Montoire-sur-le-Loir

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Montoire-sur-le-Loir is a commune in France situated in the department of Loir-et-Cher in the region of Centre. The inhabitants of Montoire-sur-le-Loir are called montoiriens.

History

Montoire-sur-le-Loir is known as the location where, on 24th October 1940, the famous handshake between Adolf Hitler and Maréchal Pétain took place signifying the start of organised French collaboration with the Nazi regime. The meeting took place in a train car just outside of the town's train station. This was announced to the French public on 30th October in a radio broadcast speech when Pétain declared, "I enter, today, into the way of collaboration.

Two days previously, Pierre Laval had had a meeting with Hitler in the same location and he had suggested to Hitler that he met with the Maréchal.

The location of Montoire station was chosen because of its relative isolation, but also its proximity to the main Paris-Hendaye train line. What's more, in case of an aerial attack, the train could have found shelter in the nearby tunnel in Saint-Rimay. With Armoured doors, that one can still see, were installed for the meeting, and German command posts were established at Saint-Rimay and Thoré-la-Rochette with direct contact to Berlin.

See also

• Bas-Vendômois

Notes

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Last updated on Wednesday April 09, 2008 at 07:04:15 PDT (GMT -0700)
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