“In 1940, the situation was desperate; France was losing against Germany. So it was decided to put Pétain at the head of the government.

Immediately, he surrendered to Germany, then gave himself full power, putting an end to the Third Republic. He became a close collaborator with Hitler, especially when it came to deporting Jewish people, literally doing more than Hitler asked of him. Without him, a lot more French Jews would have probably survived.

At the end of the war, he was arrested and condemned to death, but it was changed to a life sentence. He died a few years later.

He’s remembered as the greatest traitor in French history, and he’s probably the French person we hate the most.”

—u/thecabbagewoman

“He threw it all away to serve as a Nazi puppet ruler. A name that would’ve been synonymous with French patriotism now just means opportunistic traitor.”

—u/leris1