Louvrage shows that the French system of the State was born following an unprecedented military debacle for France, whose army was blasted in 3 short weeks in June 1940. This always traumatic event in France, which is the object of dispute almost revisionist in terms of the resistance of the French armed forces (As Lions), led the Third Republic already dying to entrust full powers to Philippe Pétain, Marshal of France and conqueror of Verdun to try to save the furniture in the negotiations to bring about the passage of the cessation of hostilities in a situation of peace through negotiation of a peace treaty.
French Letat not legally nest facto power qualify as General de Gaulle but a statutory scheme. Robert Paxton shows how free France of de Gaulle was low in 1940, while the main thing of the French population had confidence in Philippe Petain. This rationality will go sinversant in 1942, when the Vichy regime was completely discredited with the French population, and Charles de Gaulle embodies a fighting France in exile.
The great mistake of the Vichy regime is to believe quune policy cooperation increasingly proactive with Germany Nazi is likely to ensure France a better place in a future dominated Europe lAllemagne. As Paxton demonstrates, Vichy will never be able BE a shield protecting the French, who will suffer terribly food rationing, and linstauration STO Pierre Laval tries well to turn in favor of the French by linstauration succession (Liberation Prisoners of war against sending French skilled workers). While Laval will remain privileged interlocutor of the Germans, they never nauront willingness to make substantial concessions in Vichy. Undoubtedly ambassador Otto Abetz he was the closest dune conciliatory position with Vichy, but his initiatives were always blocked by Ribbentrop, Goering and Hitler.
The will dopérer pseudo "national revolution" based deadly slogans, reminding "the Old regime" in what it could be worse, under the eyes of occupants, to settle old scores with lanticléricalisme of the Third Republic is an element that worsens the perception that one can have of Vichy. The double set of Vichy nickname with true / false secret negotiations with the United Kingdom and the United States is remarkably challenged by Robert Paxton, later Duroselle, ugly to the archives of the Quai d'Orsay will have the opportunity to build a more accurate history in a remarkable book entitled "the abyss: the foreign policy of France from 1934 to 1945" which shade while specifying the findings and assumptions of Robert Paxton. No surprise exam archives of Orsay quay allowed Duroselle correct some mistakes made in 1973 by Paxton.
The balance of Vichy France is trained mercilessly by Paxton total failure of the policy of "shield"; smoking attempts of secret diplomacy (the details of which were communicated to the German authorities); influence of technocrats in the ministries while lépuration with them will be very moderate (see abject case of Mr. Papon and Bousquet among others.); active and voluntary contribution in 1940 in an anti-Semitic policy (introduction of numerus clausus) and then fatal gear leading to French participation in the Holocaust.
Pinnacle of intellectual and moral collapse will be the creation of the militia, led by Joseph Darnand, which is both a psychopath and an ultra-collaborationist, whose mission will be to hunt ruthlessly with enemies of the state French: communists, resisters, Judeo-American according to the terminology in effect (see Pierre Giolitto, History of the militia).
The balance sheet na hardly changed in 2015, we read the works of Jean-Pierre Azéma, Olivier Wieviorka, Burin Philipe and Jean-Paul Cointet that are exciting and well written on a black period in our recent history, and as the saying goes "a past that does not pass."
Note that Robert Paxton said in the new preface that his book belonged to historiography of his time, and that he would one day be replaced by new work. Never na Paxton wanted to create a so-called orthodoxy as lexplique Alain Michel laboriously in his French paradox, moreover if this "historian" had actually read louvrage Paxton and Marrus published in 1981 "Vichy and the Jews," it would have been obliged to note the authors write in long, wide and across, the Vichy regime always tried to protect the Jews of French nationality; they also state that Laval was not an anti-Semite, but used the question of foreign Jews in the context of broader negotiations with the German authorities, including Karl Oberg Oberg with the infamous / Bousquet agreements. Laval loses hand in 1943, with the gradual state-of French political collapse, however, he and Petain opposed denaturalization Jews who had acquired French nationality since 1927.
However, Petain and Laval carries moral and criminal responsibility to have instructed the French police to serve laccomplissement major raids carried out in France: the toll remains terrible with 75,000 men, women and children deported to Auschwitz.
This should not hide that close to 140,000 people were deported in all, including resistance to the occupation German, regardless of whether it's Communist or Gaullist movement or other dextrême right as Colonel de la Roque and Georges Valois and much else yet : these people have done their country proud.
Of the 40,000 survivors of German concentration camps, only 2,500 Jews survived.
Moreover, if the fact of sacrificing stateless or foreign Jews, instead of French Jews may seem in the eyes of Mr. Michel a protection strategy of the state French, it is difficult or even impossible not to convict implacable moral (which is also made with great care by Alain Michel, we must at least acknowledge him that), because some might be led to think that life is worth less than foreigners the life of a French and sees lon immediately what ideology smelly hides behind France in this respect. Viewpoint moreover, under the laws of the Republic is likely to fall foul of the law
Recent work by John Paul Cointet "Hitler and France" shows that Hitler never wasnt ready to consider France as an ally but rather was preparing to disrupt the once peace came under the rule of the Nazis: he counted in do some kind of expanded Switzerland, and there is no doubt that his empire would have been shared between the regime of Francisco Franco in respect of Morocco, and the rest given to lItalie if it had remained a fascist regime; although Hitler also indicated quen last resort it reserved the choice of ultimate decisions and rule in all things.
And then the dextrême right activists should also remember quun worst collaborationist French François de Brinon General Delegate of the Vichy government in the occupied area of the claim an exemption, the French law on the status of Jews and quaux German provisions in the occupied zone, because his wife was Jewish born Frank original
For lovers of history contemporary, Robert Paxton louvrage reading remains a great way dappréhender the reality of French the state, besides the perspective of a Anglo-Saxon historian on such a sensitive issue is always welcome. Note that also the thesis of Robert Paxton on the study of the body under Vichy French officers still work that still didnt déquivalent in France. This excellent book on French army darmistice available since 2006 in the collection Point History.
