French and British leaders move towards agreement to maintain ‘peace in Europe’
Lloyd George proposes German and Russian involvement in economic reconstruction
Paris, 9 January 1922 – The leaders of France and the United Kingdom are reported to be in discussions to reach an agreement that would ‘guarantee the maintenance of peace in Europe’.
It is understood that the agreement being worked out between the premiers of the two countries – David Lloyd George and Aristide Briand – will be based upon arrangements included in the Treaty of Versailles which it proved impossible to enforce owing to the non-ratification of the United States. In particular, it is believed that an alliance will be created that will guarantee support to France in the event of aggressive action against it.
Reports of these discussions between Mr Lloyd George and Mr Briand have come against the backdrop of an ongoing conference of the supreme council of allies which opened in Cannes on 6 January and at which the premiers of Belgium and Italy, a delegation from Japan and the U.S. ambassador to London are in attendance. During the plenary session of the conference, Mr Lloyd George noted that Great Britain was suffering from the effects of the war more than any other allied power. Significantly, however, he said that while Germany must be made to pay reparations in full, to push the country beyond its limit would be to plunge Europe into bankruptcy, for the whole global economy was built on national interdependence.
The British Prime Minister added that the conference needed to move beyond the issue of reparations to consider a scheme for the reconstruction of trade in Central and Eastern Europe. His suggestion was that a further economic conference that would include representatives from Germany and Russia should be held without delay.
British Pathé footage of world leaders at the conference in Cannes in January 1922
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
