France: Did the Germans change or do anything about the socialist Popular Front government, since they were fascist?

[axisinquirer]

I'm just wondering, seeing as the Germans were fascist, something that contradicts with the French socialist Popular Front government at the time of the invasion, was anything done to try to change the government? Were politicians taken as POW? Or anything of the like?

[pugsville]

The Vichy Regime arrested many often leading pre-war politicians and held "treason trials" of a number of pre war politicians. Notably, Daladier pleading Radical Socialists, actually pretty centrist party and neither radical nor socialist) and Blum (Socialist party and jewish) The trail sort of fizzled out after a long process, and the politicians mainly transferred to camps in Germany. Georges Mandel was killed by the Milice in 1944 after being retuned from camps to be a hostage in Paris, probably handed over by the Germans to be killed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riom_Trial

Idler Castle was used to hold notable French prisoners and other notable political prisoners, a sub camp under the administration of Dachau concentration camp.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itter_Castle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport ... s_to_Tyrol

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Édouard_Daladier
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Léon_Blum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Mandel

[axisinquirer]

Thank-you, that's a lot of good information for me to get into

[DavidFrankenberg]

The Riom Trial turned to a fiasco for the Vichy Régime, because so many people who were involved in the Republic were also involved in Vichy that the Riom Trial soon revealed the collusion between the Republic and its accuser (Pétain and the Vichy Régime).

Front Populaire government was not so badly treated. Excepted some shooted jews like Jean Zay etc. But you have Léon Blum, the leader of the Front Populaire, who was not shoot at all, despite the fact he was detained and even well treated by the Germans himself during the war.
Other jews ministers of the Front Populaire survived the war : Cécile Brunschiwg hidden in south of France, Joliot-Curie (supposed jew) hidden in Switzerland, Jules Moch was jailed by Vichy then freed in 1941 (he joined the Résistance).

Some ministers of the Front populaire even joined the Vichy Régime : Georges Monnet minister of agriculture under the Front Populaire became minister of the Blocus under Vichy...

The fate of Léon Blum during the war always astonished me : he was the perfect example of what nazis hated the most (jewish+socialist) and they didnt even kill him (!).


Georges Mandel was not part of the Front Populaire, he was an opponent of the Front Populaire, despite he was a jew himself. He was not shoot because of the Front Populaire.