Philippe Pétain

Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain (1856–1951) was a French general who holds the distinction of being seen as one of his country's great heroes and one of its villains. For his superior leadership and efforts to modernize the French army during World War I, Pétain was made Marshal of France in November, 1918. However, he did little to modernize the military during the interwar period. After France fell to Germany during World War II, Petain became Chief of State of of the collaborationist government of Vichy France (Chef de l'État Français), a position he held from 1940 to 1944. After the war, he was tried for treason and sentenced to death, but then acting president Charles de Gaulle commuted his sentence to life in exile.

Philippe Pétain in Worldwar
Philippe Pétain the de jure head of state of Vichy France when the Race invaded Earth in 1942. Pétain made his resources available to his patron, Germany, throughout the fighting. After the Peace of Cairo, Germany began to directly administer the whole of France.

Bobby Fiore and Liu Han bonded whilde discussing the politicial situation of the planet before and during the arrival of the Race. Fiore was initially worried the relatively uneducated Liu Han would not understand Pétain's place in things, but she quickly saw parallels between Vichy France and Manchukuo.