Paul Baudoin
Encyclopedia
Paul Baudouin was a French banker who became a politician.
, on 20 March 1940, his Finance Minister Paul Reynaud
was asked by President Albert Lebrun
to form a new government, even though he only had a majority of one. Daladier remained as Minister of Defence. One of those civilian members appointed to the new Cabinet was Paul Baudouin, a known opponent of France's declaration of war against Germany, as Under-Secretary of State to the Prime Minister Soon, this young technocrat, attentive to the rising generation, would be the centre of a Catholic/Action Francaise cohort set on re-educating French young people, inspired by a host of new programms of Pétain's later Cabinet and entourage, drawing upon his Catholic scout or Revue des jeunes contacts.
on the night of the 16th when Churchill was told of the hopelessness of the French military situation. On the 18th a cabinet reshuffle took place and Marshal Philippe Pétain
was invited by Paul Reynaud
to become Deputy Premier of France. Baudouin was present on the morning of 24 May when General Weygand reported to Reynaud and Pétain that "the situation is very grave". On the 26 May Weygand told Baudouin that he "wished to avoid internal troubles, and above all anarchy". On the same day Pétain came to see Baudouin when he said "I cannot allow the errors of the politicians to be blamed on the army" and blamed Daladier and the 'Front Populaire'. Baudouin reported this conversation to Reynaud the following day. That night the King of Belgium announced the capitulation of the Belgian army.
The military situation now drastically deteriorated: on 5 June Dunkirk fell, and Reynard again reshuffled his Cabinet, sacking Daladier, and adding an additional appointment to Paul Baudouin, that of Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. General Charles de Gaulle
was appointed Under-Secretary of State for War. Pétain, furious at de Gaulle's appointment, complained to Baudouin and asked him to use his influence with the Prime Minister to prevent de Gaulle attending the morning meetings, describing de Gaulle as "proud, ungrateful and embittered." Baudouin suggested he should see Reynaud himself. On 8 June Baudouin dined with Camille Chautemps
and both agreed that the war must end. On 10 June the government left Paris for Tours. Maxime Weygand
, the Commander-in-Chief, now declared that "the fighting had become meaningless" and he told Baudouin, and several members of the government, that he thought an armistice was essential. Baudouin agreed.
On 11 June Churchill flew to the Chateau du Muguet, at Briar, near Orleans
, where he put forward first his idea of a Breton
redoubt, to which Weygand replied that it was "just a fantasy". The following day the cabinet met, and Weygand again called for an armistice. He referred to the danger of military and civil disorder and the possibility of a Communist uprising in Paris. Pétain and Minister of Information Jean Prouvost urged the Cabinet to hear Weygand out because "he was the only one really to know what was happening". Churchill returned on the 13th. Baudouin met his plane and immediately spoke to him of the hopelessness of the French army's resistance.
on 16 June 1940 in Pétain's new Cabinet, and the following day he requested the Spanish Ambassador "to transmit to Germany with all speed the request to cease hostilities at once and at the same time to make known the peace terms proposed by them". On the morning of 19 June Lequerica reported to Baudouin that the Germans were prepared to talk and the following day he was further advised that the Germans were prepared to meet the French plenipotentiaries lated that day at Tours
. The armistice negotiations were led, on the French side, by General Charles Huntziger
. Baudouin was present at the Council of Ministers who met during the night of 21 June in Bordeaux
to consider the terms. The Armistice was agreed, to come into effect at 12.35 on the morning of 25 June.
, and then, at Baudouin's suggestion, to Vichy
, considered to be a perfect place for the administration. On 30 June Pierre Laval
suggested to Pétain, Baudouin and Raphael Alibert
that the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies should be called together in joint session to consider new constitutional changes. Baudouin was against the proposal, on the grounds that "you do not change the constitution of a country whose capital is in enemy hands". At this point Pétain sided with Baudouin. However, both would change their mind when they heard that President Albert Lebrun
was in favour. In the event the Chamber of Deputies carried the proposal by 395 votes to 3, and when both Houses finally voted in joint session it was carried by 569 to 80 (Communist Deputies were not permitted to vote). On 13 July Pétain appointed a new group of twelve ministers as his Council of Ministers and Baudouin continued as Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Cabinet would now meet twice or three times a week. In addition there was an inner circle (Laval, Baudouin, Yves Bouthillier, Admiral Jean Darlan, and General Weygand) which met every day. The following day Pétain discussed in private with Baudouin that he was concerned about the succession should he (Pétain) die, and advised a surprised Baudouin that whilst he was Pétain's choice, his successor should be chosen by the Council of Ministers.
In the summer of 1940 Baudouin gave his backing to Henri Dhavernas, Inspecteur des Finances, and a former chief commissioner for the Catholic Scouts de France, to found a new official youth movement, the 'Compagnons de France', which was formally registered as an association in July 1940. It was, following the armistice, both a pragmatic way to unify French young people and a reflection of the romantic, anti-liberal, anti-modern mentality of many pre-war Catholic intellectuals. The Compagnons, Maréchal Pétain said, were to be "the National Revolution's vanguard". The movement received the enormous sum of 19 million Francs in subsidies, in addition to an initial sum of 6.1 million Francs handed over personally to Dhavernas by Baudouin, between October 1940 and January 1941.
It appears that Baudouin was also a monarchist at heart, as on the 8 October Abetz, the German Ambassador in Paris, wrote to von Ribbentrop that "some (French) ministers, such as Alibert, Baudouin and Bouthillier, are hoping for an eventual restoration of the Bourbons". About this time Pierre Laval
, with Pétain's approval, took over most of Baudouin's powers as Foreign Minister. Intrigues followed, and by mid-November Baudouin, Yves Bouthillier, Marcel Peyrouton, (Minister of the Interior), Raphael Alibert
, Admiral Darlan and General Huntziger were putting pressure upon Pétain to have Laval dismissed from office. They succeeded in this the following month, in which Baudouin also served briefly as Minister of Information. He resigned from the government of his own accord on 2 January 1941.
Early years
Paul Baudouin was born into a wealthy family in Paris, and served as an artillery officer during The Great War in the French Army. In 1930 he became the Deputy Director and General Manager of the Bank of Indo-China. A "convinced Catholic", like many Catholics of the time he considered himself "non-political" although he had been a committed member of the militant nationalist movement Action Francaise. He had also been a Catholic Scout leader in the years just prior to World War II, and had written a notable exhortation to young Christians for the Revue de jeunes. He called for "the renaissance, in the humbler form of a layman's Order, of the chivalry of old times" to defend the spiritual patrimony of the Christian West.Enters government
Following the fall of the troubled French Government of Edouard DaladierÉdouard Daladier
Édouard Daladier was a French Radical politician and the Prime Minister of France at the start of the Second World War.-Career:Daladier was born in Carpentras, Vaucluse. Later, he would become known to many as "the bull of Vaucluse" because of his thick neck and large shoulders and determined...
, on 20 March 1940, his Finance Minister Paul Reynaud
Paul Reynaud
Paul Reynaud was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period, noted for his stances on economic liberalism and militant opposition to Germany. He was the penultimate Prime Minister of the Third Republic and vice-president of the Democratic Republican Alliance center-right...
was asked by President Albert Lebrun
Albert Lebrun
Albert François Lebrun was a French politician, President of France from 1932 to 1940. He was the last president of the Third Republic. He was a member of the center-right Democratic Republican Alliance .-Biography:...
to form a new government, even though he only had a majority of one. Daladier remained as Minister of Defence. One of those civilian members appointed to the new Cabinet was Paul Baudouin, a known opponent of France's declaration of war against Germany, as Under-Secretary of State to the Prime Minister Soon, this young technocrat, attentive to the rising generation, would be the centre of a Catholic/Action Francaise cohort set on re-educating French young people, inspired by a host of new programms of Pétain's later Cabinet and entourage, drawing upon his Catholic scout or Revue des jeunes contacts.
Invasion crisis
The German Army invaded France on 14 May 1940 and Baudouin was present at the French Cabinet conference with ChurchillWinston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
on the night of the 16th when Churchill was told of the hopelessness of the French military situation. On the 18th a cabinet reshuffle took place and Marshal Philippe Pétain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
was invited by Paul Reynaud
Paul Reynaud
Paul Reynaud was a French politician and lawyer prominent in the interwar period, noted for his stances on economic liberalism and militant opposition to Germany. He was the penultimate Prime Minister of the Third Republic and vice-president of the Democratic Republican Alliance center-right...
to become Deputy Premier of France. Baudouin was present on the morning of 24 May when General Weygand reported to Reynaud and Pétain that "the situation is very grave". On the 26 May Weygand told Baudouin that he "wished to avoid internal troubles, and above all anarchy". On the same day Pétain came to see Baudouin when he said "I cannot allow the errors of the politicians to be blamed on the army" and blamed Daladier and the 'Front Populaire'. Baudouin reported this conversation to Reynaud the following day. That night the King of Belgium announced the capitulation of the Belgian army.
The military situation now drastically deteriorated: on 5 June Dunkirk fell, and Reynard again reshuffled his Cabinet, sacking Daladier, and adding an additional appointment to Paul Baudouin, that of Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. General Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
was appointed Under-Secretary of State for War. Pétain, furious at de Gaulle's appointment, complained to Baudouin and asked him to use his influence with the Prime Minister to prevent de Gaulle attending the morning meetings, describing de Gaulle as "proud, ungrateful and embittered." Baudouin suggested he should see Reynaud himself. On 8 June Baudouin dined with Camille Chautemps
Camille Chautemps
Camille Chautemps was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic, three times President of the Council .-Career:Described as "intellectually bereft", Chautemps nevertheless entered politics and became Mayor of Tours in 1912, and a Radical deputy in 1919...
and both agreed that the war must end. On 10 June the government left Paris for Tours. Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand
Maxime Weygand was a French military commander in World War I and World War II.Weygand initially fought against the Germans during the invasion of France in 1940, but then surrendered to and collaborated with the Germans as part of the Vichy France regime.-Early years:Weygand was born in Brussels...
, the Commander-in-Chief, now declared that "the fighting had become meaningless" and he told Baudouin, and several members of the government, that he thought an armistice was essential. Baudouin agreed.
On 11 June Churchill flew to the Chateau du Muguet, at Briar, near Orleans
Orléans
-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...
, where he put forward first his idea of a Breton
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
redoubt, to which Weygand replied that it was "just a fantasy". The following day the cabinet met, and Weygand again called for an armistice. He referred to the danger of military and civil disorder and the possibility of a Communist uprising in Paris. Pétain and Minister of Information Jean Prouvost urged the Cabinet to hear Weygand out because "he was the only one really to know what was happening". Churchill returned on the 13th. Baudouin met his plane and immediately spoke to him of the hopelessness of the French army's resistance.
Armistice
Baudouin was appointed Minister of Foreign AffairsMinister of Foreign Affairs (France)
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs ), is France's foreign affairs ministry, with the headquarters located on the Quai d'Orsay in Paris close to the National Assembly of France. The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the government of France is the cabinet minister responsible for...
on 16 June 1940 in Pétain's new Cabinet, and the following day he requested the Spanish Ambassador "to transmit to Germany with all speed the request to cease hostilities at once and at the same time to make known the peace terms proposed by them". On the morning of 19 June Lequerica reported to Baudouin that the Germans were prepared to talk and the following day he was further advised that the Germans were prepared to meet the French plenipotentiaries lated that day at Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
. The armistice negotiations were led, on the French side, by General Charles Huntziger
Charles Huntziger
Charles Huntziger was a French Army general during World War I and World War II.Born at Lesneven , he graduated from Saint-Cyr in 1900 and joined the colonial infantry. During World War I he served in the Middle Eastern theatre. He was chief of staff of operations of the Allied Expeditionary Force...
. Baudouin was present at the Council of Ministers who met during the night of 21 June in Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
to consider the terms. The Armistice was agreed, to come into effect at 12.35 on the morning of 25 June.
Vichy
The government subsequently moved from Bordeaux to Clermont-FerrandClermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census. It is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department...
, and then, at Baudouin's suggestion, to Vichy
Vichy
Vichy is a commune in the department of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It belongs to the historic province of Bourbonnais.It is known as a spa and resort town and was the de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi German occupation from 1940 to 1944.The town's inhabitants...
, considered to be a perfect place for the administration. On 30 June Pierre Laval
Pierre Laval
Pierre Laval was a French politician. He was four times President of the council of ministers of the Third Republic, twice consecutively. Following France's Armistice with Germany in 1940, he served twice in the Vichy Regime as head of government, signing orders permitting the deportation of...
suggested to Pétain, Baudouin and Raphael Alibert
Raphaël Alibert
Raphaël Alibert was a French politician.-Politics:Raphael Alibert was an ardent Roman Catholic convert and someone with strong royalist ideas. One of the most intense followers of Charles Maurras, Alibert was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the Action Française party...
that the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies should be called together in joint session to consider new constitutional changes. Baudouin was against the proposal, on the grounds that "you do not change the constitution of a country whose capital is in enemy hands". At this point Pétain sided with Baudouin. However, both would change their mind when they heard that President Albert Lebrun
Albert Lebrun
Albert François Lebrun was a French politician, President of France from 1932 to 1940. He was the last president of the Third Republic. He was a member of the center-right Democratic Republican Alliance .-Biography:...
was in favour. In the event the Chamber of Deputies carried the proposal by 395 votes to 3, and when both Houses finally voted in joint session it was carried by 569 to 80 (Communist Deputies were not permitted to vote). On 13 July Pétain appointed a new group of twelve ministers as his Council of Ministers and Baudouin continued as Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Cabinet would now meet twice or three times a week. In addition there was an inner circle (Laval, Baudouin, Yves Bouthillier, Admiral Jean Darlan, and General Weygand) which met every day. The following day Pétain discussed in private with Baudouin that he was concerned about the succession should he (Pétain) die, and advised a surprised Baudouin that whilst he was Pétain's choice, his successor should be chosen by the Council of Ministers.
In the summer of 1940 Baudouin gave his backing to Henri Dhavernas, Inspecteur des Finances, and a former chief commissioner for the Catholic Scouts de France, to found a new official youth movement, the 'Compagnons de France', which was formally registered as an association in July 1940. It was, following the armistice, both a pragmatic way to unify French young people and a reflection of the romantic, anti-liberal, anti-modern mentality of many pre-war Catholic intellectuals. The Compagnons, Maréchal Pétain said, were to be "the National Revolution's vanguard". The movement received the enormous sum of 19 million Francs in subsidies, in addition to an initial sum of 6.1 million Francs handed over personally to Dhavernas by Baudouin, between October 1940 and January 1941.
It appears that Baudouin was also a monarchist at heart, as on the 8 October Abetz, the German Ambassador in Paris, wrote to von Ribbentrop that "some (French) ministers, such as Alibert, Baudouin and Bouthillier, are hoping for an eventual restoration of the Bourbons". About this time Pierre Laval
Pierre Laval
Pierre Laval was a French politician. He was four times President of the council of ministers of the Third Republic, twice consecutively. Following France's Armistice with Germany in 1940, he served twice in the Vichy Regime as head of government, signing orders permitting the deportation of...
, with Pétain's approval, took over most of Baudouin's powers as Foreign Minister. Intrigues followed, and by mid-November Baudouin, Yves Bouthillier, Marcel Peyrouton, (Minister of the Interior), Raphael Alibert
Raphaël Alibert
Raphaël Alibert was a French politician.-Politics:Raphael Alibert was an ardent Roman Catholic convert and someone with strong royalist ideas. One of the most intense followers of Charles Maurras, Alibert was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the Action Française party...
, Admiral Darlan and General Huntziger were putting pressure upon Pétain to have Laval dismissed from office. They succeeded in this the following month, in which Baudouin also served briefly as Minister of Information. He resigned from the government of his own accord on 2 January 1941.