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Lead book review

The trial of Marshal Pétain continues to haunt France to this day

Was one venal old man primarily responsible for France’s catastrophe of 1940-44, or was it a case of collective failure? The question remains unanswered, says Patrick Marnham

17 June 2023

9:00 AM

17 June 2023

9:00 AM

France on Trial: The Case of Marshal Pétain Julian Jackson

Allen Lane, pp.445, 25

In September 1944, a few months after being greeted by cheering crowds in Paris, Marshal Philippe Pétain, the head of the wartime État Français, was driven across the German frontier into exile under Gestapo escort. He no longer had access to the national radio service, so, as he passed through France, typed copies of his last speech had to be thrown to passers-by from the window of his car.

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