When Roosevelt Planned to Govern France - Softcover

Robertson, Charles L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1558498818 ISBN 13: 9781558498815

Publisher: University Massachusetts Press, 2011

Synopsis

Tells the story of a plan put forth by President Franklin Roosevelt during World War II to install an Allied military government in France in the aftermath of liberation, and of General Charles de Gaulle’s efforts as self-appointed leader of the Free French Movement to thwart FDR’s intentions.

About this title

From the Back Cover

This book tells the story of a plan put forth by President Franklin Roosevelt during World War II for an Allied military occupation of France in the aftermath of liberation, and of General Charles de Gaulle's efforts as self-appointed leader of the Free French Movement to thwart FDR's intentions. Charles L. Robertson frames the narrative as a mystery in which he plays the role of detective. He begins at a dinner party thirty years ago, where he first learned of the alleged plan from an elderly former aide to de Gaulle. Yet it wasn't until 2004, when he heard the same story repeated during the 60th commemoration of D-Day, that he set out to investigate whether it was true.

Many French are aware of this episode and believe, on the basis of later Gaullist officials' writings, that until the last moment a military occupation of their country was imminent. This view, across the years, has helped darken relations between France and the United States. Yet few if any Americans have ever heard of this plan, and in the event, no Allied military government of France was ever established.

How and why it never came to be, and why the French still believe it almost did, is the subject of this book. Robertson recounts how the president of the most powerful nation in the world was outmaneuvered in both his earlier plans for an occupation of France and his subsequent attempts to keep General de Gaulle from "seizing" power -- in a France that ultimately, despite Roosevelt's intentions and expectations, regained its place among the victorious powers under de Gaulle's leadership.

About the Author

CHARLES L. ROBERTSON is a retired professor of government at Smith College and author of International Politics since World War II: A Short History.

About this edition

• Publisher: University Massachusetts Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1558498818
• ISBN 13: 9781558498815
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240