French Committee of the national Release

The French Comité of the National Release (CFLN) is the government organization, by which was carried out, in June 1943, the fusion of the two French authorities re-entries in war, the French National committee of London, directed by the Général de Gaulle (see free France), and the civil and military Commandement of Algiers, directed by the Général Giraud (see Régime of Vichy in released Africa (1942-43)). Thus were unified the effort of French war, carried out the re-establishment of republican, and prepared legality the Release.

The hard constitution of the first French Committee of the national Release

The making of contact with Algiers

The initial insulation of de Gaulle

When De Gaulle arrives at Algiers, in the absolute secrecy, the May 30th 1943, it is not accompanied that of a reduced delegation of the National committee of London
It however on the spot lays out of a protection service made up of some French Free S, former volunteers of the November 8th 1942. They are directed by the Captain Roger Carcassonne, former chief of resistance to Oran, the second lieutenant Bernard Karsenty, former assistant of Jose Aboulker at the time of the Putsch of November 8th, 1942, and the athlete with the face of boxer, Germain Libine.
Ainsi de Gaulle appears it quite alone, vis-a-vis Giraud having the military apparatus, administrative and police as well as support of the United States.

The first “walkabout”

After being received by Giraud, de Gaulle breaks the secrecy of her arrival, while going to incline itself with the war memorial, in full center of Algiers. At this point in time it is accommodated with the Forum by a demonstration cordial gaullist. It is its first true mass demonstration. An observer, the vice-consul of the the United States, Pendar, benefits from it to compare it with Hitler. This comparison without base confirms the extent of the demonstration at least.
Moreover, on its return to the Villa of Glycines, remains that Giraud allotted to him, de Gaulle finds there the messages of some local personalities which make him allegiance.

The first work meeting

the morning of May 31st is held the first work meeting. Y take part Giraud, accompanied by the Georges General and Jean Monnet, and de Gaulle escorted of André Philip and the ambassador Rene Massigli (late rejoined in free France, but pressed, to believe the Bouscat General of it, to become Foreign Minister) . The seventh participant is the Général Catroux, which represented de Gaulle in Algiers.

Conditions posed by de Gaulle

the conditions of fusion posed by de Gaulle are not new. He indeed asks from the start Giraud the constitution of a true French government able to defend the interests of France in the combined camp, this why, it would be necessary:

that Giraud gives up cumulating the command as a military chief and the presidency of the civil capacity;
which are immediately congédiés the Vichyist proconsuls

The rejection by Giraud of the conditions posed by de Gaulle

Giraud refuses to submit with the first proposal, because according to him, it is necessary to have a chief single, civil and military responsible.
It also refuses to sacrifice Noguès, Peyrouton and Boisson. Moreover, it would seem that he praised himself to have personally decided execution of Bonnier of the Vault. The chief of free France rises then and leaves the room without a mot.
a new interview, between the 2 men alone, takes place, the afternoon of the same day. De Gaulle accepts there the provisional office plurality by Giraud of the military command and the presidency, but provided that the chiefs of compromised territories are immediately dislocated.
Giraud refuses, although the events evolve/move in its discredit. Its soldiers continue to rejoin the free French Forces. Indeed, some of the most motivated combatants of its army do not want any more to be made order by officers who drew on the allies and which exhort them to fight “to deliver the Marshal”. Giraud, instead of seeing reality opposite, will complain with the Americans who will move away the FFL from Tunisia.

The short-circuiting of Giraud

The recourse to the press

At all events, de Gaulle behaves as a Master, and gives as of on June 1st, a press conference with the villa of Glycines. It receives there, in addition to the foreign journalists, their French colleagues, who made silence on his arrival:
After having been ironical about their not very professional behavior, the de Gaulle general states to them that:

It came to Algiers to constitute with Giraud a French central capacity with governmental attributions, until the whole of the French could be consulted.
the sacrifices necessary can be required of the French only by worthy men to order them.
the base of the unification is integral French sovereignty on all the parts of the Empire: Besides our friends may find it beneficial more to treat with right French that with curved people.
the acts of the new central capacity will have to agree narrowly with the opinion of occupied France.

First rallyings

If the chief of the Fighting France implacably requires the punishment of the proconsuls, it has easier forgiveness towards Alphonse Juin, which resolutely changed camp, after having initially made draw its men on the allies, and whose control, during the Campagne of Tunisia, was appreciated. De Gaulle thus addresses to June, her former comrade of promotion, a friendly and flattering letter. It achieves its goal which is to disunite June of Giraud.
It receives moreover, the evening even, the resignation of Peyrouton, general governor of the Algérie, and former minister of Pétain, which it encouraged to adopt the worst laws of exclusion. Peyrouton states to thus want to facilitate the union of the French and request with de Gaulle, as “a president of the Executive committee”, to be used in quality of captain as Colonial Infantry.
De Gaulle accepts this resignation immediately, by inviting Peyrouton to place itself at the disposal of the Commander-in-chief of the FFL at Raising (Catroux), and hastens to communicate to the press the text of the two letters. Peyrouton, informed, about midnight, of the publicity given to its missive, makes carry a letter identical to Giraud, to which she arrives at 1 o'clock in the morning.
Giraud, being estimated threatened by de Gaulle then, orders in Peyrouton to remain at its station

The threat of putsch of Muselier

The threat

Giraud, right before the arrival in Algiers of the chief of Fighting France, had named at the stations - keys of the police force and information, two of the personal enemies of this last: Andre Labarthe, former director of a patriotic newspaper in London, and the admiral Muselier, resisting undeniable, who had founded the Free French Naval forces, and had released in the name of free France, the colony of Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon.
Andre Labarthe, director of Information, made retain the reports of press relative to the first 2 letters of Peyrouton.
As for Muselier, new chief of the police force, it presented on June 2nd, per first hour, at Catroux, provided with a decision charging it with the maintenance of law and order, in the capacity of chief of the military forces and police force. He declared that the Palate of Summer was aimed by a conspiracy of the gaullists of Algiers
Catroux answered that, if putsch there were, it would not come from the gaullists. And in fact, the majority of the volunteers of November 8th being to the armies, only remained in Algiers some French Free S in permission and disarmed , as well as the protection service of the General. Vis-a-vis these weak forces, Muselier did not make any less come to Algiers a regiment from Senegalese and a regiment from Hunters from Africa. It made occupy all the exits of the city, as well as the close airports, by units of spahis, aviation and gendarmerie.
Simultaneously, Giraud addressed an ultimatum to de Gaulle: Yes or not to you it wished an agreement?

De Gaulle was shown to want to drive out men worthy of confidence, to establish the dictatorship of the cagoulards of its entourage, and to want to carry reached to our alliances. All thus seemed well to indicate that it was actually against the gaullists that a putsch prepared,
Of their with dimensions certain hostile officers of the entourage of Giraud to the union of the two generals, would have planned either to stop de Gaulle, or to oblige it to take refuge in A.E.F (under pretext which its presence in Algiers was likely to create of the disorders likely to endanger the lines of allied communications) .

The parade

At this point in time intervened Carcassonne and Billotte. Informed by a staff officer of Giraud, scandalized, they gained the interested colonels, Sémideï, said Servais and Van Hecke.
In the evening of June 2nd, it is thus de Gaulle, who finally was in strong position in Algiers, and addressed in her turn an ultimatum inviting Giraud to break or succeed.
Or Giraud could not break, like would have liked it the members of its entourage. It was condemned to lead by the Americans, of which, according to Pendar, it would have received “instructions”.
the evening even, it is Noguès which follows the example of Peyrouton, and resigns in its turn.

Formation of the first C.F.L.N

The agreement on the principles

on June 3rd with 10:00, the 7 are face to face and de Gaulle proposes the texts of an ordinance and a declaration creating the new body of government. One and the other is adopted.
Consequently, a single French central capacity will exert:

French sovereignty (the two capacities, legislature and executive);
the management and the defense of all the French interests in the world;
authority on all the territories and forces concerned with the two amalgamated entities.
the diplomatic prerogatives (exerted simultaneously by the two copresidents)

This capacity central will last until the day when, after the release, it will be possible, in accordance with the laws of the Republic, to give the capacity to a provisional government.

The agreement on the people

The composition of the first C.F.L.N.

Are members of the first C.F.L.N. :

the presidents Giraud and de Gaulle,
the police chiefs gaullists, Andre Philip, inside, and Massigli with the Foreign affairs,
the police chiefs giraudists, Jean Monnet with the armament, and the general Alphonse Georges, police chief of State,
independent”, general police chief the “Georges Catroux, police chief of State.

Change of the chiefs of territory

the chiefs of territories are replaced, after de Gaulle redemandé their departure, and Giraud tempted to defend the case of Drink:

- The Puaux ambassador, who, in 1940, had given an opinion against the armistice, is named Résident General with the Morocco
- Catroux becomes General governor of Algeria, in the place of Peyrouton,
- Jean Helleu, ambassador rejoined in free France, in August 1940, becomes Acting general with Raising,
- In Tunisia the Vichyist General Prioux, proposed by Giraud, is drawn aside, while Charles Mast is immediately accepted,
- As for Drink, it will wait its station until one comes to raise it. But on June 18th, energy to deposit a sheaf with the war memorial, it will be made hoot, repressed the demonstration, and, on June 19th, will resign in its turn.

Walk towards the unit interns C.F.L.N.

The initial unit of pure form

the unit carried out in the texts is not carried out yet. The 2 authorities, territories and armed, are rather juxtaposed that amalgamated, and the instituted dyarchie prohibited any important decision on the choice of a political line.
Ainsi the troops of A.F.N remain they under the only authority of the General Giraud, itself subordinated of the allied commander-in-chief Eisenhower. Thus one of Dyarques it is subordinated to a foreign authority
a common will of the Committee exceeding starting cleavages however will start to appear, and this tendency will be encouraged by the institution, on June 3rd, of a secretariat of the C.F.L.N entrusted to Louis Joxe, member of the movement Combat, which takes as assistant Edgar Faure and Raymond Offroy.

Progress of the gaullists in the opinion

on June 4th, in the capacity as copresident of the C.F.L.N., de Gaulle will make a speech in Radio-Algiers, whose Gaullistes take control.
a new mass demonstration intervenes with the cinema Majestic, on June 6th, and the increased number of the demonstrators indicates that former petainists took their way of Damas.
Certaines charges of totalitarianism is then formulated against de Gaulle: but are hardly taken with serious, coming on behalf of the former partisans from Darlan.

The widening of the C.F.L.N.

June 7th, new police chiefs are appointed. The ones result from free France:

Rene Pleven, with the Colonies
Henri Bonnet with Information
Andre Diethelm with the Production and the Trade
Adrien Tixier, with Work and the social Welfare

The three others are partisans of Giraud:

Rene Mayer with the Communications and the Merchant navy
Maurice Broods of Murville, with Finances
Jules Abadie, with State education, the Public health and Justice.

All are conscious of the need for a central capacity which controls indeed, and of the essential rupture with Vichy. As they did not take part in the initial clashes, their desire to be useful will precede their other considerations.

Dysfunctions of the C.F.L.N.

The CFLN with two heads suffered right from the start from various dysfunctions, of which one was its paralysis because of presence at its head of two quasi permanent presidents in dissension, and the other the permanent interference of the authorities allied in its inner working, via Giraud.

Initial internal paralysis of the C.F.L.N.

Initial dissensions

on June 8th, Georges tries to make attach the F.F.L to the army of Giraud, which did not give up its presidential function. But its proposal is pushed back by the majority of the police chiefs.
Catroux proposes to entrust to de Gaulle National defense, Giraud receiving the command of the whole of the French forces (Its proposal is pushed back by only the Georges and Giraud).
De Gaulle proposes the creation of a Military committee, and the abandonment by Giraud of its presidency when he exerts command in shift. (Pushed back by Giraud and Georges).

Tactical withdrawal of Charles de Gaulle

the evening of June 9th, de Gaulle addresses to the police chiefs a letter denouncing the paralysis of the Committee and decides to be withdrawn some. Giraud tests then, on June 10th, to take the direction of the Committee, but it is objected to him that nothing can be made without the agreement of its rival.
June, alerted, returns precipitately from Tunisia and tries, with the Bouscat general, to make admit in Giraud the necessary subordination of the army to the civil capacity. (Giraud having in fact transposed within the Committee its Command as a civil and military chief) .
Giraud heading in its refusal, and de Gaulle abstains from then, during 6 days, to take part in the activities of the Committee.

The return of Charles de Gaulle

Then, on June 15th, the police chiefs of London having arrived, De Gaulle calls a meeting of the committee of the 14.
Giraud refuses that the question is discussed and denies competence of the Committee in this field, whereas he had recognized it by ordinance of June 3rd.

Foreign interference in the interior matters of the Committee

The open foreign intervention

Giraud and Georges shows such an intransigence, because they feel supported by all the weight of the American power:
on June 16th, and Mac Milan convene the two presidents with a meeting suggested by the Eisenhower General on the command and the organization of the French armed forces.

- On June 19th, 43, the two copresidents come separately, and de Gaulle expresses reservations on this interference in the French interior matters.

According to Eisenhower, Giraud must remain in place with its current attributions, and must be alone to deal with all military subjects in A.F.N. Or else, the deliveries of American weapons would be compromised.

The answer of de Gaulle

De Gaulle answers:

- that the weapons given to the French soldiers will be used in the shared interest of alliance, and that, in 14-18, France provided weapons to Serb, Russian, etc, without n the other hand allotting a right to watch on their internal organization,
- that the maintenance of the status quo delays the fusion of the French forces,
- and asks the généralissime finally, in front of Giraud which does not say anything: “You who are soldier, believe you that the authority of a chief can remain, if it rests on the favor of a foreign power? ”.
- De Gaulle concludes by saying that it will transmit the American request to the Committee, but would refuse to form part of it, if the ultimatum were accepted.

the American ultimatum is then rejected by the Committee, which gives to Giraud the choice between:

- to subject itself to the decisions of the C.F.L.N. ;
- or to cease being member and leaving his command about it.

to avoid the objection of the secrecy, de Gaulle proposes the creation of a Military committee made up of the only police chiefs and directly interested military chiefs.
the status quo being maintained:

- the Vichyist ones pavoisent (Chambe with Oran)
- Roosevelt invites Giraud in the United States without passing by the Committee, like confirming the intervention of Eisenhower.

The harmonious operation of the C.F.L.N in the absence of Giraud

The behavior of Giraud in the United States

- The technical coloring of the mission of Giraud weakens the impact.
of it - Giraud makes read again some of its speeches by representatives américains.
- An increasing favor is expressed with de Gaulle by the opinion of on the other side of the Atlantic.

The catch in hands of the Committee by de Gaulle, in the absence of Giraud

In the temporary absence of Giraud, the delivered CFLN of the permanent conflicts becomes aware of its potential of unit and starts to make return in the row local feudalities.
on June 26th, de Gaulle goes to Tunis, where it is accommodated by Mast and Lamine Bey. De Gaulle encourages Mast to limit the committal for trial of the natives who collaborated, and calls upon on June 27th, “Notre Dame France” in a speech made with the Cathedral of Tunis

- On July 7th: The colonel of the F.F.L. Billotte is named with the Secretariat of the Military committee.
- On July 14th, 1943, a great demonstration is held with the Forum. At this point in time de Gaulle asks Murphy: “They are the 10% of Gaullistes there that you had counted? ”.
- At the beginning of August: de Gaulle visits Morocco and Sultan.
- But it does not go in A.O.F., where Boisson was eliminated from itself.

Reinforcement of the influence of the Committee

on June 4th, 1943, the insurrection bursts in the Guadeloupe, then, from June 18th to 24th, with the Martinique.

The admiral Robert is finally constrained to be withdrawn, and the Antilles return in the war.

on July 27th, 1943, de Gaulle affirms, following the catch to be able by the general Badoglio, the right of France to take part in the payment of the Italian question.
In August, the admiral Godfroy and his fleet of Alexandria join in their turn, when Churchill threatens to cease the payment of the balances of its crews.

The catch by de Gaulle of the Directorate of Political Affairs of the Committee

The return of Giraud

has its return to Algiers, on August 3rd, 1943, Giraud is found in a more plain and reinforced Committee, whereas he thinks to have reinforced his popularity in the opinion of the 2 countries.
It thus will make figure with the CFLN of foreign body. Except for the military businesses, where it preserves the upper hand, but where intervene also the Military committee chaired by de Gaulle, as well as the Secretary of this Committee, colonel Billotte.

The transfer to de Gaulle of the governmental capacity

Giraud accepts a decree of August 4th, 1943 reforming the organization of the Committee, believing to strengthen its influence thus there.
Dyarchie remains there, but in the form of a " spécialisée" presidency; substituted for the " alternée" presidency; :

De Gaulle becomes president in charge of the Government action, while Giraud is the president in charge with the Command as a chief and the direction of military operations

From the day when the Giraud general will take the effective Command of the forces in operations, he will cease being a president.

Thus de Gaulle sees recognized her supremacy in all the nonmilitary businesses, as as regards general policy. - From where end of the administrative stagnation and the quasi-feudal autonomy of the territories. At the same time faculty disappears, for the administrations resulting from Vichy, to paralyze libérales.
measurements - On August 26th, the CFLN is recognized by the allies, with certain restrictions on behalf of the United States, but in a broader way by the Soviet Union.

The business of Corsica

the Corsican resistance, initially coordinated by the captain Scamaroni of the FFL, is taken again in hand, after its capture by the OVRA and its suicide in February 1943, by the officers of Giraud. The resistant ones on the spot concern the Front National to dominant Communist, whose chiefs are Giovonni, Maillot, Vittori and of Peretti.
In December 42, the civil Command and soldier had sent the commander of Saulle there, by the submarine Casabianca of the captain Herminier, then, in April 43, the commander Colonna of Istria, who had organized there maquis in connection with Royal Air Force, for once generous out of weapons.
However, at the time of the reorganization of the CFLN in June 43, Giraud does not speak about nothing with the other members Committee.

At the beginning of September 1943, when Giovonni comes on mission by the submarine “Casabianca”, to prepare rising, It requires to meet de Gaulle and Philip. It is answered him whereas they cannot receive it.
It thus meets only Giraud… Until the day when this one invites Philip with the same lunch inadvertently as Giovonni. At this point in time this police chief learns the business and de Gaulle informs some.

De Gaulle although absent from Algiers draws aside the proclamation in Corsica of the state of siege and obtains the nomination of the prefect Charles Luizet.
on September 9th begins the rising of Corsica, with the initial assistance of the goumiers transported by the Casabianca submarine, then Battalion of Shock. The Operation carried out mainly by the men of the maquis against the Germans succeeds.
Giraud is seen congratulating on October 10th, by the CFLN, of the success of its operation, but also reproaching for having kept away the other police chiefs.
Consequently, the Committee must take account of an experiment in which Giraud replaced him, by using its double quality of president and of Commander-in-chief: Its members fear that a similar situation reproduces during the release of continental France.

Unification of the presidency and the subordination of the soldier to the civilian

The subordination of the soldier to the civilian

an ordinance of October 2nd unified the presidency. The president is elected for one year and re-eligible.
a decree on National defense sets up the Commission of National defense in true police station and decides that the commander-in-chief is named by decree and order the forces placed at his disposal.
For the other forces, he is general inspector. It was about one return to the law on the Nation in time of war, of July 11th, 1938.

The alignment of the composition of the Committee on that of the provisional Consultative Assembly

Principles of recombining

It is on November 3rd, 1943 that the provisional Consultative Assembly holds its inaugural session.
on November 6th, 1943, 3 days after the inaugural meeting of the Consultative Assembly, the Committee requires of the President to carry out all changes in its composition, to ensure:

1° the representation and the collaboration of personalities of the Consultative Assembly,
2° the unit and the cohesion of the Committee,
3° the subordination of the military capacity to the civil capacity.

The recombining of the Committee

on November 9th, de Gaulle recomposes the Committee, with the image of the Consultative Assembly (see hereafter), with:

1° of the representatives of Resistance,
2° of the representatives of the political parties,
3° of the techniciens.

But it obtained neither the immediate agreement of the Communists who wanted initially to indicate themselves their ministers, nor that of the episcopate, which opposes the entry at the Committee of Mgr Hincky, patriotic auxiliary bishop of Colmar.
In March 1944, the CFLN will reach the final stage of its internal ripening, by integrating the members of Parliament Billoux and Grenier (Communists), chosen by the general de Gaulle, and Giaccobi (radical).

The setting with the step of the special services

the role of the special services is particularly important for France from which most of the territory is under enemy occupation. These are indeed the services which allow the connection and the action in occupied France. However the CFLN lays out theoretically, for this purpose, of two special services: services of free France and the services giraudists.

The special service gaullist

the special service of free France, or “central Office of information and action” (BCRA) established as of 1940 of the clandestine connections with France, where it created its own networks.
has London, its direction was exerted by Jacques Soustelle and it included/understood 5 services:

1° the section Information directed by the commander Panier
2° the section Action-Missions directed by the colonel Passy and Pierre Brossolette
3° the military section Mail directed by the colonel Remy
4° the Office of Coordination military directed by Saint-Jacob
5° section N.M. of Louis Small valley, then of the captain Jean Pierre-Bloch, appointed of Aisne

Special service “giraudist”

the special services known as “Giraudistes” are actually the intelligence services of Vichy, which devoted themselves more to hunting for the resistant ones, until November 1942, which with the fight against the enemy, even if some of its men of the base camouflaged weapons or, like the lieutenant Cordier abbot, also dared to stop, of their own boss, some German agents (See, in the article Régime of Vichy, with the § “Inféodation with the enemy”, the Report/ratio of December 26th, 1941, per which colonel Rivet, then chief of the “Office of carried out antinational” (sic), praises himself there many arrests of allied agents and resistant operated by its services) .
This special service includes/understands 4 services:

1° intelligence services of the colonel Rivet
2° service of the Against-espionage of the commander Paillole
3° the service Action of the colonel Clipet
4° service of Technical controls directed by Albéric de Maistre.

The attempt at unification of the services

a first attempt at unification of the two special services was tried in October 1943, by the nomination at their head of the Cochet general. But this one had only one simple capacity of coordination, because the old Vichyist services communicated directly with Giraud.
From the November 9th, 1943, Emmanuel d' Astier, brother of Henri, and itself representing of the movement “Release” at the Consultative Assembly, entered with the CFLN, as police chief inside, i.e. with the relations clandestine with the metropolis.
It named Jacques Soustelle then, previously Commissaire with the Information of the National committee of London, with the head of the Head office of the Secret service (D.G.S.S.) which gathered the 2 old services of London and Algiers. Soustelle, former archeologist specialist in Précolombien, had succeeded in establishing in all the Latin America of the Support groups in free France, which there shorted-circuit the embassies of France, all attached to Vichy. Having supported before the war the Spanish republicans, it had a reputation of “intellectual of Left”. It was not recommended less by it by colonel Passy, resulting as for him from the extreme right-hand side. Soustelle accepted this function provided that its hierarchical capacities are well defined. It then divided the DGSS into two offices:

- And the Action Information service of London (BRAL), ordered by the colonel Passy,
- And the Action Information service of Algiers (BRAL), ordered by the colonel Pélabon.

For as much, the services resulting from Vichy continued to short-circuit their superiors of Algiers. As for Giraud, always Commander-in-chief, he refused to take into account the decree of the CFLN and continued to give his orders directly to colonels Rivet and Paillole.
a new decree of January 21st, 44 then attached the DGSS to the Presidency of the CFLN. However Giraud did not continue of it less its obstruction, so much so that any report did not arrive in Soustelle. De Gaulle then wrote a letter with Giraud to reason it. But without result.

Of tired war, the Committee removed the command as a chief then, by a decree of April 4th, 1944, and named Giraud General inspector of the army, which he refused.

the executives of its ex-army then let it leave without regrets, because, after having lost the sympathy of resistant, while defending the men and institutions of Vichy, it had been discredited with the eyes of the Vichyist chiefs of the army, dissatisfied with the weakness expressed by him within the CFLN, and with its not very glorious attitude in the Pucheu business: Giraud had indeed let come this Minister of Interior Department of Vichy to North Africa, by granting a safe conduct to him. After which it had interned it. Thereafter, the CFLN being made up and influences it patriots there being developed, Pucheu had passed in judgment under various counts of indictment, of which that to have handled the lists of hostages (by preferably delivering to the enemy its political adversaries). At all events, during this lawsuit, Giraud, member of the CFLN quoted like witness, had made nothing to defend the defendant.

The work of the CFLN

This work was mainly carried out by the Committee, which had the legislative powers and executives, with the active assistance of the Consultative Assembly.

Re-establishment of republican legality

It consisted initially of the re-establishment of republican legality not only in the texts, but also in the facts. It thus comprised the rehabilitation of the victims of measurements of exclusions, but also their compensation for part of the caused injuries.
the decree Crémieux of 1871, which had allotted to the Jews of Algeria the statute of French citizens, and that Pétain, then Giraud had repealed, was restored. As for the circulars of Giraud and Prioux which drew aside these same Jews of the combat units, they were revoked, as the interested parties claimed it who wanted to fight with the face like all the other French.
an administrative purification, was in addition operated, according to certain insufficient, in particular in the army.

Important reforms

the C.F.L.N and the provisional Consultative Assembly considered that their mission was to restore republican legality, to defend French sovereignty and to prepare the release. But they did not recognize the right all to transform: The great reforms considered to be essential by their members were to be held to French people and for his elected representatives, at once that the unfolding of the war would enable them to decide freely and democratically. Nothing prevented nevertheless the Consultative Assembly, while waiting for the release, to deliver its opinion on the reform projects which would be presented to him.
By exception, certain important reforms were however operated by the CFLN because they went in the direction of the democracy. It was the case of the extension of the right to vote to the women, and the improvement of the fate of colonized in Black Africa and Algeria (Conference of Brazzaville, and Schedules of March 7th 1944 allotting the French citizenship, without abandonment of their religious civil statute, with few tens of thousands of titular Algerian Moslem natives of diplomas or decorations) .
Enfin the French contribution to the future release was amplified by an assistance supported with the organizations of resistance and the actions of sabotage in occupied territory.
Moreover, one solution was required with the financial problems which would be likely to arise with the release. The strong solution (exchange of the tickets) recommended by the Police chief with Finances Mendès France was applied in Corsica successfully, but met the opposition of other members of the CFLN, among which Rene Pleven, which found this type of operation too brutal.

Transformation of the CFLN into Provisional government of the French Republic (G.P.R.F.)

June 3rd, 1944, the C.F.L.N was proclaimed, at the request of the Consultative Assembly, “Provisional government of the French Republic” (G.P.R.F). The provisional government was recognized like such by the great powers (the United Kingdom, the United States, the USSR, Canada) only on October 23rd, 1944.

Sources and bibliography

Testimonys

Charles de Gaulle: Memories of War :

Volume II - the Unit , 1942-1944, Paris, 1956,
Volume III - Safety , 1944-1946, Paris, 1959.

General Giraud, Only one goal victory, Algiers 1942-1944 , Julliard, Paris, 1949.
Jacques Soustelle, Towards and against all , Volumes I and II, Robert Laffont, Paris 1950

Scientific works

Jean-Louis Crémieux-Brilhac, free France , Gallimard, Paris, 1996.
Yves Maxime Danan, political life in Algiers, of 1940 to 1944 , General Bookstore of Right and Jurisprudence, Paris, 1963.
Christine Levisse-Touzé, North Africa , during the Second world war, Albin Michel, Paris 1998.

See too

France under the mode of Vichy
Provisional government of the French Republic
Conference of Brazzaville

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