22. A Slimy French Collaborator
Politics is a profession that attracts more than its share of slimy people, but few were as slimy as Pierre Laval (1883 – 1945). He was twice Prime Minister of France during the Third Republic, first in 1931 – 1932, and again in 1935 – 1936. Laval started off as a socialist, but steadily drifted into conservatism until he became an extreme right-winger. When the Germans defeated France in 1940, Laval became an eager collaborator and served prominently in the German-aligned Vichy Regime.
A lawyer, Laval was a member of the Socialist Party from 1903 to 1920. Early in his career, he made a name for himself defending leftists and trade unions. He became more conservative after World War I, and twice became French Prime Minister for brief periods in the 1930s, along with longer stints as Foreign Minister. When France fell to the Germans in 1940, Laval persuaded the French Assembly to dissolve itself and cede all powers to Marshall Petain. That ended the Third Republic and inaugurated the collaborationist Vichy Regime, in which Laval became infamous as a collaborator.