THE SECRETS OF VICHY

A gripping exploration of France's dark years under its Vichy government.

Who wrote the speeches of Marshal Pétain? Who is the author of the first Statute on Jews? Bénédicte Vergez-Chaignon answers these questions and many others in this book, in which she reveals the secrets of the Vichy regime. Author of a definitive biography of Marshal Pétain, she based her text on new archives and guides us on a unique tour into the heart of France during the Occupation.

Based on unpublished archive material, each chapter is compelling: the Vichy actors and what they did, starting with Pétain and Laval; daily life; the Militia; dirty tricks in the Vichy entourage; and the complicated relationship with the occupant.

Table of contents :
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A provisional capital: Vichy
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Who wrote the speeches of Marshal Pétain?
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Who is the author of the first Statute on Jews?
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The return of Napoleon II's ashes;
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The bombing of Versailles (August 1941);
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The Chateaubriant hostages;
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The Saint-Florentin meeting
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The last weeks of Pierre Laval
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Did Pétain save the French Jews? (History's answer to Eric Zemmour)
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The death of Admiral Darlan
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Joseph Darnand's allegiances
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The assassination of Philippe Henriot
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When the militia was training in camps in Germany

Bénédicte Vergez-Chaignon holds a doctorate in history and developed her interest in World War II working with Daniel Cordier on his monumental biography of Jean Moulin. She has since published Les Vichysto-résistants (Perrin, 2008), about the members of the resistance who thought they had found their hero in Pétain, as well as several texts about the Vichy purge. Her latest book, Pétain (Perrin, 2014), was a massive critical and public success, and received the prestigious Grand Prix de la biographie politique and the magazine Le Point's Prix de la biographie.