Marcel Déat in the context of "Trial in absentia"

The Sigmaringen enclave was a temporary government-in-exile formed by remnants of France's Nazi-collaborating Vichy regime during the final stages of World War II. Established in the requisitioned Sigmaringen Castle in southwestern Germany, it was created after the German military evacuated key Vichy officials, including Marshal Philippe Pétain and other collaborators, to avoid capture by advancing Allied forces. Though coerced into relocation, Pétain and ex-Prime Minister Pierre Laval refused to cooperate, leaving leadership to figures like Fernand de Brinon and Marcel Déat, who sought to maintain a semblance of legitimacy.