WI: Military Junta Controls France after 6Feb1934 riots

Suppose that the police are overwhelmed by the rioting paramilitary groups, leading to mass police casualties and the capture of the Chamber of Deputies. If a military junta then took control to reestablish "law and order", what constitutional and economic reforms could they force to be adopted? Would a successor civilian government merely be a fig leaf for continued military control of the nation? Would Hitler's gamble to remilitarize the Rhineland blow up in his face?

Perhaps the most important aspect of a junta would be its effect on foreign relations. Publicly the governments of Britain and the United States would protest the suspension of civilian rule, but quietly they might be relieved to see an end to the constant procession of weak, short-lived governments that had plagued France since the late 20's. With the generals in charge at least they would not worry so much about the possibility of a communist takeover.
 
If I am recalling correctly the French Army in Metropolitan France had no standing force of soldiers capable of executing a large scale coup. There was a cadre of officers & long service technicians/clerks, spread across a variety of depots and training bases. The other 95% of the Army were teen aged conscripts doing their 18 months initial training, the border sentry force of the Army, or reservists doing their occasional refresher training. If some of these reservist battalions were on hand or reservists were called to active service the a useful coup force might be formed. However the individuals in such a group would have to be screened for political sympathy with the coup.
 
If I am recalling correctly the French Army in Metropolitan France had no standing force of soldiers capable of executing a large scale coup. There was a cadre of officers & long service technicians/clerks, spread across a variety of depots and training bases. The other 95% of the Army were teen aged conscripts doing their 18 months initial training, the border sentry force of the Army, or reservists doing their occasional refresher training. If some of these reservist battalions were on hand or reservists were called to active service the a useful coup force might be formed. However the individuals in such a group would have to be screened for political sympathy with the coup.

Presumably, the "military" government would bolster its regular forces with the mentioned paramilitary groups' armed wings and manpower from assorted right-wing associations (Such as WW I veterans clubs), since the OP explicently states its those groups rather than the army proper that takes over the civilian government and hands it over to the military brass. The lack of regular armed forces standing to protect the government would actually aid in the liklihood of such a power grab being successful, given there's not overwhelming, organized forces with the training and equipment who can stage a quick response to the plotter's actions and regain control of vital state infrastructure while the rebels are still in the vulnerable stage of establishing their presence/legitimacy and coalescing into a single political force.
 
Presumably, the "military" government would bolster its regular forces with the mentioned paramilitary groups' armed wings and manpower from assorted right-wing associations (Such as WW I veterans clubs), since the OP explicently states its those groups rather than the army proper that takes over the civilian government and hands it over to the military brass. ...

Actually I don't not see that in the OP. Guess I'm a bit dense reading it.

Beyond my previous post, I really don't know what plan the Army or Gendemere had for maintaining order, neither do I have any idea what the actual political alignment of the assorted veterans groups, trade unions, and other organizations were.
 
Presumably, the "military" government would bolster its regular forces with the mentioned paramilitary groups' armed wings and manpower from assorted right-wing associations (Such as WW I veterans clubs), since the OP explicently states its those groups rather than the army proper that takes over the civilian government and hands it over to the military brass.

Actually the scenario that I envision is the right-wing associations occupying the physical seat of government but quickly falling to infighting, leaving Paris in chaos. This would allow a general with an ounce of initiative the time to scrape together the necessary forces outside Paris to retake the city. I doubt the general staff would be satisfied with the return of a government that had been declining in legitimacy for years and so had allowed reactionary forces to to topple law and order in the first place. At this point I wonder if a military junta is formed with the primary task of creating a new republic with a strong presidential authority, and how the great powers of the world react to it while civilian rule is suspended.
 

MadDog

Banned
Actually the scenario that I envision is the right-wing associations occupying the physical seat of government but quickly falling to infighting, leaving Paris in chaos. This would allow a general with an ounce of initiative the time to scrape together the necessary forces outside Paris to retake the city. I doubt the general staff would be satisfied with the return of a government that had been declining in legitimacy for years and so had allowed reactionary forces to to topple law and order in the first place. At this point I wonder if a military junta is formed with the primary task of creating a new republic with a strong presidential authority, and how the great powers of the world react to it while civilian rule is suspended.


Honestly the scenario about Right Wing Handing the power over could be more interesting.
 
Actually the scenario that I envision is the right-wing associations occupying the physical seat of government but quickly falling to infighting, leaving Paris in chaos. This would allow a general with an ounce of initiative the time to scrape together the necessary forces outside Paris to retake the city. I doubt the general staff would be satisfied with the return of a government that had been declining in legitimacy for years and so had allowed reactionary forces to to topple law and order in the first place. At this point I wonder if a military junta is formed with the primary task of creating a new republic with a strong presidential authority, and how the great powers of the world react to it while civilian rule is suspended.

So... have the Right discredit itself both in terms of legitimacy and compitency in a rather dramatic fashion, as well as creating a rift between its paramilitary and upper society sections, only for French society to immediately turn to the idea of a militant reactionary dictatorship as opposed to restoring their Democracy that had almost just been violently overthrown by crazies?

That dosen't make sense. Everybody's actions in that case are completely counter-intuitive and run against their motivations.
 
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