Editing Mathis (automobile) (section)

===Second World war===
Émile Mathis regained his [[Strasbourg]] factory just before [[World War II]], but by now it was clear that he would not be able to remain so close to a part of the Franco-German frontier which was expected to be a major zone of protracted conflict.    Matthis, as an Alsatian, had been conscripted into the German army during the [[First World War]] but in 1916 had deserted from the German army (with a large amount of cash) while on a mission to buy trucks in Switzerland, and had then joined the [[French army]].  French defeat in June 1940 therefore found Émile Mathis high on the "wanted" list of the victorious Germans,<ref name=Automobilia1940-46>{{cite journal| title =Automobilia| journal = Toutes les voitures françaises 1940 - 46 (Les années sans salon)| volume = 26| pages = 44|year = 2003|publisher=Histoire & collections|location=Paris }}</ref> but he was careful to get away in time and spent the rest of war in the United States with his company Matam.

The [[PSA Poissy Plant|plant]] at [[Poissy]] that opened in 1940 was not a Matford plant but a Ford of France plant, although the Ford 472A produced in it was little changed from the prewar Matford joint venture product.