The valor of our
soldiers has won for them, at several points, marked advantages;
but in the north the pressure of the German forces has compelled us
to fall back.
This situation has compelled the President of the Republic and the
Government to take a painful decision.
In order to watch over the national welfare it is the duty of the
public powers to remove themselves temporarily from the City of
Paris.
Under the command of an eminent chief, a French Army, full of
courage and zeal, will defend the capital and its patriotic
population against the invader.
But the war must be carried on at the same time on the rest of its
territory.
Without peace or truce, without cessation or faltering, the
struggle for the honor of the nation and the reparation of violated
right must continue.
None of our armies is impaired. If some of them have sustained very
considerable losses, the gaps have immediately been filled up from
the reserves, and the appeal for recruits assures us of new
reserves in men and energy tomorrow.
Endure and fight! Such must be the motto of the allied British,
Russian, Belgian, and French Armies.
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