An inevitable defeat? The causes of the 1940 defeat

By Olivier Wieviorka, historian and professor of contemporary history at ENS Paris-Saclay
In 1940, after some six weeks of war, France suffered a crushing defeat. The consequences were far-reaching: on July 10, 1940, a majority of French parliamentarians voted full powers to Marshal Pétain, bringing the Third Republic to an end. And although Charles de Gaulle launched his famous Appeal on June 18, 1940, very few French people heard it, and even fewer followed it.
This dramatic summer deeply traumatized our country. At the same time, it has given rise to a number of myths: some claim that France was doomed to defeat in the face of an overpowering Germany; others maintain that it was the Popular Front Chamber that gave birth to the Vichy regime; many believe that the Appeal gave birth to the French Resistance.
There is some truth in these legends. But only part of it. This conference will re-establish the truths of the summer of 1940 in all their complexity, and tear away the masks of false evidence.
As part of the exhibition Une étrange défaite? May-June 1040