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Pierre Laval
Encyclopedia Britannica entry on Pierre Laval
(written by someone who sounds like a thoroughgoing collaborateur
himself)
Laval, Pierre (b. June 28, 1883, Chateldon, Fr.--d. Oct. 15,
1945, Paris), French politician and statesman who led the Vichy government
in policies of collaboration with Germany during World War II, for which
he was ultimately executed as a traitor to France.
A member of the Socialist Party from 1903, Laval became a lawyer in Paris
in 1909 and promptly made a name for himself by his defense of trade unionists
and leftists. Elected deputy for Aubervilliers in 1914, he urged a negotiated
peace to end World War I. Defeated in the 1919 election, he left the Socialist
Party in 1920, became mayor of Aubervilliers (1923-44), and was reelected
deputy in 1924, leaving the Chamber to become a senator in 1927. After gaining
experience as minister of public works (1925), undersecretary of state (1925),
minister of justice (1926), and minister of labour (1930), when he was responsible
for steering the Social Insurance Act through both of the National Assembly
chambers, he became premier for the first time in 1931. He early displayed
a tendency to act over the heads of his ministers, especially in regard
to foreign affairs. Defeated in 1932, he became minister of colonies and
then minister of foreign affairs in 1934 under Gaston Doumergue and then
under Pierre Flandin. Becoming premier again in 1935, Laval also took the
portfolio for foreign affairs. Concerned to create a stable Europe, he made
the cornerstone of his policy a strong Franco-Italian rapprochement, which
eventually collapsed over the Ethiopian crisis in 1936. Domestically, Laval
met financial crises by refusing to devalue the franc, cutting expenditures
instead.
Laval's cabinet fell in 1936, shortly before the Popular Front victory.
In 1940 he entered Marshal Petain's government as minister of state and
was largely responsible for persuading the government to remain in France
and accept an armistice so that there would be a legal government in Paris
that could negotiate advantageous terms and, perhaps, eventually a peace
treaty. He was also responsible for persuading the Assembly to dissolve
itself, thus ending the Third Republic on July 10, 1940, and for the revision
of the constitution. Certain of an ultimate German victory, he became convinced
that France's best course lay in collaboration with Germany in order to
assure France a strong role in the future. He began negotiations on his
own initiative, arousing the mistrust of his fellow ministers; Petain dismissed
him in December 1940.
When he returned as head of the government in 1942, France could no longer
expect to be Germany's collaborator, but instead was fighting for survival
as an independent state. To assure Germany of France's goodwill, Laval agreed
to provide French labourers for German industries. In a famous speech (June
1942) asking for volunteers, he announced that he desired a German victory.
In general, however, he tried to protect France by hard-fought compromises
in negotiations with Hitler. Laval's control of France deteriorated with
the growth of the resistance movement and the attacks of extremist collaborators
such as Marcel Deat, with whom the Germans forced him to work.
When Germany collapsed, Laval fled to Spain, where he prepared his defense,
returning to France in July 1945. On trial for treason he found himself
in a hostile court, faced by a heckling jury, his defense constantly cut
off. He was executed, after attempting to poison himself, on Oct. 15, 1945.
What a slimy Encyclopedia Britannica entry! Still, it is very
interesting to note that Pierre Laval started out as the Clarence Darrow
of France
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Professor of Economics J. Bradford De Long, 689 Evans
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