[3] In October 1940 Lehideux was appointed to the headship of the COA,[4] an organisation charged with smoothing relations between the German authorities and French auto-makers.

[2][5] He is credited with having successfully intervened in 1943 to block German plans to crate up Ford's newly completed car plant at Poissy for shipment to the company's Cologne location.

[2] Along with the likes of Jacques Barnaud, Jean Bichelonne and Pierre Pucheu Lehideux was a member of a group of technocrats who were important in the early days of the Vichy regime.

In 1941 he was given charge of a new body, the Direction Générale de l'équipement nationale, the purpose of which was to improve the economy and overcome high unemployment.

On 17 February 1949 all charges against him were dropped[8] by the High Court of Justice on grounds of "insufficient evidence":[9] He had provided protection for members of the OCF.