French Political Turmoil and Resistance in World War II
French Politics
French politics during World War II was defined by deep ideological divisions, tragic defeat, and the struggle for liberation. Following the catastrophic military collapse in May 1940, the Third Republic disintegrated, giving rise to the authoritarian Vichy regime under Marshal Philippe Pétain, which actively collaborated with Nazi Germany. Meanwhile, General Charles de Gaulle fled to London to establish Free France, calling on citizens to resist foreign occupation. Throughout the conflict, French political life was fractured between collaborationists, internal resistance networks, and exile forces fighting to restore national sovereignty. Following the Allied invasion of Normandy and the liberation of Paris in 1944, a Provisional Government was established, paving the way for the creation of the Fourth Republic and reshaping modern French democracy.
People
Birth
Death
Origin
Age (Death)
| 1841 | |
|---|---|
| 1856 | |
| 1867 | |
| 1872 | |
| 1872 | |
| 1878 | |
| 1884 | |
| 1890 |
Timeline
| Category | |
|---|---|
| Element |
| Year | French Politics |
|---|---|
| 1841 |
Birth of Georges Clemenceau (Period: September 28, 1841, Location: Mouilleron-en-Pareds (now Mouilleron-Saint-Germain), France)
|
| 1856 |
Birth of Philippe Pétain (Period: April 24, 1856, Location: Cauchy-à-la-Tour (Pas-de-Calais, France))
|
| 1867 |
Birth of Maxime Weygand (Period: January 21, 1867, Location: Brussels (Present-day Belgium))
|
| 1872 |
Birth of Léon Blum (Period: April 9, 1872, Location: Paris (France))
Birth of Maurice Gamelin (Period: September 20, 1872, Location: Paris (France))
|
| 1876 |
Admission to the Saint-Cyr Military Academy (Philippe Pétain)
|
| 1878 |
Birth of Paul Reynaud (Period: October 15, 1878, Location: Barcelonnette (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France))
|
| 1884 |
Birth of Édouard Daladier (Period: June 18, 1884, Location: Carpentras (Vaucluse, France))
|
| 1885 |
Admission to and Graduation from the Saint-Cyr Military Academy (Maxime Weygand)
|
| 1888 |
Acquisition of the Surname Weygand and French Naturalization (Maxime Weygand)
|
| 1890 |
Admission to the École Normale Supérieure (Léon Blum)
Birth of Charles de Gaulle (Period: November 22, 1890, Location: Lille (Nord, France))
|
| 1894 |
Dreyfus Affair
|
| 1895 |
Beginning of Service at the Conseil d'État
|
| 1896 |
Marriage (Léon Blum, Lise Bloch)
|
| 1897 |
Legal Education in Paris
Participation in the Dreyfus Affair
|
| 1898 |
Political Activity surrounding the Dreyfus Affair
|
| 1900 |
Marriage (Maxime Weygand, Marie-Renée-Joséphine de Forzan)
|
| 1901 |
Tactical Instruction at the École Supérieure de Guerre
|
| 1902 |
Participation in the Founding of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO)
Instructor at the Saumur Cavalry School
|
| 1908 |
Admission to the Saint-Cyr Military Academy (Charles de Gaulle)
|
| 1910 |
Beginning of Career as a Lawyer
|
| 1912 |
Appointment as Mayor of Carpentras (Édouard Daladier)
Marriage (Paul Reynaud, Jeanne Henri-Robert)
|
| 1914 |
World War I
Emergence as Social Party Leader after the Assassination of Jean Jaurès
Service as Foch's Chief of Staff in World War I
Promotion at the Outbreak of World War I
|
| 1915 |
Military service in World War I
|
| 1916 |
Command at the Battle of Verdun
Prisoners of War at the Battle of Verdun
|
| 1917 |
1917 French Army Mutinies
Appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the French Army (Philippe Pétain)
|
| 1918 |
Participation in the Diplomatic Mission to Soviet Russia
Appointment as Marshal of France (Philippe Pétain)
|
| 1919 |
Polish-Soviet War
First Election to the National Assembly (Paul Reynaud)
First Election to Parliament (Édouard Daladier)
Marriage (Édouard Daladier, Madeleine Lafont)
First Election to Parliament (Léon Blum)
Participation in the Paris Peace Conference
|
| 1920 |
Advocacy of Armored and Mechanized Warfare
Assumption of SFIO Party Leadership (Léon Blum)
Appointment as Military Advisor to Poland (Maxime Weygand)
Defense of Warsaw and the Red Army Offensive
Marriage (Philippe Pétain, Eugénie Hardon)
|
| 1921 |
Marriage (Charles de Gaulle, Yvonne Vendroux)
|
| 1923 |
Appointment as High Commissioner to the Levant (Maxime Weygand)
|
| 1925 |
Rif War
Deployment to Morocco and Command in the Rif War
|
| 1928 |
Return as Deputy for Paris
|
| 1929 |
Admission to the Académie Française
Death of Georges Clemenceau
|
| 1930 |
Appointment as Vice-President of the Supreme War Council and Inspector General of the Army (Philippe Pétain)
Appointment as Chief of Staff of the French Army (Maxime Weygand)
|
| 1931 |
Appointment as Vice-President of the Supreme Military Council (Maxime Weygand)
|
| 1932 |
Marriage (Léon Blum, Thérèse Pereyra)
|
| 1933 |
Stavisky Affair
First Appointment as Prime Minister (Édouard Daladier)
|
| 1934 |
6 February 1934 Crisis
Appointment as Minister of War (Philippe Pétain)
|
| 1935 |
Formation of the Popular Front
Retirement
|
| 1936 |
Spanish Civil War
Appointment as Minister of National Defense and French Rearmament (Édouard Daladier)
Social Reforms of the Popular Front
Attack on Léon Blum
Establishment of the Popular Front Government
Matignon Accords
|
| 1937 |
Resignation of the First Blum Cabinet
|
| 1938 |
Promotion of Financial and Economic Policies
Sudeten Crisis
Second Appointment as Prime Minister (Édouard Daladier)
Second Blum Cabinet
Third Appointment as Prime Minister (Édouard Daladier)
Munich Agreement
Munich Crisis / Munich Agreement
Opposition to the Munich Agreement
Signing of the Munich Agreement
|
| 1939 |
Appointment as Ambassador to Spain (Philippe Pétain)
Return to Active Service in World War II
Declaration of War on Germany
Winter War
|
| 1940 |
Conflict between Free France and the Vichy Regime
Founding of Free France
Detention by the Vichy Regime and Transfer to Germany
Detention during World War II
Persecution of Jews by the Vichy Regime
Promotion of Collaborationist Policies with Germany
Vichy Regime Policies in North Africa
Appointment as Prime Minister of France (Paul Reynaud)
Resignation as Prime Minister (Édouard Daladier)
Norwegian Campaign and the French Political Crisis
Command of the 4th Armored Division
1940 Armistice Debate in the French Government
Nazi Occupation of the Netherlands
French Defeat and Armistice
1940 Defeat of the French Army and the Weygand Line
Appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the French Armed Forces (Maxime Weygand)
Plan to Relocate the French Government to North Africa
French Defeat and Detention
Participation in the Vichy Regime
Appointment of Charles de Gaulle
Appointment as Under-Secretary of State for National Defense and War (Charles de Gaulle)
Resignation of the Paul Reynaud Cabinet (Paul Reynaud)
Appointment as Prime Minister and President of the Council of Ministers (Philippe Pétain)
French Decision for Armistice
Appointment as Minister of National Defense (Maxime Weygand)
Appeal of 18 June
Signing of the Franco-German Armistice
Establishment of the Vichy Regime
Opposition to the Granting of Full Powers to Pétain
Granting of Full Powers to Pétain
Assumption of Office as Chief of the French State (Philippe Pétain)
Detention by the Vichy Regime
Appointment as Delegate-General in French North Africa (Maxime Weygand)
Battle of Dakar
Montoire Conference
|
| 1941 |
Dismissal of Weygand
Dismissal from North Africa
|
| 1942 |
Imprisonment in Germany and Austria
Riom Trial
Detention by German Forces and Imprisonment at Castle Itter
Frank Family's Life in Hiding
Allied Landing in North Africa and Arrest of Weygand
|
| 1943 |
Leadership of the French Committee of National Liberation
Transfer and Imprisonment in Germany
Imprisonment at Buchenwald
Marriage (Léon Blum, Jeanne Levylier)
|
| 1944 |
Head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic
Transfer to Sigmaringen
Liberation of Paris
|
| 1945 |
Special Envoy to Washington
Imprisonment on the Île d'Yeu
Postwar Trial on Charges of Collaboration
Postwar Detention and Acquittal
Liberation from Buchenwald
Battle of Castle Itter
Trial before the High Court of Justice and Sentence of Life Imprisonment
Trial of Philippe Pétain
|
| 1946 |
First Indochina War
Opposition to the French Fourth Republic
Debate on European Integration in the Fourth Republic
Return to Postwar Politics
Postwar Return to Politics
Resignation from Government in 1946 (Charles de Gaulle)
Head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic
|
| 1948 |
Contribution to European Integration
|
| 1949 |
Marriage (Paul Reynaud, Christiane Mabire)
|
| 1950 |
Death of Léon Blum
|
| 1951 |
Marriage (Édouard Daladier, Jeanne Boucoiran)
Death of Philippe Pétain
|
| 1954 |
Algerian War
|
| 1958 |
Establishment of the Fifth Republic
Participation in the Fifth Republic and Chairmanship of the Constitutional Consultative Committee
Retirement from Politics (Édouard Daladier)
Death of Maurice Gamelin
May 1958 Crisis in France
|
| 1959 |
Inauguration as President of France (Charles de Gaulle)
|
| 1960 |
Development of the French Nuclear Deterrent
|
| 1961 |
Algiers putsch of 1961
|
| 1962 |
Retirement from Politics (Paul Reynaud)
|
| 1965 |
Death of Maxime Weygand
|
| 1966 |
France's Withdrawal from NATO Integrated Military Command
Death of Paul Reynaud
|
| 1968 |
May 68
|
| 1969 |
1969 French Constitutional Referendum and Resignation of the President (Charles de Gaulle)
|
| 1970 |
Death of Édouard Daladier
Death of Charles de Gaulle
|
Map
| Category | |
|---|---|
| Element |
Europe
World
Related Links
| Group | List |
|---|---|
| Western Europe | British Politics French Politics Jewish relief Nuclear Science |
| Central Europe | Nazi Germany Weimar Republic German Anti-Nazis Warsaw Ghetto Arts & Music |
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