François Darlan Jean Louis Xavier François Darlan ( 7 August 1881 – 24 December 1942 ) was a French Admiral and political figure . He was Admiral of the Fleet and commander in chief of the French Navy in 1939 , at the beginning of World War II . After France capitulated to Nazi Germany in 1940 , Darlan served in the pro - German Vichy regime , becoming its deputy leader for a time . When the Allies invaded French North Africa in 1942 , Darlan happened to be there . The Allies recognized him as head of French North Africa , and he ordered French forces to cease resisting and cooperate with the Allies . Less than two months later he was assassinated . Youth and advancement in Navy . Darlan was born in Nérac , Lot - et - Garonne , to a family with a long connection with the French Navy . His great - grandfather was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar . He graduated from the École Navale in 1902 . During World War I , he commanded an artillery battery that took part in the Battle of Verdun . He remained in the French Navy after the war , and was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1929 and Vice Admiral in 1932 . Darlan was made an Admiral in 1936 and Chief of Staff from 1 January 1937 . In 1939 he was promoted to " Amiral de la flotte " , a rank created specifically for him , and given command of the entire French Navy . Vichy government . When France was defeated in 1940 , Marshal Pétain formed a new government , which surrendered to Germany and became a German satellite . Darlan adhered to Pétain ' s " Vichy France " , and was appointed Minister of Marine . Under that armistice terms , the ships of the French Navy were to be handed over to Germany . But Darlan ordered all ships then in the Atlantic ports ( which would soon be occupied by Germany ) to steam to French overseas possessions , out of the Germans ' reach . In the final days before the French surrender Darlan had met the British prime minister Winston Churchill and had promised him that " No French ship will ever come into the hands of the Germans " Darlan expected Germany to win the war and decided that it was advantageous for France to collaborate with Germany . He distrusted the British , and after the armistice of June 1940 he seriously considered waging a naval war against Britain . As a top official in the Vichy government , Darlan repeatedly offered Hitler active military cooperation against Britain . Hitler , however , distrusted France and wanted it to remain neutral while he attacked Russia in 1941 . After the British conquest of Syria in 1941 and Hitler ' s failure to defeat Russia quickly , Darlan moved away from his policy of collaboration . The British worried that Germany would obtain the French fleet . Darlan repeated refused British requests to place the whole fleet in British custody ( or in the French West Indies ) . This led to Operation Catapult , when British forces attacked and destroyed part of the French fleet at Mers - el - Kébir in North Africa . Thereafter , French forces loyal to Vichy ( most of them under Darlan ' s command ) fiercely resisted British moves into French territory , and sometimes cooperated with German forces . However , as Darlan had promised , no ships fell into German hands . By 1941 , Darlan became Pétain ' s most trusted associate . In February 1941 , Darlan replaced Pierre - Étienne Flandin as " Vice President of the Council " ( prime minister ) . He also became Minister of Foreign Affairs , Minister of the Interior | , and Minister of National Defence , making him the " de facto " head of the Vichy government . On 11 February he was named Pétain ' s eventual successor , in accordance with Act Number Four of the constitution . In January 1942 , Darlan assumed a number of other government posts . Because he reported only to Pétain , Darlan enjoyed broad powers , although Pétain ' s own entourage , including his rival General Maxime Weygand , continued to wield considerable influence . In running the French empire Darlan relied heavily upon the personal loyalties of key army and naval officers throughout the colonies to head off Free French - affiliated secessionism . Darlan came from a Republican background and never believed in the National Revolution ; for example , he had reservations about Pétain ' s clericalism . But he was as much a collaborator as Pierre Laval , and Darlan promoted a political alliance between Vichy French forces and Germany through the Paris Protocols . However , despite Darlan ' s efforts to achieve workable relations with the Reich , the Germans soon became suspicious of his opportunism and malleable loyalties . These suspicions were gradually confirmed as Darlan ' s obstructionism mounted ; not only did he refuse to provide French conscript labour , but he also insisted on protecting Jewish war veterans and only with reluctance assisted the enforcement of anti - Semitic laws . In April 1942 , Darlan was forced to resign his ministries by Laval , whom the Germans considered more trustworthy . Darlan retained several lesser posts , including commander in chief of the French armed forces . Darlan ' s deal in North Africa . On 7 November 1942 , Darlan went to Algiers to visit his son , who was hospitalised after a severe attack of polio . What he did not know at the time of his journey was that the Western Allies would invade French North Africa the next day , November 8 . During the night of 7 – 8 November , forces of a pro - Allied group in Algeria ( not connected with Free France ) seized control of Algiers in anticipation of the invasion . In the process , they captured Darlan . The Allies had anticipated little resistance from French forces in North Africa , instead expecting them to accept the authority of General Henri Giraud , who had been extracted from German captivity to take charge . But resistance continued , and no one heeded Giraud , who had no official status . To bring a quick end to the resistance and secure French co - operation , the Allies came to an agreement with Darlan , who as commander - in - chief could give the necessary orders . The Allied commanders recognized Darlan as commander of all French forces in the area and recognized his self - nomination as High Commissioner of France ( head of civil government ) for North and West Africa on 14 November . In return , on 10 November , Darlan ordered all French forces to join the Allies . His order was obeyed . The " Darlan deal " proved highly controversial , as Darlan had been a very notorious collaborator with Germany . General Charles De Gaulle and his Free France organization were outraged ; so were the pro - Allied conspirators who had seized Algiers . Some high American and British officials objected , and there was furious criticism by newspapers and politicians . Later American historian Arthur Funk maintained that the " deal with Darlan " was misunderstood by the critics at the time as an opportunistic improvisation . On the contrary , Funk stated , Darlan had been in talks with American diplomats for months about switching sides , and when the opportunity came he did so promptly . The " deal " thus was the result of a long and carefully considered Allied plan for reaching a political and military accord with Vichy . It followed a model drawn up in London and already approved at the highest levels . The " deal " was even more upsetting to Berlin and to the Vichy government . Pétain stripped Darlan of his offices and ordered resistance to the end in North Africa ; but he was ignored . The Germans were more direct : German troops occupied the remaining 2 / 5 of France . However , the Germans paused outside Toulon , the base where most of the remaining French ships were moored . Only on 27 November did the Germans try to seize the ships ; but all were scuttled or escaped , fulfilling Darlan ' s promise to Churchill . Assassination . On the afternoon of 24 December 1942 , Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle shot Darlan in his headquarters ; Darlan died a few hours later . Bonnier de La Chapelle was a youth of 20 , the son of a French journalist . He was a monarchist , and opposed fascism . He hated Vichy and therefore hated Darlan . He was involved with a royalist group that wanted to make the pretender to the French throne , the Count of Paris , the King of France . He was arrested immediately , tried and convicted the next day , and executed by firing squad on 26 December . No solid evidence has ever surfaced to prove British or American involvement in Darlan ' s assassination . Legacy . Darlan was unpopular with the Allies – he was considered pompous , having asked Eisenhower to provide 200 Coldstream Guards and Grenadier Guards as an honor company for the commemoration of Napoleon ' s victory at Austerlitz . It was said that " no tears were shed " by the British over his death . Harold Macmillan , who was Churchill ' s adviser to Eisenhower at the time of the assassination , wryly described Darlan ' s service and death by saying , " Once bought , he stayed bought . " Darlan ' s murder removed a potential rival to De Gaulle ' s leadership of the French .