French Forces

Libre !

US Army.

French Resistance fighters march alongside tanks of General Leclerc's 2nd (French) Armoured Division following the liberation of Paris, August 1944. Note that the Resistance file includes two Paris Agents de Police in uniform. In the weeks preceding the Liberation, the Communist Resistance successfully accelerated their infiltration of the Paris Police, and the recruitment of Paris policemen to their cause. As a result, the Germans could expect little "collaboration" from the Paris Police when the critical moment arrived. In fact, much of the Resistance fighting in central Paris - in particular, at and around the Force's headquarters on the Isle de la Cité - was done by Paris policemen, often using arms that they had received as official issue. Best regards, JR.