In France under the early German occupation(1940-1941), the pro-Pétain Resistance forces were larger than the anti-Vichy and anti-Pétain Resistance forces. Above all, this situation arose from the fact that it was quite common for the French people to regard Marshal Pétain, ‘a hero of the first World War’, as a savior/protector of their fatherland. Frenay’s ‘Libération Nationale’, ‘Liberté’ and the General Cochet did not only admire Pétain as an individual, but also supported the domestic policy of Vichy government. The attitude favorable to Pétain was discovered even in several anti-Vichy Resistance organizations.
However, there were certainly the anti-Vichy and anti-Pétain Resistance organizations from the outset such as ‘Valmy’, La France continue, ‘Libération-Sud’, Cahiers du Témoignage chrétien, ‘Franc-Tireur’, and the French Communist Party. Except for the French Communist Party and Valmy, most of these appeared quite late. It meant that these groups launched their activities when the pro-Pétain Resistance organizations already began to change their positions toward anti-Pétain.
While the French Communist Party converted from ambiguous neutrality to hostility and resistance toward the German occupation authorities, some Resistance organizations such as ‘Libération Nationale’ and ‘Liberté’, changed from pro-Pétain to anti-Pétain positions. Both cases converged into the same anti-German and anti-Vichy stance.
Conversion from pro-Pétain to anti-Pétain by some Resistance organizations, above all, was attributed to the actions of Vichy government and its head, Pétain, whose collaboration with Germany had expanded into the military field and repression of the Resistance. This conversion was more propelled by the integration of Libération Nationale and Liberté. The outcome of this integration, Combat finally declared a separation from Pétain in May 1942.