KD                           Paris
This telegram must be              Vichy
closely paraphrased be-
fore being communicated            Dated August 1, 1941
to anyone.  (SC)
                              Rec'd 7:22 a.m., 2d
Secretary of State,
     Washington.
     
     970, August 1, 4 p.m. (SECTION FOUR)
 
     I asked them if they had no fears that when the
 
Russian campaign has progressed further the Germans
 
may turn toward Africa. Darlan replied, "Everyone
 
is interested in Africa ourselves, the German, the British 
 
and the United States. But as I have told the Marshal for 
 
the past year, it will be the Germans who will get there first. 
 
They can close the Straits and land in Spanish Morocco. 
 
We have means of defending ourselves against a landing 
 
from the sea but we cannot prevent, with our lack of equip-
 
ment, a land operation from the Spanish Zone. My son has 
 
just returned from Spain and counted 120 batteries of artillery 
 
directed against Gibraltar and they did not look to him like
 
Spanish guns. It would be simple enough for the Germans
 
to take a force across to Morocco, but they are not
 
interested themsselves in that area. What they fear is
 
British, American or Gaullist move. They did not
 
even send a control commission to Africa until the de Gaulle