The Deputy Prime Minister of France, more properly known as the Vice President of the Council of Ministers, was a

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is an office, carrying a salary or otherwise generating income, that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval chu ...

position that existed during the Third and Fourth Republics, as well as the Vichy regime during World War II. It was reserved for the leaders of junior parties during coalition governments. During the Vichy regime, the title was in fact bestowed on the ''de facto'' prime minister. Its first holder was Eugène Penancier, who served under

Édouard Daladier Édouard Daladier (; 18 June 1884 – 10 October 1970) was a French Radical-Socialist (centre-left) politician, and the Prime Minister of France who signed the Munich Agreement before the outbreak of World War II. Daladier was born in Carpentr ...

in 1932, and its last was

Guy Mollet Guy Alcide Mollet (; 31 December 1905 – 3 October 1975) was a French politician. He led the socialist French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) from 1946 to 1969 and was the French Prime Minister from 1956 to 1957. As Prime Minister ...

, who served under

Pierre Pflimlin Pierre Eugène Jean Pflimlin (; 5 February 1907 – 27 June 2000) was a French Christian Democrat politician who served as the Prime Minister of the Fourth Republic for a few weeks in 1958, before being replaced by Charles de Gaulle during the ...

in 1958.

List of deputy prime ministers of France (during World War II)

French Third Republic French Fourth Republic Vichy France {{France-gov-stub