Eugénie Pétain

Alphonsine Berthe Eugénie Pétain (née Hardon; 5 October 1877 – 30 January 1962) was the wife of the French military commander and political leader Philippe Pétain who ruled Vichy France between 1940 and 1944.

She had previously been married to François de Hérain, a doctor who later became an artist.

Initially, under family pressure, she rejected Pétain's marriage proposal and instead married de Hérain.

[1] Her son from her first marriage, Pierre de Hérain, became a film director.

He was reported to have been at a hotel with her the night he was appointed to take command at the Battle of Verdun in 1916.