From Vichy to Francoism: historical revisionism spreads in Europe

ParisA specter is haunting Europe, and this time it is fascism. The rise of far-right parties, nostalgic for European fascist dictators—such as Hitler, Mussolini, and Franco—has led to a resurgence of historical revisionism and the whitewashing of dictatorships. In France, a mass held this November in honor of Marshal Pétain, the French head of state during the Vichy regime and a collaborator with the Nazis during the occupation, has caused a political earthquake. In Spain, the message of the right wing, and especially that of the far-right Vox party, which downplays Francoism and the thousands executed, the torture, and the exile, has borne fruit. The CIS (Spanish Center for Sociological Research) recently published a survey revealing that two out of ten young Spaniards believe the dictatorship was positive. Just a few days earlier, the former king published a statement in France. his memoir in which he praised the dictator without reservations and argued that "almost forty years of our history cannot be erased as if nothing happened."

"This happens everywhere: the memory of dictators always returns. Not only in Spain; we have seen it in other European countries as well," says French historian Stéphane Michonneau, a specialist in the contemporary history of Spain and author of the book Franco: The times and the legend [Franco: Time and Legend]. Michonneau believes that, in the Spanish case, the increase in young people who defend the dictatorship "is closely linked to the rise of the far-right Vox party, which makes political use of Francoism and employs arguments that are actually outdated. "There has always been a positive view of the dictatorship and Francoism on the part of a sector, but perhaps not.

Pétain, collaborator

In France, Philippe Pétain was a key figure in Nazi collaboration during World War II. A military officer and national hero of World War I, he became head of state in July 1940, shortly after the Nazis arrived in Paris. He established his government in the city of Vichy, decided to collaborate with the Nazi regime, and instituted an authoritarian regime. He not only abolished republican institutions but also collaborated with Germany to arrest Jews and hand them over to the Nazis, a dark episode that profoundly scarred the country.

Although historians have no doubt that Marshal Pétain collaborated in the arrest of Jews—who ended up in concentration camps and most also in the gas chambers—the French far right often questions his responsibility. There is a political and ideological current, rooted in Pétain's heroism during World War I, that argues that the marshal "saved many French Jews." The president of the association that organized the memorial mass, Jacques Boncompain, went so far as to say that Marshal Pétain was "the first resistance fighter in France" and that his trial was not "fair." "It's pure and simple revisionism," states Frédérique Neau-Dufour, a historian specializing in French historical memory. "There is no possible ambiguity: these are words that undermine not only the truth but, above all, all the work of historians since 1945, because we have ample evidence of what Pétain did, in collaboration with the Germans, against the Jews and against the resistance fighters," Neau-Dufour explains to the ARA. The head of the Vichy regime was sentenced to death in 1945 for his role during the German occupation, although his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. Deportation of Jewish children

French justice has opened an investigation against Boncompain for the crime of denying crimes against humanity. His statements "are mind-blowing," says an indignant Stéphane Michonneau. "This claim, from a historical point of view, is completely false. The Vichy regime persecuted the resistance and killed many people. The regime, in fact, fully collaborated. And even more: it proposed to the Germans the deportation of children, for example. That is to say, it went beyond what the Germans asked for and demanded," insists Le Paris (de).

According to the two historians, there is a parallel in the manipulation of contemporary history by conservative and far-right movements in France and Spain: "In both countries there is a violent past, an anti-democratic past. And in both countries today there are groups that do not regret this past and that feel..."

Whitewashed dictators

In a way, the French far right looks to the history of the Second World War—essentially to Pétain—just as Vox—and often the People's Party (PP) as well—looks to Franco and his dictatorship. "In both cases, we are dealing with two figures of dictators who had their moment of glory, who did very serious things, and who are now being whitewashed, or at least some individuals are trying to whitewash," argues the historian. The current leader of the main French far-right party, Marine Le Pen, has set aside, in her public discourse, the defense of Pétain and antisemitism, but her father was a supporter of the marshal, and within the ranks of the party, National Rally (formerly National Front), there are still members who think like Jean-Marc. Other far-right leaders, especially Éric Zemmour, publicly and shamelessly defend revisionist theories of the German occupation. "Pétain saved the French Jews," said Zemmour, a political figure who emerged from Vincent Bolloré's media bubble, during a televised debate. The statement cost him a €10,000 fine for denying crimes against humanity.