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But because Mitterrand is fading from public life, revelations about his % activities during the war have prompted more reminiscences than recriminations. Pean prints a wartime letter he discovered from Henri Frenay, chief of the United Movement of the Resistance. An aide of Charles de Gaulle's Opposition-in-exile had questioned Mitterrand's newfound Resistance fervor, given his previous dedication to Vichy. "France's drama," Frenay wrote back, "is that its honest and impartial men believed, during a certain time, in Marshal Petain and placed their trust in him. They, without a doubt, made a mistake, but it was an innocent mistake that we cannot hold as a crime against them."
The initial French response to Pean's work reflects this tolerance. There seems general relief that some of the more sinister rumors about the young Mitterrand have been debunked. "He is not anti-Semitic," the author has been telling interviewers. "I never found a single word, a single line that allowed me to think otherwise." Says Alain Duhamel, a political analyst and journalist, of the new book: "It shows Mitterrand was a nationalist, pro- Petain, but not a collaborator. I think you can also see, in his cooperation with the author, Mitterrand's desire to put his biographical house in order." In looking back, the old warrior shows unmistakable signs of looking forward to posterity as well. As he told Pean: "In such turbulent times, when one is so young, it's difficult to choose. I came out relatively well."