This chapter focuses on the cultural association called Jeune France, on Pierre Schaeffer’s initial relation to Vichy, and the goals that he believed they shared. It then traces the way in which his perceptions of the regime slowly changed as he became aware of the political and cultural limits of its vision of a “new France.” While at first idealistically supporting Vichy, he later turned against it from within its own institutions. For he had sought to reinscribe the classics as well as traditional folk culture, but in a manner that opened up a progressive vision of the French community, one distant from that which would emerge under Darlan. This chapter analyzes not just the themes and texts of Schaeffer’s productions but also how he transmitted and inscribed such works, creatively presented new ones, and developed new insights into the power of sound technology and manipulation.
