François Darlan, Admiral of Nérac (1881–1942)
François Darlan's life was divided between the glorious history of the French Navy and the much darker history of the Vichy government.
Born in Nérac in 1881, François Darlan came from a family of sailors, in which only his father, Jean-Baptiste Darlan, stood out with a brilliant political career. A friend of two prominent figures in Lot-et-Garonne, Armand Fallières and Georges Leygues, his father became mayor of Nérac, deputy for Lot-et-Garonne in 1890, and even Minister of Justice from 1896 to 1897.
François Darlan opted for a military career in the Navy. Accepted into the naval academy in 1899, he sailed between the Far East, where he spent four years, and France, where he was appointed instructor at the naval artillery school in Toulon and then near Saint-Malo.
He took part in the Great War from 1914 onwards in a regiment of naval gunners stationed on the Rhine border, where he distinguished himself particularly: he was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor. At the Armistice, he was rewarded for his services by being given command of the flotilla that entered Germany via the Rhine.
Between the wars, his career was divided between the Far East, where he served as Chief of Staff of the Naval Division, and the Ministry of the Navy in Paris. In fact, 1925 marked a major turning point in his career when he was called upon by Georges Leygues, Minister of the Navy and friend of the Darlan family, to become his deputy chief. His skills and the protection of Georges Leygues enabled him to rise rapidly through the military ranks: Rear Admiral in 1929, Vice Admiral in 1932, Commander-in-Chief of the French Navy in 1937, and Admiral of the Fleet in 1939.
During this period, Darlan worked to restore the Navy to its former rank and prestige. Under his command, the French fleet experienced remarkable growth, becoming the world's fourth largest maritime power even before World War II.
Appointed Commander-in-Chief of the French naval forces on the eve of World War II, Darlan initially refused Pétain's call for a ceasefire. The Ministry of the Navy, which continued the war, withdrew to Bordeaux and then to the Hôtel des Postes in Nérac on June 28, 1940, opposite the statue of Henri IV.
Finally, Darlan accepted the Armistice and held several ministerial portfolios in the Vichy government: Minister of the Navy, Minister of the Interior, and then Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 1941, he was appointed head of the Vichy government and participated in the policy of collaboration with Nazi Germany, turning a blind eye to the repressive and anti-Semitic measures. In 1942, following the failure of his foreign policy and his unpopularity, he was replaced by Pierre Laval as head of the government but became Commander-in-Chief of the French forces and seemed to attempt a reversal of the situation in favor of the Allies.
In 1942, he traveled to Algiers to be at his son's bedside. While there, he witnessed the American landing. He opposed it with arms, but after two days of fighting, he asked all French troops to rally to the Allied forces. On December 24, 1942, Admiral Darlan was assassinated by a young member of the Resistance. The person who ordered the assassination was never officially identified...
