France of the vanquished passes to the bar

A judicial history of the purge in France 1943-1953

"A country that misses its purification is preparing to miss its renovation."
Albert Camus, 1945, Fight

As early as the 1940s, even before the liberation of Paris and the end of the Second World War, the thorny issue of purges arose: How to punish those who collaborated with Nazi Germany? France was torn between the defenders of forgiveness and the supporters of punitive justice for Vichy supporters. Painting a picture of post-war France covering all circles – intellectuals, politicians, ecclesiastical, etc. – Emmanuel Pierrat depicts a country on the verge of collapse and analyzes the torments of a society seeking to emerge from an exceptional, violent and chaotic situation. From women's hair shaved to amnesty laws, summary executions and administrative internments, this book brings to life decisive years through the destinies of Pétain, Laval, Brasillach and the car manufacturer Louis Renault. Drawing on numerous judicial sources and newspapers from the period, Emmanuel Pierrat immerses us in the heart of the disillusionment, executions and reconstructions that shook France for a decade and which, even today, maintain multiple taboos.