France during WW2

[marinoa]

Good evening or morning or whatever hour you are currently living, dear frukers!

There is a thing I've been thinking of: France during the Second World War. We know he it(?) was invaded by Germans. But we also know about the French underground.

So, how do you, experts in the field of fics, prefer Francis to be during that time? The prisoner of

Comments

[conjure_lass]

Well, I tend to go with canon on this one. There's a scene where France mentions that he can't believe he'd lost to these two (these two being Germany and Italy), so he's obviously still fighting and free.

My own personal canon is similar. When de Gaulle was in London making his speech ("Whatever happens, the flame of the French resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished...") I feel as though he were speaking for the French people. And so in my mind he spoke for France himself.

At least that's my view on it anyway. :)

[mortkero]

I had the idea of a two Francis for the time when the Vichy government is formed.

Vichy Francis would be the 'mad woman in the attic' figure locked away in the Palace of Versailles after the war, with Francis being in complete denial of his alter ego's existence.

But aside from that, I guess what I think of it would go with fics that I've read already, which is Francis free rather than imprisoned somewhere waiting to be rescued.

[abceza123]

I figure France is free most of time but would get captured by Germany and/or Prussia regularly but is clever enough the escape and be free again.
Eventually escalating to the point where Ludwig just doesn't really bother anymore and just uses him as an excuse to get Gilbert out whenever he needs to do paperwork.

[alors_indikaze]

Well, I don't see Germany as a literal captor; more of someone who wants the appearance of cooperation because his boss is crazy. I imagine that early on, France convinced him that he should be let free, and that he wouldn't cause him trouble.

Then he became a bit of a double agent, taking orders from both Petain and de Gaulle (keeping secrets from both of them), sneaking out of his room and swimming across the Channel, and generally doing what he felt was in short-term and long-term self interest--which eventually culminated in distracting Germany until the Allies drove him out of Paris.

Dammit, I really wish I had a good book on the Resistance.

[maikichelorrain]

Since the canon goes with Francis staying with the Allies, and considering Vichy's tendancy to prove its own independance (depending of the subject of course), I don't really see Francis as a prisonner. He's being watched, spied, somehow controlled and has to face Germany for his actions, but he's not helpless. And I doubt Francis would love his Resistants/ Free French members that much if he had no chance to meet them (he so was in love...)

Oh, and I don't really like Vichy and Francis being two different persons. It would somehow mean Francis isn't totally responsible because an other entity is there to face all the blame. And that Vichy randomly pops up from nowhere when some of its roots are older than the war itself. Not to mention not all the French territory was de facto under Vichy's control :/