From August 1942 until the end of the year, the FTP-M.O.I. carried out numerous operations against the occupying forces (derailments, arson attacks on buildings occupied by the Germans, etc.). On August 5 and October 19, 1942, they carried out daring attacks against German soldiers during training exercises.
The police arrested several female and male fighters and sought to trace the case back to the leadership of the Parisian FTP-M.O.I. The French police’s Special Brigades , tasked with combating the Resistance, set up surveillance operations.
The Anglo-American landing in the Maghreb, a territory administered by the Vichy regime, took place on November 8, 1942, as part ofOperation Torch. This gave the Allies a foothold in the southern Mediterranean. The landing was supported by the actions of Jewish resistance fighters in Algeria.
On November 11, the Germans entered the southern zone. They entrusted the Italians with the occupation of Nice and Savoy. This marked the end of the so-called “Free Zone.” Jews were now being hunted down throughout France.
Between 1940 and the end of 1942, many Jews had taken refuge in the southern zone, where, despite the Vichy regime’s discriminatory policies, repression was less severe than in the occupied northern zone.
As soon as German troops entered the area, FTP-M.O.I. combat groups—which were already active in the north—began to form in the south. The armed struggle intensified.
Throughout 1942, large-scale roundups became increasingly frequent across the country; the number of Jews deported reached 40,000 out of the 76,000 recorded in France during the entire war.
In the southern zone, in January 1943, the three non-communist Resistance movements (Combat, Franc-Tireur, and Libération Sud) merged into a single organization, the MUR (Mouvements Unis de Résistance). By the end of the year, the MUR had joined forces with three movements from the northern zone (Défense de la France, Résistance, and Lorraine). Following the example of the “Solidarité” organization in the northern zone, Communist Jews in the south led Secours Populaire committees that provided aid to refugees.
