o. World War II, Vichy and the Free French

On a larger front, 1940 brought the complete collapse of the French under attack from Germany. French President Albert Lebrun gave the political levers of power to Marshall Philippe Pétain. Pétain signed an armistice with Hitler, thrusting Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, along with the rest of France’s colonial empire into the hands of Vichy France. As such, the islands became an object of political and strategic concern for Newfoundland, Canada, the United States and the Free French Forces of Charles de Gaulle.

Resenting the autocratic and overtly Pétainist overtones of Count de Bournat’s administration, large segments of the local population organised a pro-Gaullist movement advocating joining the Free French Forces. Aided somewhat by the Monroe Doctrine but chiefly by the American recognition of the Vichy Government, Count de Bournat was able to negotiate an economic assistance package for the Saint-Pierre and Miquelon economy based on the frozen assets of the French government. The French Fishing Fleet returned to France after De Bournat obtained the removal of the naval blockade by Ottawa and Washington.

On December 24th 1941, following strict orders from Charles de Gaulle, and feigning naval exercises, Rear Admiral Émile Muselier headed for Saint-Pierre’s harbour with three corvettes and the submarine Surcouf. Within minutes, Gilbert de Bournat had surrendered his authority to Muselier and the islands became part of Free France. The liberation of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon exploded into a bona fide international incident as Washington refused to condone the Free French actions and considered any political change in Saint-Pierre as contrary to the Monroe Doctrine. Despite military threats from the American administration, public opinion and a handful of American and Canadian journalists, forced Secretary of State Cordell Hull to abandon any interest in the matter. The story of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon’s liberation by the Free French went from gracing the front page of the New York Times to complete obscurity as the violence of World War II raged on.