Service d ' ordre légionnaire The Service d ' ordre légionnaire ( SOL , " Legionary Order Service " ) was a collaborationist militia created by Joseph Darnand , a far right veteran from the First World War . Too radical even for others supporters of the Vichy regime , it was granted its independence in January 1943 , after Operation Torch and the German occupation of the South Zone , until then dubbed " Free Zone " and controlled by Vichy . Pierre Laval himself ( supported by Marshal Philippe Pétain ) passed the law which accorded the SOL its independence and transformed it into the " Milice " , which participated in battles alongside the Nazi s against the Resistance and committed numerous war crimes against civilians . After the Liberation , some members of the Milice escaped to Germany , where they joined the ranks of the SS . Those who stayed behind in France faced either drumhead courts - martial , generally followed by summary execution , or simple lynching at the hands of " résistants " and enraged civilians . Creation of the SOL . Joseph Darnand , who had taken part in the " Cagoule " fascist group ' s conspiracy before the Invasion of Poland , had been one of the first to rally himself to the " National Revolution " — which was the name given to the new Vichy regime issued from the 1940 defeat during the Battle of France and from the July 10 , 1940 vote according extraordinary powers to Marshal Pétain . Joseph Darnand took the head of the " Légion française des combattants " ( LFC ) in the Alpes Maritimes region , and then created the SOL , which attracted not only the most enthusiast proponents of collaborationism with Nazi Germany , but also criminals from the Nice mafia . The SOL was extended to all of the South Zone and to North Africa on December 12 , 1941 . This new organization was headed by Darnand , Pierre Gallet , Marcel Gombert and Jean Bassompierre , whereas its program was defined by Bassompierre , Noël de Tissot and the " docteur Durandy " . It advocated the cult of the leader , anti - parliamentarism , racism and anti - Semitism , as well as pushing for collaboration with the Nazis . Before the 1941 - 1942 turn of public opinion , France was mostly composed of " pétainistes " , whom supported Marshal Pétain . However , various grades of collaborationism must be distinguished , as some advocated it claiming it would lighten the burden of the military occupation ( this was Pétain ' s official discourse ) and that Marshal Pétain , a figure highly respected for his role during the 1916 Battle of Verdun , couldn ' t be wrong . These collaborationist have been called " Maréchalistes " , as their support of the collaboration was rather based on trust towards Pétain . After his meeting with Hitler , Pétain had advocated collaboration in an October 30 , 1940 speech to the radio . Others , commonly called " pétainistes " , advocated collaboration on ideological grounds : they supported Vichy ' s anti - Semitic laws which the regime had put in place on its own , without waiting for German orders . Joseph Darnand and the SOL , were at the spearhead of these ideological collaborationists , eagerly hoping for German victory in the war Several leaders and SOL activists engaged themselves in brutal actions against imaginary or real opponents of Vichy , and started a wave of denouncement which did not even spare the civil or religious authorities of the " Etat français " ( name by which the Vichy regime called itself ) . Joseph Darnand , who headed the SOL , had based himself in Vichy . He was always supported by Pétain even in his more extreme cries in support to Collaboration . Darnand went so far that his " patriotism " became to be seen as treason , and shocked even others leaders of the Légion or of the " Chantiers de jeunesse " ( Youth Workshops ) which were also in favor of Collaboration , but done in a " civilized " manner . Thus , it was decided to grant autonomy to the SOL on January 5 , 1943 , in order to take distance with the militia and at the same time grant it complete freedom of action . Operation Torch and transformation of the SOL into the Milice . Following the November 1942 Operation Torch and the landing in North Africa , which led to the German occupation of the South zone , until now designed as the " free zone " because it was under Vichy ' s authority , Marshal Pétain exalted in his January 5 , 1943 discourse the " patriotism " of the SOL which , along with the " Armée d ' Afrique " , had fired on the American troops . In reality , only several tens of SOL militia had fought in Oran and in Morocco , whereas in Alger all of the SOL militia had surrendered to the Allies during the " November 8 , 1942 putsch " , during which 400 poorly equipped Resistance fighters single - handedly immobilised the XIXth " Corps d ' Armée vichyste " for 15 hours , contributing to the immediate success of the Allies ' landing in Alger . Thus , on January 5 , 1943 , the SOL was granted autonomy and transformed into the " Milice française " ( French Militia ) , created by a law issued by Pierre Laval under agreements with Pétain .