20th-century French history

How the myth of Paris liberating itself was born

3 August 2024 9:00 am

When De Gaulle persuaded Eisenhower to allow the French 2nd armoured division to lead a diversion into the city on 25 August 1944, it was his own political future he was thinking of

The trial without end

17 June 2023 9:00 am

Was one venal old man primarily responsible for France’s catastrophe of 1940-44, or was it a case of collective failure? The question remains unanswered, says Patrick Marnham