[19], In 1924 the National Assembly was elected on a platform of reducing the length of national service to one year, to which Pétain was almost violently opposed. Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856[1] – 23 July 1951), generally known as Philippe Pétain (/peɪˈtæ̃/, French: [filip petɛ̃]), Marshal Pétain (Maréchal Pétain) and sometimes, The Old Marshal (Le Vieux Maréchal), was a French general officer who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of World War I, during which he became known as The Lion of Verdun (Le Lion de Verdun). In September 1920, Pétai… Charles de Gaulle. [11], Pétain ended the war regarded "without a doubt, the most accomplished defensive tactician of any army" and "one of France's greatest military heroes" and was presented with his baton of Marshal of France at a public ceremony at Metz by President Raymond Poincaré on 8 December 1918. The written text is submitted to Pétain: "The Reich Government instructs the transfer of the Head of State, even against his will". Pétain's motives are a topic of wide conjecture. By the time of the last German offensives, Gneisenau and the Second Battle of the Marne, Pétain was able to defend in depth and launch counter offensives, with the new French tanks and the assistance of the Americans. Thereafter, he alternated between staff and regimental assignments. In August 1944, after the liberation of Paris by General Charles de Gaulle, Pétain dispatched an emissary to arrange for a peaceful transfer of power. His advancement until the outbreak of World War I in 1914—he was 58 when he finally became a general—was slow because as a professor at the War College he had propounded tactical theories opposed to those held by the high command. Like Pétain, he said he would never leave France. France, Battle of; Vichy France Occupation of France, 1940–44. On 26 April 1936, the general election results showed 5.5 million votes for the Popular Front parties against 4.5 million for the Right on an 84% turnout. [23] His first report on air defence, submitted in July that year, advocated increased expenditure. Image by Abbie Zabar. After successively commanding a brigade, a corps, and an army, Pétain in 1916 was charged with stopping the German attack on the fortress city of Verdun. A modern infantry rifle was adopted in 1936 but very few of these MAS-36 rifles had been issued to the troops by 1940. Pétain turned a potential disaster for France into what some saw as a victory - at least, it was argued, Verdun did not fall to the Germans. Pétain did not get involved in non-military issues when in the Cabinet, and unlike other military leaders he did not have a reputation as an extreme Catholic or a monarchist.[30]. He reported this conversation to President Poincaré, adding "surely a general should not speak or think like that?" Faced with the Marshal's continued refusal, the Germans threatened to bring in the Wehrmacht to bomb Vichy. Women were said to find his piercing blue eyes especially attractive. [34], By 26 May, the Allied lines had been shattered, and British forces had begun evacuating at Dunkirk. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. His decision to organise truck transport over the "Voie Sacrée" to bring a continuous stream of artillery, ammunition and fresh troops into besieged Verdun also played a key role in grinding down the German onslaught to a final halt in July 1916. He was also waiting for the new Renault FT tanks to be introduced in large numbers, hence his statement at the time: "I am waiting for the tanks and the Americans.". At the very end of 1916, Nivelle was promoted over Pétain to replace Joseph Joffre as French Commander-in-Chief. His body was buried in a local cemetery (Cimetière communal de Port-Joinville). The year 1918 saw major German offensives on the Western Front. [12] He was summoned to be present at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919. He and Pétain regarded the military situation as hopeless. Consideration has been given to removing the sidewalk ribbon denoting the parade for Pétain, given his role with the Nazis in World War II. This book offers a decent and interesting overview of the life of Henri-Philippe Pétain (1856–1951), Marshal of France. To this, Churchill subsequently reported, Pétain replied quietly and with dignity that he had in those days a strategic reserve of sixty divisions; now, there were none, and the British ought to be providing divisions to aid France. [40] The Cabinet voted 13-6 for the Chautemps proposal. [24] In 1931 Pétain was elected a Fellow of the Académie française. The Congress voted 569–80 (with 18 abstentions) to grant the Cabinet the authority to draw up a new constitution, effectively "voting the Third Republic out of existence". [57] Updates? Though the situation was practically hopeless, he masterfully reorganized both the front and the transport systems, made prudent use of the artillery, and was able to inspire in his troops a heroism that became historic. "), the other famous quotation often attributed to him – "Ils ne passeront pas!" Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Pétain already had a ministerial team ready: Laval for Foreign Affairs (this appointment was briefly vetoed by Weygand), Weygand as Minister of Defence, Darlan as Minister for the Navy, and Bouthillier for Finance.[43]. A well-tested French semiautomatic rifle, the MAS 1938–39, was ready for adoption but it never reached the production stage until after World War II as the MAS 49. Pétain ended the war regarded \"without a doubt, the most accomplished defensive tactician of any army\" and \"one of France's greatest military heroes\" and was made a Marshal of France at Metz by President Raymond Poincaré on 8 December 1918. Only 20 infantry divisions would be maintained on a standing basis". Here he met Hermann Göring and the two men reminisced about their experiences in the Great War. At the same time, the draft constitutional proposals were tabled. The General Staff, now under General Edmond Buat, began to think seriously about a line of forts along the frontier with Germany, and their report was tabled on 22 May 1922. The others did not, seeing the offer as insulting and a device to make France subservient to Great Britain, as a kind of extra Dominion. Political unease was sweeping the country, and on 6 February 1934, the Paris police fired on a group of far-right rioters outside the Chamber of Deputies, killing 14 and wounding a further 236. Two days later he crossed the French frontier.[60]. Battle of Britain. Did Canada fight on the side of Britain in World War I? Later in the year, Pétain was stripped of his right of direct appeal to the French government and requested to report to Foch, who increasingly assumed the co-ordination and ultimately the command of the Allied offensives. However, after Germany invaded France, Pétain joined the new government of Paul Reynaud on 18 May 1940 as Deputy Prime Minister. [67], Pétain died in a private home in Port-Joinville on the Île d'Yeu on 23 July 1951, at the age of 95. On 1 March 1935, Pétain's famous article[31] appeared in the Revue des deux mondes, where he reviewed the history of the army since 1927–28. [65] By the end of 1949, Pétain was almost completely senile, with only occasional moments of lucidity. On 3 March 1949, a meeting of the Council of Ministers (many of them "self-proclaimed heroes of the Resistance" in the words of biographer Charles Williams) had a fierce argument about a medical report recommending that he be moved to Val-de-Grâce (a military hospital in Paris), a measure to which Prime Minister Henri Queuille had previously been sympathetic. [citation needed]. Entering the French Army in 1876, he later attended the St. Cyr Military Academy and the École Supérieure de Guerre. Neither Pétain nor his successive deputies, Laval, Pierre-Étienne Flandin, or Admiral François Darlan, gave significant resistance to requests by the Germans to indirectly aid the Axis Powers. Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain. He was imprisoned in a fortress on the Île d’Yeu off the Atlantic coast, where he died at the age of 95. Corrections? In 1938 Pétain encouraged and assisted the writer André Maurois in gaining election to the Académie française – an election which was highly contested, in part due to Maurois' Jewish origin. He referred to the danger of military and civil disorder and the possibility of a Communist uprising in Paris. It was left to the Marshals, Pétain, Joffre, and Foch, to pick up the pieces of their strategies. He was told, in addition, by Maurice Gamelin, that if the plebiscite in the Territory of the Saar Basin went for Germany it would be a serious military error for the French Army to intervene. [41], On Sunday, 16 June, President Roosevelt's reply to President Lebrun's requests for assistance came with only vague promises and saying that it was impossible for the President to do anything without Congressional approval. In March 1939, Pétain was appointed French ambassador to the newly recognized Nationalist government of Spain. [41] Weygand persuaded him that Reynaud's suggestion would be a shameful surrender. Not once did he offer a sympathetic word for Germany." His job as Commander-in-Chief came to an end with peace and demobilisation, and with Foch out of favour after his quarrel with the French government over the peace terms, it was Petain who, in January 1920, was appointed Vice-Chairman of the revived Conseil supérieur de la Guerre (Supreme War Council). However, aged 58 and having been told he would never become a general, Pétain had bought a villa for retirement.[7]. From the Flying Tigers to the Red Baron, experience the Great War in this quiz. Despite once being popular, today he … He was subsequently summoned to be present at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919, and was afterwards appointed to France's \"top military job as Vice-Chairman of the revived 'Conseil Supérieur de la Guerre'\". (AP) (AP) Pétain refused and asked for a written formulation of this request. Pétain restored morale by talking to the men, promising no more suicidal attacks, providing rest for exhausted units, home furloughs, and moderate discipline. [27], In November the Doumergue government fell. From London, General Charles de Gaulle broadcast a plea to the French people to fight on and set about organizing Free French forces in France’s sub-Saharan colonies. Pétain, amongst others, took exception to the use of the term "revolution" to describe what he believed to be an essentially conservative movement, but otherwise participated in the transformation of French society from "Republic" to "State." [8] The mutinies were kept secret from the Germans and their full extent and intensity were not revealed until decades later. [29] Although Le Petit Journal was conservative, Pétain's high reputation was bipartisan; socialist Léon Blum called him "the most human of our military commanders". A Certain idea of France The life of Charles de Gaulle, Julian Jackson, p. 58. Pétain remained in command for the rest of the war and emerged as a national hero. Chautemps then proposed a fudge proposal, an inquiry about terms. Some argue[who?] [21] Pétain had based his strong support for the Maginot Line on his own experience of the role played by the forts during the Battle of Verdun in 1916. "[33] When World War II began in September, Daladier offered Pétain a position in his government, which Pétain turned down. Spears reported that Pétain did not respond immediately but stood there "perfectly erect, with no sign of panic or emotion. Find the perfect Marshal Philippe Pétain stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. "[53], The new government immediately used its new powers to order harsh measures, including the dismissal of republican civil servants, the installation of exceptional jurisdictions, the proclamation of antisemitic laws, and the imprisonment of opponents and foreign refugees. "[citation needed]. [36] By 8 June, Paris was threatened, and the government was preparing to depart, although Pétain was opposed to such a move. Modern infantry rifles and machine guns were not manufactured, with the sole exception of a light machine-rifle, the Mle 1924. Pétain then replied that it would mean the destruction of the country. or "firepower kills! On 1 July, the government, finding Clermont too cramped, moved to Vichy, at Baudouin's suggestion, the empty hotels there being more suitable for the government ministries. [citation needed] Summer maneuvers in 1932 and 1933 were cancelled due to lack of funds, and recruitment to the armed forces fell off. In the latter year General Maxime Weygand claimed that "the French Army was no longer a serious fighting force". Addressing the Conseil on the 23rd, Pétain claimed that it would be fruitless to look for assistance to Britain in the event of a German attack. Between 1878 and 1899, he served in various garrisons with different battalions of the Chasseurs à pied, the elite light infantry of the French Army. The entire government subsequently moved briefly to Clermont-Ferrand, then to the spa town of Vichy in central France. With the German army occupying two-thirds of the country, Pétain believed he could repair the ruin caused by the invasion and obtain the release of the numerous prisoners of war only by cooperating with the Germans. Pétain was displeased at de Gaulle’s appointment. This was France's highest military position, whose holder was Commander-in-Chief designate in the event of war and who had the right to overrule the Chief of the General Staff (a position held in the 1920s by Petain's protégés Buat and Debeney), and Petain would hold it until 1931. Several ministers were still opposed to an armistice, and Weygand immediately lashed out at them for even leaving Paris. Pétain then drew a letter of resignation from his pocket, an act which was certain to bring down the government (he had persuaded Weygand to come to Bordeaux by telling him that 16 June would be the decisive day). His sentence was immediately commuted to solitary confinement for life. Reynaud brought into his War Cabinet as Undersecretary for War the newly promoted Brigadier-General de Gaulle, whose 4th Armoured Division had launched one of the few French counterattacks the previous month. After Germany and Italy occupied and disarmed France in November 1942, Pétain became a puppet of the German military administration. A new commission for this purpose was established, under Joseph Joffre, and called for reports. Marshal Philippe Petain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Patain (24 April 1856 A 23 July 1951) Generally Known As Philippe Patain (french: [fi.lip Pe.t??]) Pinardville, a traditionally French-Canadian neighborhood of Goffstown, New Hampshire, has a Petain Street dating from the 1920s, alongside parallel streets named for other World War I generals, John Pershing, Douglas Haig, Ferdinand Foch, and Joseph Joffre. Pétain restored some form of pride to an army on the verge of defeat. On 17 August 1944, the Germans, in the person of Cecil von Renthe-Fink, "special diplomatic delegate of the Führer to the French Head of State", asked Pétain to allow himself to be transferred to the northern zone. Philippe Petain in the 1930s (Library of Congress) In June 1951 President Auriol of France issued a decree permitting Philippe Pétain, now 95 and senile, to be moved for humanitarian reasons from the fortress on the Ile d’Yeu in the Bay of Biscay, where he had been held since 1945, to a house at Port Joinville nearby. German forces occupied southern France in November 1942. Pétain's government acquiesced to the Axis forces demands for large supplies of manufactured goods and foodstuffs, and also ordered French troops in France's colonial empire (in Dakar, Syria, Madagascar, Oran and Morocco) to defend sovereign French territory against any aggressors, Allied or otherwise. [10] At the Conference, Ferdinand Foch was appointed as Allied Generalissimo, initially with powers to co-ordinate and deploy Allied reserves where he saw fit. As a retired military commander, he ran the country on military lines. He was welcomed by people as diverse as Claudel, Gide, and Mauriac, and also by the vast mass of untutored Frenchmen who saw him as their saviour. On 22 June, France signed an armistice at Compiègne with Germany that gave Germany control over the north and west of the country, including Paris and all of the Atlantic coastline, but left the rest, around two-fifths of France's prewar territory, unoccupied. Pétain proved a capable opponent of the Germans both in defence and through counter-attack. He reestablished discipline with a minimum of repression by personally explaining his intentions to the soldiers and improving their living conditions. In addition, François-Marsal announced reductions – in the army from fifty-five divisions to thirty, in the air force, and did not mention tanks. The next day, they went to Lebrun himself. He was educated at Dominican college in Arceuil before he joined the infantry in 1878. [40], That afternoon the British Government offered joint nationality for Frenchmen and Britons in a Franco-British Union. (an echoing of Joan of Arc, roughly: "We'll get them! He did not disguise the fact that he considered the situation catastrophic. [69], In February 1973, Pétain's coffin housing his remains was stolen from the Île d'Yeu cemetery by extremists, who demanded that President Georges Pompidou consent to its re-interment at Douaumont cemetery among the war dead of the Verdun battle. [57] What was left was a rump French state headquartered in Vichy and headed by World War I hero Marshal Philippe Petain. Philippe Petain joined the French Army and then attended the St Cyr Military School. He improved the recruitment programme for specialists, and lengthened the training period by reducing leave entitlements. Paris remained the de jure capital. "—in this case meaning French field artillery, which fired over 15 million shells on the Germans during the first five months of the battle. [9], Pétain conducted some successful but limited offensives in the latter part of 1917, unlike the British who stalled in an unsuccessful offensive at Passchendaele that autumn. [48] Nearly all French historians, as well as all postwar French governments, consider this vote to be illegal; not only were several deputies and senators not present, but the constitution explicitly stated that the republican form of government could not be changed, though it could be argued that a republican dictatorship was installed. In the spring of 1914, he was given command of a brigade (still with the rank of colonel). He died under sentence in a prison fortress. The third offensive, "Blücher", in May 1918, saw major German advances on the Aisne, as the French Army commander (Humbert) ignored Pétain's instructions to defend in depth and instead allowed his men to be hit by the initial massive German bombardment. Pétain's government was nevertheless internationally recognised, notably by the U.S., at least until the German occupation of the rest of France. Marshal Philippe Pétain Philippe Pétain was the hero of the Battle of Verdun in World War One. Weygand had been at the British Army 1934 manoeuvres at Tidworth Camp in June and was appalled by what he had seen. He remained on the Conseil superieur. Acting heads of state are denoted by an asterisk. After Allied landings in November 1942 in North Africa, Pétain secretly ordered Admiral Darlan, then in Algeria, to merge the French forces in Africa with those of the Allies. By 1932 the economic situation had worsened and Édouard Herriot's government had made "severe cuts in the defence budget... orders for new weapons systems all but dried up". The parliament also voted to give Chief of State Marshal Philippe Pétain, a World War I hero, full and extraordinary powers. that Pétain, as France's most senior soldier after Foch's death, should bear some responsibility for the poor state of French weaponry preparation before World War II. ("They shall not pass"!) After the war, Pétain was tried and convicted for treason. Pétain, instead, held off from major French offensives until the Americans arrived in force on the front lines, which did not happen until the early summer of 1918. [28] Calls were made to re-locate his remains to the grave prepared for him at Verdun. His government voted to transform the discredited French Third Republic into the French State, an authoritarian regime that collaborated with the Axis. Marshals Louis Franchet d'Espèrey and Hubert Lyautey (the latter suddenly died in July) added their names to the report. Pétain, however, having been forced to leave France, refused to participate in this government and Fernand de Brinon now headed the "government commission". He said that France had lost faith in her destiny. In addition, with the restrictions imposed on Germany by the Versailles Treaty there seemed no urgency for vast expenditure until the advent of Hitler. The first of these, Operation Michael in March 1918, threatened to split the British and French forces apart, and, after Pétain had threatened to retreat on Paris, the Doullens Conference was called. [4] By January 1949, his lucid intervals were becoming fewer and fewer. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. His regime soon took on clear authoritarian—and in some cases, fascist—characteristics. But the armistice was signed at Compiègne, in the same railway car used…, Most high-ranking Vichy officials (including Pétain and Laval) had moved eastward with the Germans; at the castle of Sigmaringen in Germany they adopted the posture of a government-in-exile.…. During a cabinet meeting that day, Reynaud argued that before asking for an armistice, France would have to get Britain's permission to be relieved from their accord of March 1940 not to sign a separate cease-fire. [30] Reportedly Franco advised Pétain against leaving his diplomatic post in Madrid, to return to a collapsing France as a "sacrifice". Although the French government nominally remained in existence, civilian administration of almost all France being under it, Pétain became nothing more than a figurehead, as the Germans had negated the pretence of an "independent" government at Vichy. After having requested the Swiss ambassador Walter Stucki [fr] to bear witness to the Germans' blackmail, Pétain submitted. Eight were initially undecided but swung towards an armistice. On 26 October 1931, Pétain was honored with a ticker-tape parade down Manhattan's Canyon of Heroes. Pétain, of course, disapproved of the whole thing, pointing out that North Africa still had to be defended and in itself required a substantial standing army. During World War I, Pétain led the French Army to victory at the nine-month-long Battle of Verdun. He acquired a reputation as one of the more successful commanders on the Western Front. At 12:30 am, Pétain made his first broadcast to the French people. His great-uncle, a Catholic priest, Father Abbe Lefebvre (1771–1866), had served in Napoleon's Grande Armée and told the young Philippe tales of war and adventure of his campaigns from the peninsulas of Italy to the Alps in Switzerland. As early as June 1946, U.S. President Harry Truman interceded in vain for his release, even offering to provide political asylum in the U.S.[64] A similar offer was later made by the Spanish dictator General Franco. "the need to stay in France, to prepare a national revival, and to share the sufferings of our people. Making Paris into a ruin would not affect the final event. In January 1926, the Chief of Staff, General Debeney, proposed to the Conseil a "totally new kind of army. [40] Ten ministers wanted to fight on and seven favoured an armistice (but these included the two Deputy Prime Ministers Pétain and Camille Chautemps, and this view was also favoured by the Commander-in-Chief General Weygand). His journey from military obscurity, to hero of France during World War I, to collaborationist dictator during World War II, led his successor Charles de Gaulle to write that Pétain’s life was "successively banal, then glorious, then deplorable, but never mediocre". Reynaud hoped that the hero of Verdun might instill a renewed spirit of resistance and patriotism in the French Army. Born into a family of farmers in northern France, Pétain, after attending the local village school and a religious secondary school, was admitted to Saint-Cyr, France’s principal military academy. When Renthe-Fink entered the Marshal's office at the Hôtel du Parc with General von Neubronn "at 7:30 p.m.", the Head of State was supervising the packing up of his suitcases and papers. Gilbert and Bernard find multiple causes: The immediate cause was the extreme optimism and subsequent disappointment at the Nivelle offensive in the spring of 1917. At the opening of the Battle of Verdun in 1916, Pétain is said to have been fetched during the night from a Paris hotel by a staff officer who knew that he could be found with Eugénie Hardon. Reynaud and five ministers thought these proposals acceptable. After the war ended Pétain was made Marshal of France on 21 November 1918. Pétain ended the war regarded "without a doubt, the most accomplished defensive tactician of any army" and "one of France's greatest military heroes" and was presented with his baton of Marshal of France at a public ceremony at Metz by President Raymond Poincaré on 8 December 1918. The presidents of both Chambers spoke and declared that constitutional reform was necessary. [57] On 3 May Pétain, was interviewed in Le Journal where he launched an attack on the Franco-Soviet Pact, on Communism in general (France had the largest communist party in Western Europe), and on those who allowed Communists intellectual responsibility. On 12 June, after a second session of the conference, the cabinet met and Weygand again called for an armistice. Just prior to the main meeting, Prime Minister Clemenceau claimed he heard Pétain say "les Allemands battront les Anglais en rase campagne, après quoi ils nous battront aussi" ("the Germans will beat the English (sic) in open country, then they'll beat us as well"). French aviation entered the War in 1939 without even the prototype of a bomber aeroplane capable of reaching Berlin and coming back. The next day, 20 August 1944, Pétain was taken against his will by the German army to Belfort and then, on 8 September, to Sigmaringen in southwestern Germany,[58] where dignitaries of his regime had taken refuge. On 18 June, Édouard Herriot (who would later be a prosecution witness at Pétain's trial) and Jeanneney, the presidents of the two Chambers of Parliament, as well as Lebrun said they wanted to go. The jury sentenced him to death by a one-vote majority. Churchill's man in Paris, Edward Spears, urged the French not to sign an armistice, saying that if French ports were occupied by Germany, Britain would have to bomb them. [3] She had no children by Pétain but already had a son from her first marriage, Pierre de Hérain, whom Pétain strongly disliked.[4]. Philippe Pétain was a French general who was declared a national hero in World War I but was later discredited and sentenced to death. When Germany invaded Russia in June 1941 it caused great excitement among the collaborating political parties and para-military home based formations. A ‘snap decision’ was made to put Philippe Pétain in command (Horne 1962, p.129). Pétain joined the French Army in 1876 and attended the St Cyr Military Academy in 1887 and the École Supérieure de Guerre (army war college) in Paris. He then became Commander-in-Chief of the entire French army, replacing General Nivelle, whose Chemin des Dames offensive failed in April 1917, thereby provoking widespread mutinies in the French Army. Pétain was made a marshal of France in November 1918 and was subsequently appointed to the highest military offices (vice president of the Supreme War Council and inspector general of the army). 1925. The October 1940 draft law shows the personal intervention of Vichy leader Marshal Philippe Pétain in closing a provision that was meant to spare French Jews from restrictions aimed at foreign Jews only. Pétain noted his recent promotion to general, adding that he did not congratulate him, as ranks were of no use in defeat. [6], Unlike many French officers, Pétain served mainly in mainland France, never French Indochina or any of the African colonies, although he participated in the Rif campaign in Morocco. Contrary to President Albert Lebrun's later recollection, no formal vote appears to have been taken at Cabinet on 16 June. But, at the same time, he published official messages protesting the landing. French general who fled to England after the fall of Paris and set up a government-in-exile. By coincidence, on the evening of 14 June in Bordeaux, de Gaulle dined in the same restaurant as Pétain; he came over to shake his hand in silence, and they never met again. However, when Hitler met Pétain at Montoire in October 1940 to discuss the French government's role in the new European Order, the Marshal "listened to Hitler in silence. Churchill returned to France on the 13th for another conference at Tours. Maurois made a point of acknowledging with thanks his debt to Pétain in his 1941 autobiography, Call no man happy – though by the time of writing their paths had sharply diverged, Pétain having become Head of State of Vichy France while Maurois went into exile and sided with the Free French. On 5 June, following the fall of Dunkirk, there was a Cabinet reshuffle. He held 3400 courts martial; 554 mutineers were sentenced to death but over 90% had their sentences commuted. [39], The government moved to Bordeaux, where French governments had fled German invasions in 1870 and 1914, on 14 June. Pétain followed the normal career path of an officer; he worked hard in his post and by … At cabinet on 15 June, Reynaud urged that France follow the Dutch example, that the Army should lay down its arms so that the fight could be continued from abroad. Pas! various degrees, nearly half of the government were already set on an armistice to practice a policy. 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