Wine of Victory

The proposition—to a Frenchman—was absurdly simple: if the French army is not all it once was, it is due to the fact that the French soldier is not getting enough wine. "Wine," explained Gaullist Deputy Gabriel Seynat, a physician and winegrower himself, "contains phosphates, glycerine, iron, minerals and vitamins. It furnishes the organism with tissue and energy. It aids digestion, increases cerebral activity, appeases fatigue and creates the strength to work." Moreover, continued the deputy, wine "induces a state of euphoria that gives one confidence."

Faced with such self-evident truth, France's National Assembly last week gave preliminary approval to a bill raising the French soldier's daily wine ration from 500 to 750 grams (approx.1½pts.) a day. There was not a single dissenting vote.