John F. Sweets, Choices in Vichy France. The French Under Nazi Occupation by N. J. Atkin

Summary

In 1940, for barely forty eight hours, Clermont-Ferrand was the capital of France. Because of a shortage of suitable accommodation the French government, in retreat from the German advance, moved on to the little spa-town of Vichy where there were sufficient hotels to house all the various ministries. Nevertheless, in the minds of many, Clermont-Ferrand remains closely associated with the occupation. It was here in 1970 that Marcel Ophuls filmed Le Chagrin et la Pité which recounted the experiences of the Clermontois during wartime. Although a fascinating documentary, the film was unsatisfactory from an historical point of view. Many of the interviews were selected by the director for their dramatic appeal and did not portray an accurate picture of life under occupation.

Professor Sweets has written a far more authoritative account of the wartime experiences of the Clermontois. Working essentially on the departmental archives of the Puy-de-Dome, he illustrates several of the agonising choices posed by the occupation. At the same time, the book seeks to provide a fresh interpretation of the Vichy period. As the publishers state, films like Le Chagrin et la Pité supplanted the post-war Gaullist myth of ‘a nation of resisters’ with a new myth of ‘a nation of collaborators’. These views, it is argued, need considerable revision. Professor Sweets illustrates that the French began to have their doubts about Vichy's ‘New Order’ far earlier than has previously been suspected. This argument is not as original as the author implies. Recent work, conducted at both a local and at a national level, has also shown that the French soon became disillusioned with Vichy. Nonetheless, this work illustrates admirably the lack of support for Marshal Petain's regime.

The author begins with an analysis of the material hardships produced by the war. Erratic employment, rationing and high prices quickly led to discontent among the inhabitants of Clermont-Ferrand. In turn, these shortags made it difficult for Vichy to muster much enthusiasm for its schemes to rebuild France along the lines of ‘Travail, Famille, Patrie’. This study then proceeds to an examination of the ways by which Vichy attempted to mobilize both young and old in support of the National Revolution.