PARIS -- A new French revolution raged in Paris today and it was like Bastile day in the streets as Allied forces battled the Germans.
(The Paris radio credited McGlincy with being the first foreign correspondent to enter the capital, CBS said in New York.)
Crowds of Parisians eagerly followed the battle and took cover only when shells came their way.
Many persons held telephone lines open to give running commentaries to friends not in the area of combat. Others made appointments for celebrating the victory with companions.
Open Upon Nazis
Our tanks crossing the Seine opened fire against German positions in some Renault factories while machine guns began harassing them.
(This dispatch did not give the location of the Renault factories involved. Some are on the Isle of Swans, southwest of the Champs de Mars.)
French and American forces stabbed into Paris preparing to battle the heavy German forces. They fought for barricades and houses. They fought with rifles and machineguns and sometimes they fought with their hands.
(Crediting McGlincy with being the first foreign corespondent to enter the capital, the Paris radio this afternoon read his dispatch to its audience, CBS reported in New York.)
And the French citizens of Paris fought beside the soldiers. They fought like their forefathers did under Danton and Robespierre.
"Vive la France" is the cry, says the Morning l'Humanite. That is the war cry of the Parisians armed to the teeth to repulse the Hitler horde.
I came into Paris behind the first French troops in armored cars last night amidst rifle shots.
I was informed that another French column had reached (the name of the town, evidently in the Paris outskirts, was undistinguishable because of atmospheric interference) last night at 10 o'clock.
We followed our planes into the outskirts this morning amid rolls of artillery bursts from our batteries and there seemed to be no opposition in front of us.
Streets Jammed
When the people heard the Americans had arrived they crowded the streets. Lights flashed on in all the nearby buildings. We tried to tell the people to put out the lights but it was no use.
The lights of Paris had been out too long.
As I write these words I can still hear the fighting nearby.
As I came into town, thousands of people lined the streets; old veterans of the last war; the young boys of the FFI-everybody dancing up and down.
They cried and sang the Marsellaise and cried and sang some more.
They shouted, "Thank you! Thank you!"
They hung flags from houses and all the windows they could find-British, American and their own French flag.
Plenty of Kisses
They climbed all over our Jeeps; they dismounted from their bikes and they kissed us. Lord, how they kissed us! I don't think it was possible to be kissed by so many people so many times in such a little while.
And so the excitement goes on In the streets of Paris.
The foregoing dispatch was recorded by the National Broadcasting company from radio Paris. The broadcast opened with the following words:
"This is James McGlincy calling the United Press in New York and London."
Two other times during the broadcast McGlincy identified himself.
A part of the broadcast was unclear because of atmospheric conditions but McGlincy indicated he might have written the dispatch in the Paris police station.
