WI: Hélène de Portes is killed while trying to stab Churchill

BigBlueBox

Banned
According to Winston Churchill's bodyguard Walter Thompson, the Countess tried stabbing Churchill with a knife. What if while trying to do so, the Countess was fatally shot by Thompson and Churchill was unscathed? Assume there were multiple French witnesses who will confirm that the shooting was done in defense of Churchill.
 
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Legally speaking, very little - Thompson would clearly be acting within the law, so the whole thing would rapidly be brushed under the carpet. Politically speaking is more interesting - it removes de Portes at time of huge pressure on the French government and when her influence can only be described as malign. Her death will leave Reynaud in even more of a mess than he already was in, but in the grand scheme of things that will have little influence - he was badly shocked by the whole situation and barely holding things together as it was.
So at worse absolutely no effect, at best it pushes towards some sort of France Fights On scenario - possibly with a Petain regime in Metropolitan France and a Government in Exile reaching beyond just De Gaulle in Algeria, protected by the RN (and with most of the MN loyal to it).
 
Wow what did she have in the mind to do it ? Imagine if she succeed to stab Churchill ? What happens ? :p
 

Archibald

Banned
Pdf27 nailed it perfectly. Look at that document and see what kind of women De Portes was. Dear God.

https://translate.google.com/transl...-d-une-femme.html&&hl=fr&ie=UTF-8&sl=fr&tl=en

The bitting irony is that OTL De Porte was killed in a car wreck late June 1940 - after her beloved Reynaud threw the towel and Pétain stepped in and got the armistice.
France Fights On POD essentially moves De Portes fatal car wreck to early June.

At bottom, Pétain and Reynaud, even in the darkest hours, could tell their respective mistresses: thank you for this moment.

In your face, Valerie Trierweiler !
 

James G

Gone Fishin'
I'd never heard of this woman until now.
Yeah... what a scumbag.
As to the OP, if she'd killed Churchill - or even badly wounded him - all I can say is a think she would be rather more well-known.
 
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