Marshal Petain Research Articles

Parades and Politics at Vichy: The French Officer Corps Under Marshal Petain

Parades and Politics at Vichy: The French Officer Corps Under Marshal Petain

The Front Populaire—After Thirty Years

On 14 July I935 a mass meeting was held in the Buffalo Stadium at Montrouge on the outskirts of Paris. It was under the auspices of the Communists, Socialists, Radicals, CGT, and a number of other political groups, and it marked in effect the launching of the Front Populaire. The proceedings ended with an oath 'to remain united to defend democracy, to disarm and dissolve the factious leagues, to place our liberties out of reach of fascism. We swear', the oath continued 'on this day which reminds us of the first victory of the Republic, to defend the democratic liberties conquered by the people of France, to give to the workers bread, to the young people work, and to the world a great human peace'. And in the afternoon a crowd, estimated by the police at 00oo,ooo strong, marched in procession from the Bastille to the Cours de Vincennes. The foundation of the Popular Front raised hopes and fears which were to increase over the next year; and the Fourteenth of July celebrations a year later, in I936, were a festival that seemed to mark the triumph of the Front Populaire, though it was a triumph soon to turn to disappointment. In the thirty years since July I935, the aims, achievements, and failures of the Popular Front have not ceased to be the subject of lively controversy, while the character and policies of its leader, Leon Blum, continue to interest both politicians and historians. For some Leon Blum was one of those responsible for the defeat of 1940 L'homme qui a sape l'armee franfaise', as Marshal Petain called him.1 For others the government of the Front Populaire marked the first stage of an overdue social revolution in France, the effects of which are still being felt. On the left, Blum and his government have been criticized by writers such as Colette Audry and Daniel

Recent Governmental Reforms in France

In reporting to the French people on th e state of affairs in France on June 25, 1940, Premier Marshal Philippe Pétain said: “It is toward the future that. … we turn our efforts. A new order commences.” A new order in France has begun, indeed, even though the character of the French political, economic, and social institutions of the future is not yet subject to definitive determination. With large portions of her territory occupied by German and Italian troops and with all of France at the mercy of her conquerors, the Vichy government has been unable to act with that independence essential to the exercise of full sovereign power. Because of this subjugation to countries still at war, the future of France is inextricably bound up with the outcome of the present conflict. Nevertheless, the “restoration of all that is sound in French life” is well under way, according to Marshal Petain. This task has been undertake n by a government composed in a large measure of persons who have never enjoyed a wide popular following. For years, criticisms of French democratic political institutions and the practices which surrounded them were not inconsiderable and, although handicapped by the necessity of looking both to Wiesbaden and to the German authorities in Paris, the critics who repeatedly sought to discredit the parliamentary system are now having their innings. Under the normal operation of the French political system, the Pétain cabinets could not have come into power, because it is extremely doubtful whether they could have received the support of a parliamentary majority.

Benoni, one of Marshal Petain's Christian names

Benoni, one of Marshal Petain's Christian names

Benoni, One of Marshal Petain's Christian Names

Benoni, One of Marshal Petain's Christian Names

Benoni, one of Marshal Petain's Christian Names

Benoni, one of Marshal Petain's Christian Names