Signs of Things to Come
On 10th February, Pierre Laval proposed before the Assembly a bill to give emergency powers to President Lebrun. As Lebrun was somewhat weak, it was widely acknowledged that this was an attempt to hand over power to Petain. The bill gave Lebrun the rights to prorogue Parliament in the event of another attack on the government.
The bill was not passed, due to the presence of the SFIO and a variety of enemies of Petain of both Left and Right.
What was more concerning was that Petain had not sought a replacement for Weygand as head of the Army Chief of Staff- he overrode the position and handed military power directly to his own government.
On 10th February, Pierre Laval proposed before the Assembly a bill to give emergency powers to President Lebrun. As Lebrun was somewhat weak, it was widely acknowledged that this was an attempt to hand over power to Petain. The bill gave Lebrun the rights to prorogue Parliament in the event of another attack on the government.
The bill was not passed, due to the presence of the SFIO and a variety of enemies of Petain of both Left and Right.
What was more concerning was that Petain had not sought a replacement for Weygand as head of the Army Chief of Staff- he overrode the position and handed military power directly to his own government.