Preliminary Material -- Introduction -- 1. From Hope to Disappointment -- 2. Marseille Chicago -- 3. Enthusiasm and Co-operation -- 4. Policing Opposition -- 5. Anti-Semitic Policing -- 6. The Hunt for German Spies -- 7. Ripping the Heart out of Marseille -- 8. Disaffection and Unreliability -- 9. The New Slave Trade -- 10. New Rivals -- 11. Towards Liberation -- 12. A New Police for a New France? -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index.
This article deals with the relationship between the police and national and local politics in France during the mid-1930s. A new left-wing coalition, the Popular Front, had come to power to try to ward off a perceived fascist threat. This threat was felt very keenly in France because most of the surrounding countries were falling under far right control and France had had its own extreme-right demonstrations in 1934. It was important for the new coalition to be able to dispose of a reliable police force. In Marseille, the police was politically divided particularly between those who considered themselves apolitical and the supporters of the 'fascist' Sabiani and the socialist Tasso. The battle-lines were drawn partly on ideological lines but essentially around clientelistic considerations. Undoubtedly the socialists dominated the local force and the Popular Front was thus welcomed by the police rank and file, but not without some of their hopes being frustrated.
The French police during the Second World War were used both as a tool of collaboration between the Vichy regime and the Nazi occupier and to enforce an internal political reform, known as the National Revolution. The police initially responded enthusiastically, since an input of new resources was promised and the regime's main opponents – communists and foreigners – were also traditional police targets. A fierce repression ensued, police actions including the handing over of communists to the Nazis and playing an important role in deporting foreign Jews to their deaths. However, after two years police support began to falter, and by mid-1943 many police forces were at collapsing point. The police were suffering from an acute patriotic identity crisis and were the target of Resistance propaganda. The promised new resources had largely failed to materialise, which both demoralised the police and further undermined their efficiency.
