The Activity of French Legation in Bucharest (1943)

During the Second World War, the Romanian-French diplomatic relations were visibly disrupted due to the war alliances then existing, as well as by the conflict events. However, the long-standing friendship between the two states did not support a definitive break of diplomatic relations. Moreover, amid certain crucial moments at that time, the two states made known their mutual affinity and friendship and they assisted each other diplomatically in defending each other's national interests to the greatest extent. In this study, I would therefore focus on the highlights of the Romanian-French diplomatic collaboration throughout the year of 1943 and describe the main events that characterized the activity of the French legation in Bucharest. To the purpose of analyzing this chapter in the Romanian-French relations, I will foremost refer to documents in the CNSAS archive. These documents, reflecting a large part of the Gaullist Resistance activity inside the French legation in Bucharest, are unique and they aid with the understanding of the nature of the Romanian-French relations of those years.