The act of rallying the Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon islands to the Free French movement at the end of 1941 was the direct cause of the conflict between de Gaulle and Admiral Muselier. The origin of that conflict lies in 1940 and 1941, when the two men decided to rally the archipelago for reasons which partly differed: out of principle for de Gaulle(to maintain French sovereignty on the islands), out of pragmatic considerations for Muselier (to use the islands and their sailors for the maritime war in the Atlantic Ocean). De Gaulle's principles explain why he was so uncompromising towards the Americans and the Canadians, from whom he concealed the plans of the operation. The pragmatic considerations of Muselier, on the other hand, made him inclined to make make concessions to the Allies, and the admiral resented having a policy of principles imposed upon him "dictatorially" to the detriment of the policy based on opportunities that he advocated in order to soothe the feelings of the North Americans.
