French Navy Removes Vichy-Era Recruitment Posters After Backlash

The French Navy has retracted recruitment posters from its social media platforms after they were identified as originating from the Vichy regime era. The institution acknowledged the mistake, explaining that the posters were part of a series intended to illustrate the historical evolution of naval communication and recruitment campaigns.

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The official Instagram account of the National Navy posted for its recruitment propaganda a poster from the colonial era. It is truly scandalous.

The controversy erupted following a post by Anasse Kazib, a trade unionist and far-left presidential candidate, who decried the use of colonial-era posters for recruitment propaganda. He shared screenshots of the controversial visuals, which had been published on the Navy's official Instagram account. One poster, dated around 1942, featured a sailor with the inscription "To guard the Empire your ancestors founded," while another showed a world map with the text, "The security and prosperity of the French empire require a strong and ever-ready navy."

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It was in no way intended to express an opinion on past periods and even less to promote them, but to offer a demonstration of the evolution of the Navy's visual communication.

The Navy's general staff, cited by France Info, stated that the posters were commissioned from the Historical Service of Defense and the National Navy Museum to document recruitment communication as part of the Navy's 400th-anniversary commemoration. The intention, they maintained, was not to express approval of past eras but to demonstrate the visual evolution of the Navy's outreach. Despite this explanation, the Navy confirmed the posters had been removed, with the general staff noting the challenges of using historical imagery and the need for factual accuracy.

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It is always very difficult to play with history, which is why it is necessary to be as factual as possible. That is what we reminded the services of after this mistake.