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      great resentment felt in Great Britain over the attacks on Gibraltar 
      or over firing on the white flag at Dakar.
 
      
 
 
His Majesty's Ambassador has been instructed to return a reply 
      in the following sense to the French Ambassador for communication 
      to M. Baudouin.
 
      
 
 
(1) His Majesty's Government are and always have been prepared 
      to enter into discussions with the French Government at Vichy 
      with a view to avoiding misunderstanding and friction. When M. 
      Baudouin sent a message through the French Ambassador at Madrid 
      suggesting a modus vivendi regarding the French Colonial Empire, 
      His Majesty's Government replied at once with a request to be 
      told in greater detail what M. Baudouin had in mind. No answer 
      was received and since then the French forts and French ships 
      at Dakar have fired on British war vessels when iRvited to parley, 
      and French aircraft have bombed Gibraltar without warning. In 
      spite of these hostile acts, His Majesty's Government are still 
      ready to enter into talks with the French Government. But two 
      points must be made clear from the outset -
 
      A.Should the French armed forces again attack British vessels 
      or British territory, such as Gibraltar, His Majesty's Government 
      will immediately retaliate with all their force against the French 
      Colonial ports and territory.
 
      B/