He told me that he had not been to bed the previous night and had resumed his work this morning after a bath and breakfast at Such was his preoccupation over state of affairs that he felt not a minute should be lost.
This was due firstly to his realization that some constructive action must be taken before the opening of the next U. General Assembly and secondly to the goading which he had received from M. Mendes-France on a recent visit to Paris. The French Prime Minister, according to Lacoste , was somewhat heady over the rapid solutions he had achieved in the Indo-Chinese and Tunisian crises and was anxious to bring about a similarly quick cure for Moroccan ills.
Lacoste bemoaned the fact that the Moroccan problem was not as simple as all that. In the first place the question of the Sultan complicated the undertaking of reforms. However, Lacoste stated that after seeking every possible device and after much mature consideration he had abandoned for the time being hope of finding a compromise formula as a necessary first step to Franco-Moroccan negotiations.
As a gesture of good will towards the Moroccans and a first step towards restoring confidence in France, Lacoste told me that he would announce on the radio, probably on September 9 or 10, the reform program [Page ] to which Mendes-France had given his approval. Over the past week long discussions and heated debates over the reforms had been held, according to my informant, with the Chief of Regions, Sherifian Government directors, Syndicalists, Maghzen officials, Kittani and the Glaoui.
Heavy criticism had been forthcoming, particularly from certain Chiefs of Region and directors, but the Resident General assured me that his arguments had prevailed and he hoped for loyal support from his subordinates.
