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Pierre Laval

French politician (1883-1945) · France · Politicians · Died at 62

Pierre Laval is read about 1,676 times a day, in 55 languages.

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Prime Minister of France three times, executed by firing squad in 1945 for collaboration with Nazi Germany. His path from socialist lawyer defending strikers to Vichy official marks one of the Third Republic's sharpest political reversals.

PoliticiansPoliticianPoliticsLawFranceEurope20th Century

A life in dates

1945Died15 October 19451940“There are two alternatives, either you agree to what we ask and model yourselves on the German and Italian constitutions, or Hitler will force you to do so...”In their words5 July 1940Speech to the deputies (5 July 1940), quoted in Geoffrey Warner, Pierre Laval and the Eclipse of France (1968), pp. 197-198

“Gamelin is absolutely useless. The troops are all underground in that wretched Maginot Line, and completely demoralized. They should be in armour, but we haven't got any...”In their wordsMarch 1940Remarks to Robert Boothby (c. March 1940), quoted in Robert Boothby, Recollections of a Rebel (1978), pp. 138-139

1939“Because French-Italian cooperation had been destroyed Germany was in Vienna and in Prague.”In their words24 June 1939Speech in Paris (24 June 1939), quoted in 'French Cooperation With Italy', The Times (26 June 1939), p. 13

1938“I consider agreement between Italy and France, that is to say between the Latin countries, including Nationalist Spain as well, as my life's mission.”In their words18 March 1938Remarks to Amedeo Landini (18 March 1938), quoted in Geoffrey Warner, Pierre Laval and the Eclipse of France (1968), p. 144

1934“War means the end of us all. Mankind is morally incapable of enduring another war, the horrors of which will surpass everything that has occurred hitherto.”In their words25 September 1934Remarks to a German visitor (25 September 1934), quoted in Geoffrey Warner, Pierre Laval and the Eclipse of France (1968), p. 60

1931“We will always be neighbours of Germany. We face the alternative of reaching an agreement with her or of clashing every twenty years on the battlefield.”In their wordsRemarks to his private secretary (1931), recorded in André Guénier in La Vie de la France, vol. III, p. 1346, quoted in Geoffrey Warner,

1883Born28 June 1883

Also in Deutsch

Photos 4

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In their own words 10

,
Pierre Laval
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10 statements, newest first

  1. There are two alternatives, either you agree to what we ask and model yourselves on the German and Italian constitutions, or Hitler will force you to do so...

    Jul 5, 1940, Speech to the deputies (5 July 1940), quoted in Geoffrey Warner, Pierre Laval and the Eclipse of France (1968), pp. 197-198, Own words

  2. Whether, in the last resort, Germany wins the war or not, we now have less choice than ever. We must reach an agreement with her...

    Jun 1940, Remarks to a friend (June 1940), quoted in Geoffrey Warner, Pierre Laval and the Eclipse of France (1968), pp. 190-191, Own words

  3. Gamelin is absolutely useless. The troops are all underground in that wretched Maginot Line, and completely demoralized. They should be in armour, but we haven't got any...

    Mar 1940, Remarks to Robert Boothby (c. March 1940), quoted in Robert Boothby, Recollections of a Rebel (1978), pp. 138-139, Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Order of Pius IX

In their orbit

Child: Josée Laval

About this person

Pierre Laval was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1914 as a socialist, holding to pacifist convictions through the First World War. After 1919 he drifted from the left, becoming mayor of Aubervilliers and later returning to parliament as an independent. He rose through ministerial posts - Public Works, Justice, Labour - and served his first term as prime minister in 1931. A second tenure in 1935 collapsed after his response to the Abyssinia Crisis was condemned as appeasement of Mussolini. France's defeat in 1940 delivered him to Philippe Pétain's Vichy government, where he served as vice-president of the Council of Ministers and later head of government until 1944. Imprisoned by the Germans at the Liberation, he fled to Spain in April 1945, was extradited, and stood trial for treason. He attempted suicide before the firing squad on 15 October 1945.

Country
France
Category
Politicians
Type
Politician
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1883 to 1945 · aged 62

Politicians from France 6

Louis, Dauphin of France63.0Aymeric Chauprade62.9Raymond Poincaré63.2Charles the Bold62.8Stéphane Séjourné63.3Claude Bernard62.8

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