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Riom trial

The Oxford Companion to World War II | 2001 | | Copyright

Riom trial, held by the Vichy authorities in the French town of Riom in February 1942 of those alleged to be responsible for the fall of France in June 1940. They were Léon Blum, the prime minister of the Popular Front government during the 1930s; Edouard Daladier, who was prime minister from April 1938 to March 1940; the Allied C-in-C, General Gamelin; the minister for air, Guy La Chambre, who was held responsible for the inadequacies of the French Air Force (see France, 6(d)); and another minor minister.

Because the head of the Vichy government, Marshal Pétain, had been minister of war in 1934 and represented the French military establishment responsible for the disaster, the trial was limited to events after 1935. Pétain, who had already declared the accused guilty, hand-picked the judge, but the accused politicians (except Gamelin, who remained silent) quickly turned the prosecution's case to their own advantage and after two months the trial was abandoned, though none of the defendants was freed.

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I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Riom trial." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Riom trial." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-Riomtrial.html

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Riom trial." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-Riomtrial.html

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Riom Trial

A Dictionary of Contemporary World History | 2004 | | Copyright

Riom Trial (Feb.–Apr. 1942) Trials held in the French town of Riom, in which prominent representatives of the Third Republic, such as Blum, Daladier, and Gamelin were accused by the Vichy government of causing the French defeat in 1940. The defendants turned the tables on their accusers, however, so that the trial had to be postponed indefinitely. Nevertheless, the accused remained in prison and were later deported to Germany.

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JAN PALMOWSKI. "Riom Trial." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JAN PALMOWSKI. "Riom Trial." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-RiomTrial.html

JAN PALMOWSKI. "Riom Trial." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-RiomTrial.html

Learn more about citation styles

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