In 1940, after the surrender of France to Germany, Henriot became active as a journalist working for the French government headed by Philippe Pétain which had removed to Vichy. In December 1943 he was appointed Secretary of State for Information. During his career he created programs and broadcast through Radio Paris, becoming the government's spokesman. He developed a war of propaganda against the Free French Forces and the BBC; whose spokesmen were Pierre Dac and Maurice Schumann. Seeking to shape the perceptions of the French government and German occupation, and to destroy popular support for the Résistance, Henriot was given the nickname of the "French Goebbels". He broadcast twice daily on Radio-Vichy, "repeatedly and eloquently attacking all those he considered lukewarm in their attitude to collaboration and calling on all good Catholics to support the German cause in the fight against communism." He continued the propaganda programmes after the Germans were forced, due to the new Allied presence in North Africa, to extend their military occupation in 1942 over Southern France, formerly the Free Zone controlled by the French government at Vichy. He warned the French people about any association with the Allies or "terrorists" (resistance groups) and countered the arguments of the Free French Forces broadcasting from the BBC. He wrote and delivered 270 broadcasts on Radio Vichy in a "mesmerising rhetoric and delivery" ... as a "huge media star", according to one source.