because of the benefits to his family. As Moncef Bey refused to abdicate, General Giraud removed him on 14 May 1943. Muhammad VIII was installed on 15 May 1943 at the Bardo palace by General Juin, who invested him at the same time with the Légion d'honneur. He then received the homage of other princes of the royal family, ministers, court officials and members of the consular corps. For this occasion he reinstated the kissing of the hand, which his predecessor had abolished. That same day, Mohamed Chenik presented the resignation of his government and was replaced by Slaheddine Baccouche. As was the norm under the French protectorate, the Bey was not consulted on the choice of ministers (the Chenik government appointed by Moncef Bey had been an exception to this rule). It was only on 6 July that Moncef Bey eventually abdicated, thereby rendering Lamine Bey's accession legitimate. For most Tunisians however, Lamine Bey was still considered to be a usurper. Early reign (1943–1948) Lamine Bey kept a low profile in the face of demands from loyalists for the return of Moncef Bey. His rare appearances showed that his subjects were indifferent to him, or indeed hostile. To rebuild his standing, he supported the teachers of the University of Ez-Zitouna who were striking in December 1943 and chose Neo Destourians as ministers. Nevertheless, the general opinion was that he wanted to abdicate and restore the throne to Moncef Bey. When these rumours were denied, his popularity fell again. On 7 May 1944 Charles de Gaulle visited Tunis on the first anniversary of its liberation from the Axis. Tunisians hoped that he would reverse the injustice of his old rival Giraud and restore Moncef Bey, but the Moncefists were disappointed in this hope. Instead De Gaulle presented Lamine Bey a Cross of Lorraine in gold, having learned that during the Axis occupation he used to listen secretly to De Gaulle's broadcasts from London. The Bey wore this on his uniform next to his decorations for a long time afterwards. Hostility towards the Bey showed no signs of decreasing. He was boycotted by the other Husainid princes when he went to the mosque for Eid al-Fitr. To raise his prestige, he was invited to Paris where he attended the military parades on 14 July 1945, standing next to De Gaulle. He then went on to visit Germany. For Tunisians however, he