Liberation and Immediate Aftermath

Paris's liberation in August 1944 sparked immediate calls for the Tour's return. Newspapers, many newly free from collaboration taint, demanded the race resume as a symbol of French renewal. But France in 1944-1945 was in no condition to host the Tour. Roads were destroyed, bridges blown, food scarce, and gasoline almost nonexistent. More profoundly, the moral reckoning with collaboration had barely begun.

The Purification Trials

Cycling, like all French institutions, underwent épuration (purification). Riders, officials, and journalists faced examination of their wartime conduct. Some trials were just, others settled personal scores under the guise of patriotic justice. The process, messy and often unfair, was necessary for the Tour's credibility. A race that had suspended itself rather than serve occupation couldn't welcome back those who had chosen differently.

Jacques Goddet navigated these waters carefully. His own record was clean—his refusal to stage the Tour under occupation provided moral authority. But he understood that rebuilding required pragmatism. Some riders with minor collaboration histories received quiet rehabilitation, their talents too valuable to waste. Others remained permanently excluded, their betrayals too grave for forgiveness.