In May 1950, in an article in the journal Union française et parlement, Léon Boutbien, Member of the Steering Committee of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) and Adviser to the French Union, welcomes the revolutionary nature of the Schuman Plan for a coal and steel pool and considers the issues surrounding the plan, in particular the attitude of socialist activists and the position of the British.

‘Dr Schuman’s Bonn Am “Pool” for renazification’. On 12 June 1950, in the Communist daily newspaper L’Humanité, French cartoonist Deran harshly criticises French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman’s plan for a coal and steel pool, which, in his view, with the help of the United States (the ‘Truman’ chest on Uncle Sam’s hat) and the support of Germany’s war industry, will result in German remilitarisation and renazification. Deran depicts Robert Schuman as seemingly flouting all the decisions taken at the Allied conferences in Yalta and Potsdam.

In 1951, the press officer at the Dutch Embassy in Paris drafts a note on the reactions of the general public and the French press to the challenges of the Schuman Plan.

In an address to Members of the Council of the Allied High Commission for Germany, Jean Monnet recalls the origins and the fundamental objectives of the Schuman Plan and defines the scope of the powers held by the ECSC High Authority.

On 10 May 1950, the French Communist daily newspaper L’Humanité violently attacks the Schuman Plan and describes it as a new step towards war.

On 11 May 1950, in an article published in the French daily newspaper Le Figaro, Raymond Aron focuses on the economic and political scope of the plan to pool European coal and steel output.

Following the French declaration on the pooling of Europe’s coal and steel resources, the French daily newspaper Combat identifies the obstacles to be overcome in the implementation of the Schuman Plan.

On the day after the 9 May 1950 Declaration by Robert Schuman, the French daily newspaper Le Monde analyses the implications of the future European single market.

On 11 May 1950, Robert Bothereau, Secretary-General of the CGT-FO [the combined French General Trade Union Confederation and Workers’ Union] expresses his hope that European unity will be achieved progressively.

On 11 May 1950, Gaston Tessier, President of the CFTC [the French Confederation of Christian Workers], expresses his agreement of principle with the Schuman Plan.