The German forced labour draft of 1943 has long been seen as a major catalyst for the French Resistance. It also clearly helped undermine the Vichy government. But what effect did it have on the police who were expected to implement it? This article demonstrates that it helped damage their relationship with Vichy, police officers engaged in widespread acts of defiance on this issue and it changed the social composition of the police by encouraging many to join the force simply to avoid being drafted. One of the preferred weapons of the police for sabotaging the scheme was theatrical zeal, which was open to misinterpretation. © The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for the Study of French History. All rights reserved.

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