Chapter 88:
February 23, 1940
Paris, the ‘City of Light,’ capital of France Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Józef Beck sat with an anxious face, waiting to be called.
France, which just kept repeating that they would enter the war soon and to just wait, even as Poland's main force was entirely besieged, had exhausted the patience of Polish Inspector General of the Armed Forces Rydz-Śmigły, who finally ordered Minister of Foreign Affairs Beck to go to France himself and get an answer one way or another.
Because the German Military had blocked not only Poland's air superiority but also its only sea route, Minister of Foreign Affairs Beck had to go to Romania and take a passenger ship, finally arriving in France after a long journey.
However, by the time he arrived in France, the Radical Party cabinet, which had only repeated that they would enter the war soon and to just wait, had already undergone a mass resignation, and the French Social Party regime had taken its place.
His predicament of having to sigh heavily and wait endlessly, despite being the Minister of Foreign Affairs of a single country, seemed to show Poland's fate.
When he was finally called in, Józef Beck was able to meet the new Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of France.
“Welcome, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs. I am François de La Rocque, the Prime Minister of France.”
“I am Józef Beck, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Your Excellency, the Chancellor. It is a bit late, but as France's ally, I congratulate you on becoming Prime Minister.”