in the autumn of 1943. At a dinner in October, there was a fascinating conversation between de Gaulle and Monnet on post-war Europe. Monnet outlined his vision of a unified European entity including France and Germany. De Gaulle was sceptical: ‘You need to take account of traditions. Never after this war will you put the Germans and the French together in the same grouping.’ Instead he envisaged some kind of economic bloc which could include the Rhineland (which he no longer saw as part of Germany) and perhaps also Italy. It would have close ties to Russia and Britain, although Britain would
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