The rumors began on Nov. 13 when Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain, Vichy Chief of State, failed to make a scheduled broadcast. That caused a spate of reports, some buttressed by "informed circles" in France, all adding up to the suggestion that Marshal Pétain was fed up with Nazi Puppet Pierre Laval, and anxious to set himself aright with anti-Nazi Frenchmen and the Allies. Finally, a Geneva newspaper published the text of the speech Pétain never madea document purporting to promulgate a return to democratic government. At week's end, an aurora borealis of rumors flamed from Vichy, Berlin, Madrid, Berne,...
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