Expert Comment
"Macron might be right on Pétain, but the French don’t want to hear it" - Dr David Lees
"Macron might be right on Pétain, but the French don’t want to hear it" - says Dr David Lees, of the University of Warwick's School of Modern Languages and Cultures.
"French President Emmanuel Macron sought to praise French First World War military leaders in a commemoration ceremony yesterday (7 November 2018) and argued that even Philippe Pétain deserved some credit for his role in leading French forces. Pétain led the French defence of Verdun in 1916 and is associated with the rotation of front-line troops in response to a threatened mutiny by French conscripts. In describing Pétain as a great soldier, Macron also argued that Pétain had made some ‘disastrous choices’ in the Second World War."