People of France

July 1940

It is with a heavy heart that I tell you that Paris has fallen to the Germans. It did not go without a fight, and Hitler's army paid dearly for the prize, but I have failed you. I tried to stop them, thousands of brave men died to stop them, but they have beaten us on the field of battle.

But this does not mean we are defeated! The flower of democracy blooms in the soil fertilized with the blood of patriots. Even now, hundreds of thousands of men under arms stand ready to defend France. The Germans may spread their tyranny across all of Metropolitan France, but we shall still prevail. For behind us lies a vast Empire, powerful allies in England and America, and the army, navy, and air forces of France.

The time will come when you will encounter the Germans. You must remember that they are the enemy. They have occupied your land. They have slaughtered your families. There will be no collaboration. If you submit today, let it be a ruse for the resistance tomorrow. Make no mistake--the Germans will not treat you more kindly if you surrender peacefully.

I shall continue to fight for you. Petain, a man who did so much for us in the last war, seeks to cloak himself in glory in the surrendering of this one. This contemptible man, who could not even see the Spanish perfidy, seeks to lick the boots of the Nazi dogs. This man is not France. My friends, we all know who France is.

The government shall remain as it is. Your local representatives, mayors, police force--they are the government. Trust them. They will provide for you should the top be unable to talk to the bottom. We must be strong. For we shall one day soon again be free. We must work towards that day.

Vive la France!