Darlan and the bases offered to the Axis

Admiral François Darlan, commander-in-chief of the French navy, became in February 1941 the heir apparent of Marshal Pétain: Vice-President of the Council and holder of the portfolios of Foreign Affairs, the Interior and Defence, he is in fact the strongman of Vichy. Convinced that Germany will win the war, he seeks to trade collaboration for easements for a defeated France.

In the spring of 1941, the opportunity arises in the Levant. In Iraq, the pro-Axis coup of Rashid Ali defies the British, and Germany wants to send air reinforcements. The airfields of French-mandated Syria, held by General Dentz, offer an ideal staging point towards Baghdad.

Berlin proposes a bargain: France will grant military facilities in Syria — and beyond, in Tunisia and West Africa — in exchange for the return of thousands of prisoners, a reduction in occupation costs and other concessions. This is the project of the Paris Protocols, negotiated with Ambassador Otto Abetz.

But to open Syria to the Luftwaffe is to risk open war with London, whose aircraft are already bombing the airfields where the German planes refuel. Darlan must decide how far to push collaboration.