Editing Philippe Pétain (section)

===Trial before the High Court===
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[[File:Procès Pétain.jpg|thumb|Pétain during the trial]]
The provisional government, headed by de Gaulle, placed Pétain on trial for [[treason]], the trial taking place from 23 July to 15 August 1945. Dressed in the uniform of a [[Marshal of France]], Pétain remained silent through most of the proceedings after an initial statement that denied the right of the High Court as it was constituted to try him. De Gaulle later reflected upon the proceedings: <blockquote>Too often, the discussions took on the appearance of a partisan trial, sometimes even a settling of scores, when the whole affair should have been treated only from the standpoint of national defence and independence.<ref>Charles De Gaulle, ''Mémoires de guerre'', vol. 2, pp. 249–250.</ref></blockquote>
[[File:Fort du Portalet.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Fort du Portalet]] in the Pyrenees]]
At the end of Pétain's trial, he was convicted on all charges, including ''[[indignité nationale]]''. The jury sentenced him to death and confiscation of his property. Due to his advanced age, the court asked that the sentence not be carried out. De Gaulle, who was President of the [[Provisional Government of the French Republic]] at the end of the war, commuted the sentence to life imprisonment on the grounds of age.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Philippe Pétain {{!}} WWI Hero, French General & Vichy Leader {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Philippe-Petain |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> After his conviction, the court stripped Pétain of all military ranks and honours, not including the distinction of Marshal of France.<ref>{{cite book | last = Varaut | first = Jean-Marc| author-link = Jean-Marc Varaut | url=https://www.cairn.info/le-proces-petain--9782262010911-page-381.htm | isbn=9782262010911 | title=Le Procès Pétain (1945-1995) | chapter=XVI - le délibéré, le verdict et la grâce | series=Hors collection | year=1995 | pages=381–387 | publisher=Perrin }}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=The wording in the source has permitted edit-warring at this article regarding 'Marshal of France'. See Talk.|date=September 2023}}

Fearing riots at the announcement of the sentence,{{clarify|reason=Because of the death sentence being shelved, or because he was convicted?|date=August 2024}} de Gaulle ordered that Pétain be immediately transported on the former's private aircraft to [[Fort du Portalet]] in the [[Pyrenees]],<ref>Williams, 2005, pp. 512–513.</ref> where he remained from 15 August to 16 November 1945. The government later transferred him to the Fort de Pierre-Levée citadel on the [[Île d'Yeu]], a small island off the French Atlantic coast.<ref name="marechal-petain.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.marechal-petain.com/versionanglaise/prisonnier.htm|title=The World's Oldest Prisoner|author=Association Pour Défendre la Mémoire du Maréchal Pétain (A.D.M.P.)|year=2009|publisher=Marechal-petain.com|access-date=21 November 2011|archive-date=4 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091104072408/http://www.marechal-petain.com/versionanglaise/prisonnier.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>