Reynaud — Matignon 21 March
, 62, Finance Minister in the Daladier government, is designated by President on 21 March 1940 to form a new government. The previous day, was put in the minority in the Chamber — 239 confidence votes, 1 against, 300 abstentions — on a technical no-confidence vote, and resigned.
Lebrun consults. The choice is narrow: Reynaud, advocate of an offensive line; (SFIO), who refuses engagement; Marshal Pétain, 84, who refuses for reasons of age. Lebrun designates Reynaud, known for his support of the British alliance and his public hostility to appeasement.
Reynaud forms his government on 22 March through a difficult compromise. Daladier retains National Defence — a political concession to avoid breaking the Radical-Socialist majority. Lamoureux takes Finance, Frossard Labour, enters the Cabinet, takes Information. The investiture speech sets out the Reynaud doctrine: Allied offensive at the earliest moment, total mobilisation of the economy, absolute loyalty to Britain.
An explosive file awaits Reynaud: General , commander-in-chief since 1935, is judged mediocre by much of the government.
Should Reynaud dismiss Gamelin immediately on arriving at Matignon?
Reynaud applies B with elements of C. Gamelin remains in post — Reynaud judges him mediocre but reckons that he cannot dismiss him publicly without triggering a political conflict with the Radicals behind Daladier. For the next six weeks, Reynaud cohabits with his own commander-in-chief without being able to remove him. On 17 May 1940, after the Sedan breakthrough, Reynaud at last dismisses Gamelin and replaces him with — too late. Reynaud remains Président du Conseil until 16 June 1940, when he resigns in the face of military collapse. Pétain replaces him. Reynaud is arrested by Vichy in September 1940, tried at Riom in 1942, deported to Sachsenhausen. Released in 1945, he resumes a career under the Fourth Republic and dies in 1966. His decision in March 1940 to retain Gamelin remains one of the most debated political faults of the campaign.
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