On December 25, 1941, the Free French Forces under Charles de Gaulle made their first move against the Nazi-sympathizing Vichy government. It wasn’t in France, and it wasn’t even in Europe. Instead, they launched a bloodless coup to take control of the Vichy islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North America.
St. Pierre and Miquelon have a long and largely unpleasant history. First settled in the 17th century by French fisherman, they were a point of contention between the French and British for hundreds of years, often going back and forth between the two European powers, the will of the people who actually lived there largely ignored. They were of little value economically, but by the 20th century they became very important geopolitically as the one of the last remaining outposts of European power in North America. As they were under French control at the outbreak of World War II, the governor chose to be loyal to the Vichy regime running France which continued to subsidize the islands’ government, rather than break ties and go with the Free France movement led by Charles de Gaulle from exile.
It would seem all the Allied players in the war were wary of these two small islands. They posed a real military threat to the United States and Canada as they could be used to harbor Nazi spies and other elements of infiltration. De Gaulle made things worse when, after being instructed not to, he ordered one of his admirals to take the islands by force in the name of the Free France government. They arrived by boat and stormed the beaches. The small complement of forces on the islands immediately surrendered.
The response was mixed. The United States and British governments were outraged with de Gaulle’s order as they had not only violated their wishes, but the American promise that it would respond to any aggression perpetrated by European nations against North American governments. Additionally, it forced the issue on the United States’ diplomatic status with the Vichy government, a relationship that had remained amicable in hopes of maintaining diplomatic ties with Nazi Germany, but one that would now have to be addressed given de Gaulle’s orders. The public saw it as a clear victory, with Nazi elements being removed from North American soil. Even the people of St. Pierre and Miquelon voted the day after the invasion to keep the Free French government in power.
Ultimately, the United States responded by deciding to ignore the event and carried on with the war. St. Pierre and Miquelon, now the sole possession of the Free French government, became a base for some of their navy and sent sailors to protect shipping convoys from U-boats. Today, the islands are still French speaking and fully French territory, even embracing the Euro as their official currency and sending representatives to the French parliament. After centuries of strife and changing of hands, St. Pierre and Miquelon have enjoyed a relatively quiet half century as the largely forgotten last outpost of European power in North America.