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Riom Trial
The Riom Trial (French: Procès de Riom; 19 February 1942 – 21 May 1943) was an attempt by the Vichy France regime, headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain, to prove that the leaders of the French Third Republic (1870–1940) had been responsible for France's defeat by Germany in 1940. The trial was held in the city of Riom in central France, and had mainly political aims – namely to project the responsibility of defeat onto the leaders of the left-wing Popular Front government that had been elected 3 May 1936.
The Supreme Court of Justice (Cour suprême de justice), created by a decree issued by Pétain on 30 July 1940, was empowered to judge:
1o Les ministres, les anciens ministres ou leurs subordonnés immédiats, civils et militaires, accusés d'avoir commis des crimes ou délits dans l'exercice ou à l'occasion de leurs fonctions, ou d'avoir trahi les devoirs de leur charge;
2o Toute personne accusée d'attentat contre la sûreté de l’État et de crimes et délits connexes;
3o Tout coauteur ou complice des personnes visées aux paragraphes précédents.
1st, the ministers, the former ministers, civil and military, accused of having committed crimes or délits while exercising their duties or on the occasion thereof, or of having betrayed the duties of their offices;
2nd, every person accused of having attacked the security of the state and of connected crimes or délits;
3nd, every co-perpetrator or accomplice of the persons targeted by the above paragraphs.
The period examined by the court was from 1936 (the beginning of the Popular Front administration, under Léon Blum) to 1940 and Paul Reynaud's cabinet. The trial, supported by the Nazis, had the secondary aim of demonstrating that the responsibility of the war rested with France (which had officially declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, two days after the invasion of Poland) and not with Adolf Hitler and his policies. Once started in February 1942, the trial did not go according to plan. The defendants were largely successful in rebutting the charges, and won sympathetic coverage in the international press. The trial was eventually suspended in March 1942, and formally abandoned in May 1943.
There were originally seven defendants at the Riom Trial, though Pétain later withdrew the charges against Paul Reynaud and Georges Mandel without explanation, surrendering them to the Germans instead; Mandel was later executed by the Vichy regime's Milice. The five who stood trial were:
More than 400 witnesses were called, many of them soldiers who were supposed to testify that the French army was not adequately equipped to resist the Wehrmacht invasion of May–June 1940. It was alleged that Blum's legislation, enacted after the 1936 Matignon Agreements which had introduced the 40-hour working week and paid leave for workers and had nationalised some businesses, had undermined France's industrial and defence capabilities. The left-wing Popular Front government was also held to have been weak in suppressing "subversive elements and revolutionists."
Owing to the changing international context, including the June 1941 invasion of the USSR, and deterioration of popular support for the Vichy regime, Marshal Philippe Pétain decided to speed up the process. He thus announced on the radio, prior to the beginning of the trial, that he would himself condemn the guilty parties after having heard the advice of the Political Justice Council (Conseil de justice politique) which he had set up. Pétain was entitled to such an act after the Constitutional decree of 27 January 1941. The newly created Political Justice Council handed in its conclusions on 16 October 1941.[clarification needed] After Pétain's condemnation of the political responsibles, the Riom Trial was supposed to try the men as citizens.[clarification needed] Although the president of the court, Pierre Caous, declared at the outset that the trial was not to be a political one, it was widely seen as a show trial, in France and abroad.
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Riom Trial
The Riom Trial (French: Procès de Riom; 19 February 1942 – 21 May 1943) was an attempt by the Vichy France regime, headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain, to prove that the leaders of the French Third Republic (1870–1940) had been responsible for France's defeat by Germany in 1940. The trial was held in the city of Riom in central France, and had mainly political aims – namely to project the responsibility of defeat onto the leaders of the left-wing Popular Front government that had been elected 3 May 1936.
The Supreme Court of Justice (Cour suprême de justice), created by a decree issued by Pétain on 30 July 1940, was empowered to judge:
1o Les ministres, les anciens ministres ou leurs subordonnés immédiats, civils et militaires, accusés d'avoir commis des crimes ou délits dans l'exercice ou à l'occasion de leurs fonctions, ou d'avoir trahi les devoirs de leur charge;
2o Toute personne accusée d'attentat contre la sûreté de l’État et de crimes et délits connexes;
3o Tout coauteur ou complice des personnes visées aux paragraphes précédents.
1st, the ministers, the former ministers, civil and military, accused of having committed crimes or délits while exercising their duties or on the occasion thereof, or of having betrayed the duties of their offices;
2nd, every person accused of having attacked the security of the state and of connected crimes or délits;
3nd, every co-perpetrator or accomplice of the persons targeted by the above paragraphs.
The period examined by the court was from 1936 (the beginning of the Popular Front administration, under Léon Blum) to 1940 and Paul Reynaud's cabinet. The trial, supported by the Nazis, had the secondary aim of demonstrating that the responsibility of the war rested with France (which had officially declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, two days after the invasion of Poland) and not with Adolf Hitler and his policies. Once started in February 1942, the trial did not go according to plan. The defendants were largely successful in rebutting the charges, and won sympathetic coverage in the international press. The trial was eventually suspended in March 1942, and formally abandoned in May 1943.
There were originally seven defendants at the Riom Trial, though Pétain later withdrew the charges against Paul Reynaud and Georges Mandel without explanation, surrendering them to the Germans instead; Mandel was later executed by the Vichy regime's Milice. The five who stood trial were:
More than 400 witnesses were called, many of them soldiers who were supposed to testify that the French army was not adequately equipped to resist the Wehrmacht invasion of May–June 1940. It was alleged that Blum's legislation, enacted after the 1936 Matignon Agreements which had introduced the 40-hour working week and paid leave for workers and had nationalised some businesses, had undermined France's industrial and defence capabilities. The left-wing Popular Front government was also held to have been weak in suppressing "subversive elements and revolutionists."
Owing to the changing international context, including the June 1941 invasion of the USSR, and deterioration of popular support for the Vichy regime, Marshal Philippe Pétain decided to speed up the process. He thus announced on the radio, prior to the beginning of the trial, that he would himself condemn the guilty parties after having heard the advice of the Political Justice Council (Conseil de justice politique) which he had set up. Pétain was entitled to such an act after the Constitutional decree of 27 January 1941. The newly created Political Justice Council handed in its conclusions on 16 October 1941.[clarification needed] After Pétain's condemnation of the political responsibles, the Riom Trial was supposed to try the men as citizens.[clarification needed] Although the president of the court, Pierre Caous, declared at the outset that the trial was not to be a political one, it was widely seen as a show trial, in France and abroad.