Winning French Minds by Denis Courtois;

Author:Denis Courtois;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781636241470
Publisher: Casemate Publishers & Book Distributors, LLC
Published: 2023-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

This morning, we learned that it was no longer permitted to divorce. Mind your own business, Maréchal? We are already prisoners of the occupier; we will now be the prisoner of our spouse! … Because we enjoyed life too much under the Third Republic, as Pétain said; and pleasure debases us. The moralising, reactionary and petit-bourgeoisness in Pétain’s doctrine is stinky. It is disgusting to be defeated.69

Vichy’s policy regarding family and abortion had clearly engendered hostility as early as September 1940.

Pétain recorded the following broadcast on 11 July, speaking about the value of family and the expected role of the state, parents and young people, urging the French not to lose hope. He promised that French families would have the respect and protection of France. France would provide their children with education, confidence that had been lost over the years, and a bright future. French families were the custodians of a long history of honour, and they had a duty to safeguard and pass on to their offspring the ancient virtues that made them strong. Youth in modern times needed to fulfil its role by living with other young members of society and nurturing its strength through safe and friendly outdoor activities to prepare them for the future battle of life. The government would also make sure that the young enthusiasts would be united in a new momentum, which would define the new nature of the French race.70 He concluded that France needed to be a place where ‘(a)ll the French are proud of France, and France proud of every French … Let us give ourselves to France. She has always led her people to greatness.’71

In his message, Pétain expressed his vision of what France would require for a brighter future and to regain this greatness. The state would nurture young people, allowing them to learn, develop and prepare themselves for future battles, all in a safe environment. These statements represent an overt declaration of Pétain’s intention to revolutionise youth education, intensify youth movement and take a gender-specific approach to youth. This gender-discriminative social order had provoked resentment: as Groult wrote, ‘freedom to the men, kitchen to the women’.72 It became clear that women would pay the price for this new education system implemented by Vichy. Pétain’s vision of a united youth in this New France was thus not necessarily to the taste of the youth themselves, especially young women.

In Paris and the département of the Seine, the timetable for girls in primary schools from 12 August to 15 September shows that their education was now focused on the making of lingerie pieces and mending, household tasks such as cleaning and ironing, and other practical courses on individual hygiene and childcare. This was very different to the timetable for boys, which included a much more varied range of activities, such as educational visits to museums or the zoo, teamwork activities, singing, PE, languages and technical skills required for apprenticeship.73

In a separate report broadcast by RN in November, Pétain spoke to

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