Paul Reynaud and the Battle for the Republic

European History

2026.10.07

Paul Reynaud

Paul Reynaud served as Prime Minister of France during the critical months of May and June 1940 as the country faced the German invasion. A firm defender of the Republic, Reynaud opposed appeasement and appointed Charles de Gaulle as Under-Secretary of State to strengthen military resistance. As German troops advanced, Reynaud fought fiercely within his cabinet to continue the war from French North Africa or merge with Great Britain. However, as defeatist sentiment grew and the armistice faction led by Philippe Pétain gained control, Reynaud was forced to resign on June 16, 1940. Arrested shortly thereafter by the Vichy regime, he was detained through the Riom Trial and held in German imprisonment until Allied forces liberated him from Itter Castle in 1945.

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Group	List
British Politics	Winston ChurchillStanley BaldwinNeville ChamberlainClement AttleeAnthony EdenEdward WoodErnest Bevin
French Politics	Charles de GaullePaul ReynaudÉdouard DaladierLéon BlumPhilippe PétainMaxime WeygandMaurice Gamelin
Jewish relief	Anne FrankEtty HillesumEdith SteinRaoul WallenbergAristides de Sousa MendesVarian FryNicholas WintonChiune Sugihara
Nuclear Science	James ChadwickJohn CockcroftErnest WaltonPatrick BlackettMark OliphantOtto HahnOtto Robert Frisch