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Europe
Grave of Marshal Petain, leader of wartime Vichy regime, vandalized
2007-09-20
Vandals targeted the grave of Marshal Philippe Petain, the leader of France's wartime Vichy regime that collaborated with the Nazis, an official said Wednesday.

Vandals smashed vases and mortuary plagues from nearby tombs onto Petain's grave on the Ile d'Yeu off the coast of western France, said Vincent Lagoguey, an official in the western Vendee region. Petain's tomb itself was not damaged. Police have opened an inquiry, and no suspects have been identified.

Petain was a hero of World War I, but was discredited later for collaborating with the Nazis. He was convicted of treason after World War II, but his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He died in 1951 while imprisoned on Ile d'Yeu.
It doesn't take much in the way of guts to beat up the dead.
Posted by:Fred

#3  In many ways, Pétain's National Revolution was a last ditch attempt at returning to a France lost to the relentless assaults of the IIIrd, hence the laws against what was perceived as the pillars of the Republic, the jews and the free-masons (this was very true for them, at least for the IIIrd); remember, France was in a quasi-civil war, a true "Culture war" between the traditional France and the Forces of Progress, since 1793, and by 1940, the old France had lost.

Pétain is a sad figure, really, pushed into power as a last resort by the soc9al9st parliament, after the war was lost due to inept leadership, and the same people made him a scapegoat after the war, with the help of the then allied gaullists & communists bent on imposing theitr own version of the story.

Having vichy rehabilitated would indeed worry me, but having Philippe Pétain's name and memory if not rehabilitated, at least forgiven and led to rest, would be a major improvement and step in the right direction... that is freeing us from the overbearing, unescapable shadow of WWII and its defeat.
Posted by: anonymous5089   2007-09-20 13:06  

#2  There were a number of genuine resistants: that is people whose resistance began in 1940 and even before battke 1940 who respected him and had no doubt that he wished for an allied victory and did what he could to help it: eg his role in the succes of Torch.

The true collaorator was Laval and Petain sacked him and had him arrested as soon as he was able to but the germans liberated him.

Of course rehabilitating Petain would be dangeroulsy close to rehabilitating Vichy.
Posted by: JFM   2007-09-20 12:33  

#1  It doesn't take much in the way of guts to beat up the dead.

On the other hand, we are talking about the head of state of the Vichy government here.

If he were being rehabilitated or venerated, I'd be worried.
Posted by: Mike   2007-09-20 10:59  

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