet Union caused this crisis. However, I want to tell the people across the country that this is not the fundamental reason for this crisis.  Hegemonism, Americans believe that they are the saviors of Europe, that they can dominate and determine everything in Europe, and that we must live according to the way the U.S. government wants, as if we are puppets of the United States, and we want to alienate the Soviet Union because of the needs of the United States.  , to open up our own market, and to make our workers lose precious employment opportunities. This is just the beginning. The Americans have prepared a noose for us. If we don't resist, they will pull it tighter and tighter  France will always be free. We refuse to be enslaved, exploited, and live according to the American way. This is the root of this so-called crisis. Free French people must say no to American hegemony because our freedom is high.  After a pause, de Gaulle continued: "My meeting with the US Secretary of State was not pleasant. The Secretary of State told me what I must do and how to do it with American arrogance. He thought he was not even the Emperor of France."  He told me without threats that if I didn't do this, France would be despised by its allies. I knew the subtext of his words. It was nothing more than a warning that if I didn't obey, France would be kicked out of NATO.  Let us face it aloneThe threat from the United Nationsah, what a direct threat!  The Americans thought I would give in, and now I want to tell him that I refuse to accept the threat, because I know that millions of French citizens refuse to accept the threat like me Well, some citizens may indeed be worried about the Soviet threat, worried about the Soviet Union  I am also worried that nuclear bombs will fall on our homeland, so this afternoon, I conducted emergency consultations with the Soviet Union through a special hotline, and now I want to tell you the results of the consultations. The French government and the Soviet government have reached an agreement.  The two governments jointly pledged not to use nuclear weapons against each other first, and Soviet nuclear missiles will no longer target France!  !  " De Gaulle's speech ended here. He did not continue because he thought that all that needed to be said was said. The French would naturally understand what he meant, and the French should also be very happy with the results he had achieved. " Of course,  We all know that such a major agreement cannot be concluded in one afternoon. In fact, France and the Soviet Union have been talking about this issue for a long time. A draft was reached before Dulles visited France. With Dulles¡¯ strong power  The last resistance that prevented the French from signing the formal agreement was gone. For the French, the most important role of NATO is the nuclear protection of the United States. Once the Soviet Union announced that it would no longer actively threaten France,  This protective effect has been greatly weakened. On the contrary, because of the domineering Americans, the French will be very dissatisfied. This nation is very emotional. Once the rebellious mentality breaks out, no one can stop Dulles.  After hearing de Gaulle's national speech, he realized that he had fallen into a trap. As a skilled diplomat, he naturally knew the tricks in the agreement. It was very likely that France and the Soviet Union had already reached an agreement and were waiting for him.  The reason is very simple. A major event like withdrawing from NATO must have a reasonable excuse, and his overbearing US Secretary of State is undoubtedly the best excuse. For De Gaulle, the only thing he worries about is not the threat from the United States.  , but the real French public opinion, what if the French people can support it willingly, so what if they withdraw from NATO? In other words, Dulles was really used to figure out all this.  Dulles was so angry that he no longer had the shame to stay in France and flew away without saying hello. The French media frankly expressed their disgust in the newspaper and wrote: "Dulles is out!"  ¡± But what¡¯s more interesting is that Dulles left, but de Gaulle did not immediately announce his withdrawal from NATO. In fact, he had no expression on this, as if he had forgotten the existence of NATO. Because he is no longer an angry youth and will not  He can do things impulsively. He can indeed withdraw from NATO, but this is only a temporary pleasure. After all, the French people are just angry now, so they haven't tasted the taste yet, but once this anger is over, maybe they will again.  Change your mind, so voluntarily withdrawing from NATO is not the right thing to do. Stay calm for the time being and let the Americans have a headache! (To be continued.) a
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