synarchy movement of empire book ii - Pierre Beaudry's Galactic ...

ever felled a French Republic, or any other French regime, with such finesse
and ease, and amid so little tumult. No physical violence had been necessary,
and no bloodshed." However, no one had made the count of the bloodless
dead souls.
The 80 senators and deputies who had voted against Laval were all
gone after later by the Vichy militia. Reynaud, Blum, Daladier, Gamelin,
and others were later arrested, convicted in the phony trial at Riom, and
jailed. Though Petain had been given all of the executive and legislative
powers, he never really had any force of law, because he never wrote up his
fascist constitution. He thought he could relate directly to the people, like the
warriors of ancient Gaul without the mediation of institutions. He was
wrong, as we shall see.
5.2 VICHY COLLABORATION WITH THE AMERICANS (1941)
Five months after his coup, on December 13, 1940, Laval had just
gotten to Vichy with the news that Hitler had "magnanimously" accepted to
return to France the ashes of Napoleon Bonaparte's son, the Duke of
Reichstadt. Petain attended the 4 p.m. ceremony, in order not to offend the
Fuhrer. At 8 p.m. Petain called the Council of Ministers and asked that all of
them give him their signed resignation, which they all did.
Then, Petain announced that only the resignations of Georges Ripert,
State Secretary for National Education, and Pierre Laval, Foreign Minister,
would be accepted. Petain fired Laval because he wanted to declare war on
England. Laval was further reprimanded by Petain for having obstructed the
return of the seat of government to Versailles, and of holding back vital
information. Other "intelligence reports" in Vichy had established that
Admiral Darlan and Bouthillier, (both synarchists) were supporting the
Minister of Interior, M. Peyrouton in his effort to prevent Laval from
pursuing an independent policy of "extreme collaboration" with the
Germans, and to prevent him from executing a plan that could jeopardize
their operations in Equatorial Africa. Laval was attempting to reconquer the
African colonies for the benefit of Germany. Peyrouton went as far as
calling for Laval to be shot as a traitor.
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