Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle (4 November 1922 – 26 December 1942) was a royalist member of the French resistance during World War II. He assassinated Admiral of the Fleet François Darlan, the former chief of government of Vichy France and the high commissioner of French North Africa and West Africa, on 24 December 1942. Background Bonnier de La Chapelle was born in Algiers, son of a French journalist who was a monarchist and a protester against fascism. Bonnier was involved with a royalist group that wanted to make the pretender to the French throne, the Count of Paris, the King of France. He studied at the Lycée Stanislas in Paris after France's surrender to Nazi Germany, and attended a demonstration of anti-German students on Armistice Day 11 November 1940 at the Arc de Triomphe. He then joined the free zone by illegally crossing the border. He returned to Algiers (where his father was a journalist for The Algerian Dispatch) and visited the Youth Camps. After obtaining his degree in 1942, he was surprised by the Allied landings on 8 November 1942 during Operation Torch. A monarchist and ardent anti-Vichyiste, he regretted that his comrades who had participated in Operation Torch, enabling the success of the landing, had not asked him to participate. Following the landing, Bonnier was one of the first to commit to the Corps Francs d'Afrique training under the initial direction of Henri d'Astier de la Vigerie, former leader of the north African resistance. This training was initiated by a resistance group of 8 November. They opposed the "Admiral of the Fleet" François Darlan who was collaborating with the Nazis. They further objected to serving under generals who had attacked the Allied forces at Oran and in Morocco, including Admiral Jean-Pierre Esteva, who had surrendered Tunisia to Axis forces without a fight. When d'Astier was appointed head of the police as Deputy Secretary of the Interior, the Corps Francs d'Afrique maintained unofficial relations with the force. Bonnier served as the liaison. He often visited the home of Henri d'Astier, where he also met Lieutenant Father Pierre-Marie Cordier. After Darlan surrendered Algiers to Allied forces, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who feared armed resistance from Vichy sympathizers among the French, agreed to allow Darlan to govern French North Africa and West Africa under Vichy policies. This caused consternation in the French population and in Washington and London. Motivation At