I love how tragic Philippe Pétain is. A brilliant commander, the most respected figure of the interwar France, who was forced to lead the government after the capitulation to save France from the fate of Poland, did everything he could in his position to mess with the Germans and hardcore collaborators, and according to several accounts even tried to establish contact with the resistance, only to be branded a "traitor, whore and collaborator" in a show trial post war. I also love that his relationship with De Gaulle is literally that of mentor and his apprentice, even though they were on opposite sides.

Fun fact: when Philippe Leclerc, a very controversial Resistance general known for executioning soldiers without a trial was posthumously proclaimed marshal, he had to be buried with a marshal's kepi and scepter. When the commission came to the main hat maker of the French Republic and asked to make a marshal's kepi for Leclerc's funeral, he gave them a kepi that Pétain had ordered during the Vichy period and never picked it up. The scepter had to be taken from the confiscation warehouse, and it also belonged to Pétain. Thus, Leclerc, not the nicest historical figure, was buried with the regalia of a defamed hero, whom he hated. Justice exists!