Reynaud, Paul

(1873-1966)

   political figure

   Born in Barcellonette, Paul Reynaud was the prime minister of France when the German invasion occurred in 1940. Elected to the Chamber of Deputies as a member of the bloc nationale in 1919, then again from 1928 to 1940, he served also as minister of finance, of colonies, and of justice (1930-32). In April 1938, he became part of the cabinet of Edouard daladier as minister of justice, then of finance, in which role he achieved the devaluation of the franc, the reduction of state expenses, and the raising of tariffs to cover increasing military expenses. Named prime minister in May 1940, he decided, with British prime minister Winston Churchill, to send an expeditionary force to Norway to block Nazi German access to swedish iron ore and, replacing General maurice gamelin with General maxime weygand as chief of the French armed forces, named himself minister of defense, appointing Marshal Philippe pétain to the vice presidency of the Council. Supporting the continuation of the war in the colonies, Reynaud was outnumbered by the supporters of an armistice and resigned (June 16, 1940), leaving Pétain in power. He was subsequently imprisoned by the vichy government and deported to Germany (1942-45). After the Liberation, he was reelected deputy (1946-62) and became a fervent supporter of the concept of European unity. Reynaud wrote Le Problème militaire français (1937), La France a sauvé l'Europe (1947), Au cœur du mêlée (1951), and his Mémoires (1960-63).