Relations between Vichy France and the USSR in 1940-1941 (based on materials from the legal and underground French press)

This article examines how French periodicals covered a range of issues of relations between the USSR and France after the latter was defeated in World War II and part of its territory was occupied by Germans. The chronological scope of the study covers the period from July 1940, when a collaborationist regime was established in France with its capital in Vichy, to June 1941, when, after Hitler's Germany attacked the USSR, Vichy France broke off diplomatic relations with the USSR. The article examines the coverage of various aspects of Franco-Soviet relations by both legal periodicals published in Vichy territory and the occupied zone, and newspapers published by various opposition forces in the underground. The publications in the periodicals are analyzed both as a source of information about Soviet-French relations and as a reflection of the perception of the foreign policy of the USSR and France by various segments of French society, including the ruling collaborationist elite and opposition anti-fascist circles. The article shows that the change of political regime in France led to a temporary improvement in relations with the USSR, as the new government, like the Soviet leadership, declared its neutrality in the world war. The legal press supported the official political line, while the underground press of the Communist Party, denouncing the French state regime, at the same time advocated the development of its trade and economic cooperation with the USSR. Publications of other political currents (Gaullists, Socialists, Trotskyists) criticized the Communists for an insufficiently clear position. Based on a study of periodicals, the article concludes that Germany's attack on the USSR in 1941 led to a polarisation of the positions of the political forces in France: while all collaborationist publications supported Hitler's aggression, the opposing camp consolidated on a radical anti-fascist basis.