Why Dakar's governor resisted Free France

Pierre Boisson regarded Vichy as France's lawful government and the Free French as challengers to that authority. His loyalty is interpreted as legalistic rather than enthusiastic collaboration, based partly on research indicating that Boisson resisted the roundup of Jews and refused to use armed forces for it in territories he governed. He changed sides in 1942 as the war and the occupation of France developed, but was removed, imprisoned, and prosecuted in 1943. This assessment remains provisional because the available research was incomplete and much of the relevant material was in French. Boisson's position explains why political appeals at Dakar met resistance, while his later record warns against treating every Vichy official as part of one moral category.