The trap

In September of the year 1940, shortly after the armistice, Joseph Predeh traveled from Lyon to Vichy to meet Basson, one of his old friends, attached to the General Directorate of the National Police. The reason for his trip was his desire to obtain a safe travel permit to leave France and join De Gaulle... Of course, he does not specify the true purpose of his request, but he gets lost in somewhat credible explanations by pretending to be a convinced Breton. From here begins a long journey inside offices, inside a trap that will close in on him: disturbed characters and friends who may not be friends, "He felt an unclear agitation around him. Papers related to him were being passed from one office to another. Why? Why hadn’t they told him anything? It was increasingly causing anxiety. Basson’s style was strange. He was friendly and suddenly changed. And what about this report? Whose report is this? And about what?" A man going back and forth between offices, and his wife, who through her interventions may not help him. A man constantly swinging between the optimism some breathe, and the pessimism resulting from the reflections or attitudes of other interrogators, a pessimism born from long, false expectations and false evidence... The interrogators from the Vichy regime who blow hot and cold... Deliberate collusion of these men in service of a totalitarian system whose name is not mentioned. This narrative is a bleak description of the Vichy government system, a "mouse trap" described realistically and accurately, and a feeling of confusion and helplessness overwhelms this poor man who, despite everything, will remain hopeful... until the end, facing bleak characters and struggling in an oppressive atmosphere. 13x20 cm, 260 pages