France, Etat Français, Philippe Pétain, 2 Francs 1943

During the Second World War (1939-1945), the German armies invaded France and conquered the land within only a few weeks. For the next years, France was divided: Paris and the north remained under German occupation, while in the south, around the city of Vichy, the so-called Etat Français under Marshall Pétain (1940-1944) was established. The obverse of this 2 francs-coin depicts the staff of Marshall Pétain in the form of a double axe – an ancient symbol of supremacy and power. The motto on the coin is no longer LIBERTÉ, ÉGALITÉ, FRATERNITÉ ("Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"), the slogan of the French Revolution, but TRAVAIL, FAMILLE, PATRIE – "Work, Family, Fatherland."