have been wonderful. She’s the best actress in Hollywood, at least for me.’
‘Surely one of them,’ Stahl said. Time to deflect , he thought, and said, ‘What sorts of things do you do in Paris, Monsieur LaMotte?’
‘Just another businessman,’ LaMotte said apologetically. ‘I’m the managing director of the Rousillon company, in Epernay.’ He raised his glass so that the light caught the bubbles and said, ‘Rousillon Brut Millésime – we’re drinking our champagne.’ And, his tone slightly amused, added, ‘And if you haven’t heard our slogan, it’s “Champagne, the only drink you can hear.”’ He held the glass to his ear and listened theatrically.
Stahl imitated the gesture, but he’d had the glass long enough that the characteristic fizzing sound was no longer audible.
‘A fresh glass, perhaps,’ LaMotte said. He looked around, but the servant with a tray of glasses was on the other side of the room.
‘He’ll get here,’ Stahl said. ‘It’s very good champagne.’
‘Thank you, but to tell you the truth, I find my other work more absorbing.’
‘And that is?’
‘I’m one of the directors of the Comité Franco-Allemagne. Do you know what that is?’
‘Forgive me, but I don’t.’
‘You’d know if you were living in Paris,’ LaMotte said. ‘It was started in 1930, by a German called Otto Abetz, a simple drawing teacher in the public schools of Karlsruhe whose father had been killed in the war. The basic idea was that German and French veterans of the war would work together to keep it from happening again. And it’s been something of a success, because veterans, men who’ve actually done the fighting, are highly respected in both countries.’
‘That sounds like a very worthwhile undertaking,’ Stahl said. ‘The baroness was talking about something similar.’
‘Rapprochement,’ LaMotte said. ‘Do they have the word in English?’
‘You don’t often hear it, but it’s used. To mean the re-establishment of harmony, of good relations. The baroness was describing her own experience, here in Paris.’
‘She’s a great supporter. She’s terribly rich, you know, and very generous. This is the sort of organization that’s only effective if it has money to spend. We were, from the beginning, often in the news, in the papers and on the radio, and even in Time magazine. We sponsor visits, back and forth, meetings in Paris and Berlin, we hold the occasional press conference, and we’re always available to react as political events unfold – we’re trying to deal with problems in Czechoslovakia right now, but it’s not easy.’
‘What’s your approach?’
‘Anything but war. That’s always our approach. And the public in Europe has been very sympathetic – in Paris, Berlin, London, everywhere. We’ve worked hard for that. About four years ago, for instance, I suggested we build an organization for young people – they must learn early how terrible war is. The idea was, French youth and German youth would together create a bridge of understanding, to work together for rapprochement, for mutual respect and reconciliation. We have summer camps – free summer camps – and a magazine, Notre Temps , our times, that’s widely read and reports on all our activities.’
‘Nothing wrong with that,’ Stahl said.
‘You wouldn’t think so, would you. But we have our enemies, particularly from certain political factions who do nothing but press for French rearmament.’ LaMotte shook his head, more than a little anger in his expression. ‘And who will bankrupt the nation to do it. Spending millions of francs on warplanes and cannon while the needy go unfed. When the states of Europe try to intimidate their neighbours with new guns and ships, the next step is war, as we learned in 1914 to our great sorrow.’
‘Then you are, perhaps, a pacifist?’
LaMotte shrugged. ‘I’m just an honourable businessman who loves his country. But these people will have
‘Surely one of them,’ Stahl said. Time to deflect , he thought, and said, ‘What sorts of things do you do in Paris, Monsieur LaMotte?’
‘Just another businessman,’ LaMotte said apologetically. ‘I’m the managing director of the Rousillon company, in Epernay.’ He raised his glass so that the light caught the bubbles and said, ‘Rousillon Brut Millésime – we’re drinking our champagne.’ And, his tone slightly amused, added, ‘And if you haven’t heard our slogan, it’s “Champagne, the only drink you can hear.”’ He held the glass to his ear and listened theatrically.
Stahl imitated the gesture, but he’d had the glass long enough that the characteristic fizzing sound was no longer audible.
‘A fresh glass, perhaps,’ LaMotte said. He looked around, but the servant with a tray of glasses was on the other side of the room.
‘He’ll get here,’ Stahl said. ‘It’s very good champagne.’
‘Thank you, but to tell you the truth, I find my other work more absorbing.’
‘And that is?’
‘I’m one of the directors of the Comité Franco-Allemagne. Do you know what that is?’
‘Forgive me, but I don’t.’
‘You’d know if you were living in Paris,’ LaMotte said. ‘It was started in 1930, by a German called Otto Abetz, a simple drawing teacher in the public schools of Karlsruhe whose father had been killed in the war. The basic idea was that German and French veterans of the war would work together to keep it from happening again. And it’s been something of a success, because veterans, men who’ve actually done the fighting, are highly respected in both countries.’
‘That sounds like a very worthwhile undertaking,’ Stahl said. ‘The baroness was talking about something similar.’
‘Rapprochement,’ LaMotte said. ‘Do they have the word in English?’
‘You don’t often hear it, but it’s used. To mean the re-establishment of harmony, of good relations. The baroness was describing her own experience, here in Paris.’
‘She’s a great supporter. She’s terribly rich, you know, and very generous. This is the sort of organization that’s only effective if it has money to spend. We were, from the beginning, often in the news, in the papers and on the radio, and even in Time magazine. We sponsor visits, back and forth, meetings in Paris and Berlin, we hold the occasional press conference, and we’re always available to react as political events unfold – we’re trying to deal with problems in Czechoslovakia right now, but it’s not easy.’
‘What’s your approach?’
‘Anything but war. That’s always our approach. And the public in Europe has been very sympathetic – in Paris, Berlin, London, everywhere. We’ve worked hard for that. About four years ago, for instance, I suggested we build an organization for young people – they must learn early how terrible war is. The idea was, French youth and German youth would together create a bridge of understanding, to work together for rapprochement, for mutual respect and reconciliation. We have summer camps – free summer camps – and a magazine, Notre Temps , our times, that’s widely read and reports on all our activities.’
‘Nothing wrong with that,’ Stahl said.
‘You wouldn’t think so, would you. But we have our enemies, particularly from certain political factions who do nothing but press for French rearmament.’ LaMotte shook his head, more than a little anger in his expression. ‘And who will bankrupt the nation to do it. Spending millions of francs on warplanes and cannon while the needy go unfed. When the states of Europe try to intimidate their neighbours with new guns and ships, the next step is war, as we learned in 1914 to our great sorrow.’
‘Then you are, perhaps, a pacifist?’
LaMotte shrugged. ‘I’m just an honourable businessman who loves his country. But these people will have
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