Back More
Salem Press

Table of Contents

See Also

See Also in
Notorious Lives

Joseph Darnand

Jacques Doriot

Adolf Hitler

Pierre Laval

Philippe Pétain.

Great Lives from History: Notorious Lives

François Darlan

by Sara Vidar

French admiral and Vichy politician

Cause of notoriety: Commander of the French armed forces during World War II, Darlan was a traitor in the eyes of his fellow French because of his collaborationist stance.

Active: 1940-1942

Locale: France and North Africa

Early Life

Jean-François Darlan (zhah frahn-swah dahr-lah) was born August 7, 1881, in Nérac, France. He graduated from the naval academy in 1902 and became an officer in the French navy that year. Darlan remained in the navy until 1929, reaching the rank of rear admiral, at which point he was called upon to rebuild the navy. He became chief of staff in 1936 and was admiral of the fleet by 1937. He was given command of the entire French navy in 1939.

Naval and Political Career

During World War II, after the Germans began their occupation of Paris in 1940, Darlan fully supported the Vichy prime minister, Marshal Philippe Pétain, and Darlan’s loyalty was rewarded by his being allowed to retain control over the French navy.

François Darlan.

ph_0111226673-Darlan.jpg

Darlan ordered a large portion of the fleet to French North Africa. On July 3, 1940, the British decided to destroy the fleet at Mers El Kébir rather than risk its falling into German hands. This decision resulted in more than thirteen hundred French naval dead and intensified Darlan’s hatred of the English. Despite his Anglophobia, Darlan continued to deny the Germans control of the remaining ships.

In 1941, however, Darlan replaced Pierre Laval as Pétain’s deputy, and he was also made minister of foreign affairs, defense, and the interior. This left Darlan, in effect, the head of government. He quickly adjusted to his new power. He promoted ties with Germany and strove to create an alliance between the Vichy government and the Nazi Party. The Nazis, however, did not see Darlan as loyal as they had Laval; they viewed Darlan as more of an opportunist. The Germans forced him to relinquish his posts and return power to the more obviously pro-Nazi Laval.

On November 7, 1942, Darlan traveled to Algiers, Algeria, to visit his son, who had been hospitalized with polio. The following day, there was an attack on the Vichy government, carried out by four hundred poorly armed members of the French Resistance. The resistance managed to occupy and gain control of major strategic points in Algiers, including the general government and staff offices, officers’ barracks, and telephone lines. They also rounded up and arrested most of the Vichy government officials and personnel, including Darlan. This paved the way for an Allied forces occupation.

General Mark W. Clark of the Allied command negotiated an agreement with Darlan in which the latter would convince the French collaborators to stop all hostilities, and Darlan would remain the head of the French administration. To Darlan’s shock, only some of the French troops followed his commands, while others continued to fight alongside the Germans. Darlan was removed from the Vichy government for his collaboration with the Allies, and southern France was invaded by Germany in Operation Attila.

Thinking that the French would follow Darlan more willingly than they would someone from the Allied forces, American general Dwight D. Eisenhower agreed with Darlan’s nomination of himself to the post of high commissioner of France for North and West Africa. Darlan’s appointment was met with criticism from the commander of the free French forces, Charles de Gaulle, English prime minister Winston Churchill, and other Allied officials.

While in Algiers, a twenty-year-old French monarchist and member of the resistance, Ferdinand Bonnier de La Chapelle, entered Darlan’s headquarters on December 24, 1942, and shot him twice. Darlan died a few hours later. De La Chapelle was arrested and executed by firing squad on December 24, 1942.

Impact

As hatred and mistrust of the Vichy government grew in France and in other countries, so did support for the French Resistance. François Darlan and other members of the Vichy government had a profound effect on French daily life and on the psyche of the nation. While many French citizens joined the resistance, standing up against the Nazis and supporting their country, many others sided with the Vichy government, dividing France into confused and, at times, contradictory factions. With the Allied forces’ ultimate victory in World War II, those who supported the Vichy regime claimed that they had been forced to do so by the Germans, and many who joined the resistance when a German defeat was inevitable claimed to have been against the Nazis and Vichy throughout the war. On the whole, France and its citizens were left in a state of confusion and shame.

Further Reading

1 

Alexander, Martin S. The Republic in Danger: General Maurice Gamelin and the Politics of French Defense, 1931-1940. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Written for those who already possess an understanding of French politics during the Vichy era, this book offers an excellent account of France’s involvement in World War II and the internal conflict occurring simultaneously within France.

2 

Burrin, Philippe. France Under the Germans: Collaboration and Compromise. New York: New Press, 1998. Explores the reasoning and rationale behind the compromises France made with the Nazis and their ramifications for France’s citizens.

3 

Jackson, Julian. France: The Dark Years, 1940-1944. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Takes the controversial stance that the Vichy government was not an oppressive force thrust upon France by the Germans but rather a powerful faction of French fascists and anti-Semites.

4 

Melton, George E. Darlan. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1998. A thorough biography of Darlan, covering his childhood, career development, involvement in World War II, and assassination, of which Melton offers a complete picture.

5 

Paxton, Robert O. Vichy France. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001. A thoroughly researched and well-documented account of the Vichy government and its decision-making processes.

Citation Types

MLA 9th
Vidar, Sara. "François Darlan." Great Lives from History: Notorious Lives, edited by Carl L. Bankston III, Salem Press, 2007. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=GLN_1149.
APA 7th
Vidar, S. (2007). François Darlan. In C. L. Bankston III (Ed.), Great Lives from History: Notorious Lives. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Vidar, Sara. "François Darlan." Edited by Carl L. Bankston III. Great Lives from History: Notorious Lives. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2007. Accessed September 17, 2026. online.salempress.com.