 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Government of Vichy France" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(July 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Part ofa series on the | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| History ofFrance | ||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Timeline | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Ancien Régime
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| Topics | ||||||||||||||||||||
 France portal ·  History portal | ||||||||||||||||||||
TheGovernment of Vichy France was thecollaborationist rulingregime orgovernment in Nazi-occupied France during theSecond World War. Of contestedlegitimacy,[citation needed] it was finally headquartered in the town ofVichy inoccupied France, but it initiallytook shape inBordeaux under MarshalPhilippe Pétain as the successor to theFrench Third Republic in June 1940. The government remained in Vichy for four years, but was escorted to Germany in September 1944 after theAllied invasion of France. It then operated as agovernment-in-exile until April 1945, when theSigmaringen enclave was taken by so-calledFree French forces. Pétain was permitted to travel back to France (throughSwitzerland), by then under control of the technically illegalProvisional French Republic, and subsequently put on trial fortreason.
Philippe Pétain, a hero of World War I,[1] known for applying the lessons of theSecond Battle of Champagne to minimize casualties in theBattle of Verdun, became commander of French forces in 1917.[1] He came to power in World War II as a reaction to the stunningdefeat of France in early 1940. Pétain blamed a lack of men and material for the defeat,[2] but had himself participated in the egregious miscalculations that led to theMaginot Line, and the belief that theArdennes wereimpenetrable.[3] Nonetheless, Pétain's cautious and defensive tactics at Verdun had won him acclaim from a devastated military, and poetPaul Valéry called him "the champion of France".[4]
Recalled byPaul Reynaud from his post as Ambassador to Spain, Pétain became Vice-Premier in May 1940, when the only question was whether the French Army should surrender or the French government should sue for anarmistice.[4] Reynard's Cabinet were against him and he resigned, recommending PresidentAlbert Lebrun appoint Pétain the Premier, which he did on 16 June. The Cabinet voted overwhelmingly for anArmistice and the government's representatives signed one with Germany on22 June 1940.
With France fallen to the Germans, the British judged the risk was too high of theFrench Navy falling into German hands, despite French assurances to the contrary, and twelve days later, in theattack on Mers-el-Kébir on 3 July 1940, they sank one battleship and damaged five others, also killing 1,297 French servicemen. The French Government were furious. Pétain severed diplomatic relations with theUnited Kingdom on 8 July. The next day theNational Assembly voted to revise the constitution, and the following day, 10 July, theNational Assembly voted absolute power to Pétain, thus ending theFrench Third Republic.[5] In retaliation for the attack atMers el Kébir, French aircraft raidedGibraltar on 18 July but did little damage.[citation needed]
Pétain moved the Government from Bordeaux and established theFrench State, anauthoritarian government, at Vichy,[6][7] withcentral planning a key feature, as well as tight government control. French conventional wisdom, particularly in the administration ofFrançois Mitterrand, long held that the French government under Petain had merely sought to make the best of a bad situation. Vichy policy towards the Germans was at least in part founded on concern for the 1.8 million French prisoners of war.[8] As PresidentJacques Chirac subsequently acknowledged, evenMussolini stood up to Hitler and in so doing saved the lives of thousands of Jews, many of them French.Antisemitism in France began before Pétain, but became a key characteristic of his time in power, as manifested inVichy anti-Jewish legislation.
Until the invasion, theFrench Third Republic had been the government of France since the defeat ofNapoleon III and the end of theFranco-Prussian War in 1870. It was dissolved by theFrench Constitutional Law of 1940, which gave Pétain and his Cabinet the power to write a new constitution. This meant that the previousFrench Constitutional Laws of 1875, no longer applied.
In the wake of theBattle of France that culminated in the disaster atDunkirk, the French government declared Paris an open city and relocated firstly to Tours, then toBordeaux on 10 June 1940 to avoid capture. On 22 June, France and Germany signed theSecond Armistice at Compiègne. The government again relocated, this time to Vichy. Still led by Pétain, it replaced the Third Republic. It administered thezone libre in the south of France until November 1942, when Germans and Italians occupied the zone underCase Anton following the Allied landings inNorth Africa underOperation Torch. Germany occupied northern France and the Atlantic coast, and the Italians occupied a small territory in the southeast. The French Government continued the civil administration of France.
_2025-03-23.JPG)
At the time of the armistice, the French and the Germans both thought Britain would come to terms any day, so it included only temporary arrangements[citation needed]. France agreed to its soldiers remaining prisoners of war until hostilities ceased. The terms of the armistice sketch out a "French State" (État français), whose sovereignty and authority in practice were limited to thezone libre, although in theory it administered all of France. However, the fiction of French independence was so important to Laval, in particular, that he agreed to requisition French workers for Germany to prevent the Germans from doing it unilaterally for thezone occupée alone.[citation needed]
The legitimate government of France eventually relocated to Vichy, butCharles de Gaulle, who had fled to England, declared an illegalgovernment in exile in London, and broadcastappeals to French citizens to resist the occupying forces. Britain shortly thereafter recognized hisEmpire Defence Council as the legitimate French government. Under the terms of the armistice the French State was allowed an army of 100,000 to defend itself and to administer its colonies. Most of these colonies simply recognized the shift in power, but their allegiance to Vichy shifted once the Allies invaded FrenchNorth Africa inOperation Torch. Britain, however, outraged the French byattacking part of their moored fleet because the British were unwilling to risk it falling intoAxis hands, despite French Government promises this would never happen.
Alsace-Lorraine, which France and Germany had long disputed, was simply annexed. When Allied forces landed in French North Africa underOperation Torch, Germany's response was to send troops into the militarily unoccupied zone inCase Anton.
Pétain government | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Date formed | 16 June 1940 (1940-06-16) |
| Date dissolved | 10 July 1940 (1940-07-10) |
| People and organisations | |
| President of the Republic | Albert Lebrun |
| Head of government | Philippe Pétain |
| Member party | SFIO |
| Status in legislature | Government of National Union 536/608 |
| History | |
| Incoming formation | Fall of France |
| Outgoing formation | Constitutional Law of 1940 |
| Predecessor | Paul Reynaud government |
| Successor | Laval 5/Vichy government •Empire Defense Council/Free France |
The Philippe Pétain administration was the last administration of the French Third Republic, succeeding on 16 June 1940 to Paul Reynaud's cabinet. It formed in the middle of theBattle of France debacle, whenNazi Germany invaded France at the beginning of the Second World War. It was led until 10 July 1940 byPhilippe Pétain, and was responsible for the armistice.Charles de Gaulle, favored fighting on in theEmpire Defense Council[a] and fled to England. On 23 June 1940 the French Cabinet struck de Gaulle's name from the Army List for treason.[10] It was followed by the fifth administration ofPierre Laval, the first administration of theVichy France regime.
Paul Reynaud, who had been the FrenchPresident of the Council since 22 March 1940, resigned early on the evening of 16 June, and PresidentAlbert Lebrun called for Pétain to form a new government.
Pétain recruitedAdrien Marquet for Interior andPierre Laval for Justice. Laval wanted an offer of Justice. On the advice ofFrançois Charles-Roux, theSecretary-General for Foreign Affairs, and with the support ofMaxime Weygand and Lebrun, Pétain stood firm, which led Laval to withdraw, followed by Marquet in solidarity. After the armistice,Raphaël Alibert convinced Pétain of the need to rely on Laval, and the two rejoined the government.[11]
Pétain obtained the participation of the SFIO by bringing backAlbert Rivière andAndré Février [fr] with the agreement ofLéon Blum.
The following is a list of the French government ministers in the administration of Pétain under the Third Republic.
| Title | Office holder | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Président du Conseil | Philippe Pétain | SE |
| Vice Presidents of the Council | Camille Chautemps (16 June – 12 July)[12] | RAD |
| Pierre Laval (starting 23 June 1940) | SE | |
| Ministers of State | ||
| Ministers of State | Camille Chautemps | RAD |
| Adrien Marquet (starting 23 June 1940) | SE | |
| Pierre Laval (starting 23 June 1940) | SE | |
| Ministers | ||
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | Paul Baudoin | SE |
| Minister of Finance and Commerce | Yves Bouthillier | SE |
| Minister of War | Louis Colson [fr] | SE |
| Ministre of National Defense | Maxime Weygand | SE |
| Guardian of the Seals, Minister of Justice | Charles Frémicourt [fr] | SE |
| Minister of National Education | Albert Rivaud | SE |
| Minister of the Interior | Charles Pomaret | USR |
| Adrien Marquet (starting 27 June 1940) | SE | |
| Minister of the Merchant and Military Marine | François Darlan | SE |
| Minister of Air | Bertrand Pujo | SE |
| Minister of Public Works and Information | Ludovic-Oscar Frossard | USR |
| Albert Chichery | RAD | |
| Minister of Transmissions | André Février [fr] (starting 23 juin 1940) | SFIO |
| Minister of the Colonies | Albert Rivière | SFIO |
| Minister of Labour and Public Health | André Février | SFIO |
| Charles Pomaret (starting 27 June 1940) | USR | |
| Minister for Veterans and the French Family | Jean Ybarnegaray | PSF |
| High Commissioner for French Propaganda | Jean Prouvost (starting 19 June 1940) | SE |
| Commissioners-General | ||
| Commissioner-General for Resupply | Joseph Frédéric Bernard [fr] (starting 18 June 1940) | SE |
| Commissioner-General for National Reconstruction | Aimé Doumenc [fr] (starting 26 June 1940) | SE |
| Under-Secretaries of State | ||
| Under-Secretary of State to the Office of the Council President | Raphaël Alibert | SE |
| Under-Secretary of State for Refugees | Robert Schuman | PDP |
On 10 July 1940, theFrench National AssemblyAssemblée nationale met inVichy andvoted to give absolute power to Pétain in theConstitutional Law of 1940, effectively dissolving itself, and ending the Third Republic. TheVichy regime began.
In the French State under Pétain, French authorities willingly enacted and enforced antisemitic laws, unprompted by Berlin. His collaborationist government helped send 75,721 Jewish refugees and French citizens to Nazi death camps.[13]
Pierre Laval government | |
|---|---|
| |
| Date formed | 16 July 1940 (1940-07-16) |
| Date dissolved | 13 December 1940 (1940-12-13) |
| People and organisations | |
| Head of State and President of the Council | Philippe Pétain |
| Vice-President of the Council | Pierre Laval |
| Member party | SFIO |
| History | |
| Incoming formation | Constitutional Law of 1940 |
| Predecessor | Pétain government |
| Successor | Flandin regime |
The fifth government formed by Pierre Laval was the first administration formed by Pétain under theVichy regime after thevote of 10 July 1940 ceded fullconstituent powers to Pétain. The government ended on 13 December 1940 with Laval's dismissal. This administration was not recognized as legitimate by theEmpire Defense Council of the government ofFree France, which the British Government had quickly recognized as the legitimate government of France following De Gaulle's radio appeals to the French public.
The government of Philippe Pétain signed thearmistice with Germany on 22 June 1940, put an end to theThird Republic on 10 July 1940 by a vote conveying full powers to Pétain and followed up with threeVichy Constitutional Acts [fr] on 11 July. Meanwhile, on 11 JulyGeneral de Gaulle created theEmpire Defense Council, which was recognized by the British Government as the legitimate successor of the Third Republic, which had allied itself with Great Britain in the war against the Nazis.
On 12 July 1940 Pétain namedPierre Laval,second Minister of State of the last government of the Third Republic under Philippe Pétain[14] asvice-president of the Council,[15] while Pétain remained simultaneouslyhead of state andhead of government. Constitutional Act #4 made Laval next in the line of succession should something happen to Pétain.[16] On 16 July, Pétain formed the first government of the Vichy régime and kept Pierre Laval on as vice-president of the Council.
Laval's administration more or less coincides with the arrival in France ofFritz Sauckel, tasked by Hitler with procuring qualified manpower. Until then, fewer than 100 000 French workers had voluntarily travelled to Germany to work[17] Refusal to send 150 000 skilled workers had been one of the causes of the fall of Darlan.[18] Sauckel demanded 250,000 additional workers before the end of July 1942.
Laval fell back on his favorite tactic of negotiating, stalling for time, and seeking reciprocation. He proposed therelève, in which a prisoner of war would be freed for every three workers sent to Germany, and announced it 22 June 1942, after the same day, in a letter toJoachim von Ribbentrop, the German minister of foreign affairs, Laval framing therelève policy as French participation, by providing workers, in the German war effort.[19]
"They give their blood. Give your labour to save Europe from Bolshevism".Nazi propaganda leaflet suggesting French workers travel to Germany to support the war effort on the eastern front (1943)[20]
The voluntaryrelève, was replaced by theService du travail obligatoire (STO) which began in August 1942 throughout occupied Europe. To Sauckel, therelève had failed, since fewer than 60 000 French workers had gone to Germany by the end of August. He threatened to issue anordonnance to requisition male and female manpower. Thisordonnance would only have had effect in the occupied zone. Laval negotiated a French law covering both zones instead.[21] Laval put workplace inspection, the police and the gendarmerie at the service of forced impressments of labor, and tracking Service du travail obligatoire scofflaws.[22] Forced impressments of workers, guarded bygendarmes until they boarded a train, drew hostile reactions. On 13 October 1942 the Oullins incidents broke out in the suburbs of Lyon, where workers at the railway station went on strike.[23] Someone wrote "Laval assassin!" (Laval murderer) on the trains.[23] The government was forced to back away; on 1 December 1942 only 2,500 requisitioned workers had left the southern zone.[22] On 1 January 1943, Sauckel demanded, in addition to the 240,000 workers already sent to Germany, a new contingent of 250,000 men, before mid-March[24] To meet these objectives, German forces organised ineffectively brutal raids, which led Laval to propose to the Council of Ministers on 5 February 1943 legislation creating the STO, under which youth born in 1920-1922 were requisitioned for work service in Germany[25] Laval mitigated his legislation with many exceptions.[25]
In all, 600 000 men left between June 1942 and August 1943[26] despite what Sauckel denounced in a letter to Hitler as "pure and simple sabotage", after meeting more than seven hours on 6 August 1943 with Laval, who again attempted to minimize the number of requisitioned workers and refused to his demand for 50 000 workers for Germany before the end of 1943.[27]
On 15 September 1943, Reich minister for Armament and War ProductionAlbert Speer reached an agreement with Laval ministerJean Bichelonne[28] — an agreement Laval was counting on to "block the deportation machine".[27] Many businesses working for Germany were removed from Sauckel's requisition.[28] Individuals were protected but the French economy as a whole was integrated into that of Germany. In November 1943, Sauckel demanded,[26] without much success, 900 000 additional workers.[28] On orders from Berlin, French workers stopped leaving for Germany on 7 June 1944, after Allied landings in Normandy.[29]
In the end, the STO caused thousands of youngréfractaires to embrace the Resistance, which created themaquis.[30] In the eyes of the French, Laval took ownership of the measures imposed by Sauckel and became the French minister who sent French workers to Germany.[17]
The following joined on 16 July 1940:
The following joined in September 1940, replacing eight dismissed ministers:
The following were appointed on 18 November 1940:
Laval was sacked by Pétain on 13 December 1940. This came as a surprise to Laval. He was replaced by a triumvirate of Flandin, Darlan, and GeneralCharles Huntziger. This caused friction with Hitler's representativeOtto Abetz, who was furious about Vichy's insufficient collaboration, and closed thedemarcation line in response.[34]
Pierre Flandin government | |
|---|---|
| |
 Time cover, 4 February 1935 | |
| Date formed | 14 December 1940 (1940-12-14) |
| Date dissolved | 9 February 1941 (1941-02-09) |
| People and organisations | |
| Head of State and President of the Council | Philippe Pétain |
| Vice-President of the Council | Pierre-Étienne Flandin |
| Member party | SFIO |
| History | |
| Predecessor | Laval government |
| Successor | Darlan government |
The second government ofPierre-Étienne Flandin was the second government of the Vichy regime in France, formed by Philippe Pétain. It succeeded thefirst Pierre Laval government on 14 December 1940 and ended on 9 February 1941.
The Germans were unhappy after the sacking of Laval on 13 December, and suspicious of Flandin and whether he was sufficiently collaborationist. Darlan met with Hitler on 25 December and endured his anger, assuring Hitler that Vichy was still committed to collaboration. There followed several months of intrigue while Flandin was in power, during which Pétain even considered taking Laval back, however Laval was now no longer interested in anything other than supreme power. The impasse was lifted after the Germans had a change of heart with respect to Darlan, although not toward Flandin who they considered insufficiently collaborationist, and this led to Flandin's resignation on 9 February 1941, and Darlan's accession.[34]
 | You can helpexpand this section with text translated fromthe corresponding article in French. (August 2020)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
The majority of ministers, secretaries, and delegates were carried over from the Laval government that ended 13 December 1940.
Flandin's short period in power was marked by intrigue and Hitler's suspicions about Vichy's level of collaboration with Germany. When it was clear that Darlan had more confidence in Berlin than Flandin did, Flandin resigned on 9 February 1941, leaving the way clear for Darlan.[34]
François Darlan government | |
|---|---|
| |
 François Darlan, in an undated image. | |
| Date formed | 10 February 1941 (1941-02-10) |
| Date dissolved | 18 April 1942 (1942-04-18) |
| People and organisations | |
| Head of State and President of the Council | Philippe Pétain |
| Vice-President of the Council | François Darlan |
| Member party | SFIO |
| Status in legislature | none;full powers to Pétain |
| History | |
| Incoming formation | named by Pétain after Flandin quit |
| Outgoing formation | Laval accession demanded by Germany |
| Predecessor | Flandin regime |
| Successor | Laval government (1942–1944) |
After two years at the head of the Vichy government, Admiral Darlan was unpopular and had strengthened ties with Vichy forces, in an expanded collaboration with Germany which seemed to him the least bad solution, and had conceded a great deal, turning over the naval bases atBizerte andDakar, an air base inAleppo in Syria, as well as vehicles, artillery and ammunition in North Africa and Tunisia, in addition to arming the Iraqis. In exchange Darlan wanted the Germans to reduce the constraints under the armistice, free French prisoners, and eliminate theligne de démarcation.[clarification needed] This irritated the Germans. On 9 March 1942, Hitler signed a decree giving France a chief of theSS and police leader (HSSPF) tasked with organizing the "Final Solution", following theWannsee Conference with the French police. The Germans demanded the return of Laval to power, and broke off contact. The Americans intervened on 30 March to prevent another Laval administration.
Pierre Laval government 1942–44 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Date formed | 18 April 1942 (1942-04-18) |
| Date dissolved | 19 August 1944 (1944-08-19) |
| People and organisations | |
| Head ofFrench State | Philippe Pétain |
| Head of government | Pierre Laval |
| Member party | SFIO |
| Status in legislature | none;full powers to Pétain |
| History | |
| Incoming formation | Petain accedes to German demands for Laval's return |
| Outgoing formation | dismissed by Petain under German orders |
| Predecessor | Darlan government |
| Successor | Sigmaringen enclave |
After two years at the head of theVichy regime,François Darlan's government was unpopular, a victim of the fool's bargain he had made with the Germans. Darlan committed Vichy into furthercollaboration with Germany as the least bad solution for him, giving up much ground:handover of the naval bases atBizerte andDakar, an air base inAleppo (Syria), vehicles, artillery and ammunition in North Africa, Tunisia, not to mention the delivery of arms toIraq.
In exchange, Darlan asked the Germans for a quid pro quo (reduction of the constraints of thearmistice: release of French prisoners, elimination of thedemarcation line and fuel oil for the French fleet), which irritated them.
On 9 March 1942, Hitler signed the decree endowing France with a "Higher SS and police leader" (HSSPf) responsible for organizing theFinal Solution after[clarification needed] theWannsee Conference with the French Police. The Germans then demanded thatPierre Laval return to power, and in the meantime they broke off all contact.
On 30 March 1942, the Americans intervened in Vichy against Laval's return to power.
On 17 August 1944,Pierre Laval, head of government and minister of foreign affairs, held his last council of government with five ministers.[41] With permission from the Germans, he attempted to call back the priorNational Assembly with the goal of giving it power[42] and thus impeding the communists and de Gaulle.[43] So he obtained the agreement of German ambassadorOtto Abetz to bringÉdouard Herriot, (President of theChamber of Deputies) back to Paris.[43] But ultra-collaborationistsMarcel Déat andFernand de Brinon protested against this to the Germans, who changed their minds[44] and took Laval toBelfort[45] along with the remains of his government, "to assure its legitimate security", and arrested Herriot.[46]
On 20 August 1944 Pierre Laval was taken toBelfort[47] by the Germans along with the remains of his government, "to assure its legitimate security". Vichy head of state MarshalPhilippe Pétain was conducted against his will to Belfort on 20 August 1944. A governmental commission directed byFernand de Brinon was proclaimed on 6 September.[48] On 7 September, they were taken ahead of the advancing Allied Forces out of France to the town of Sigmaringen, where they arrived on the 8th, where other Vichy officials were already present.[49]
Hitler requisitioned theSigmaringen Castle for use by top officials.[citation needed] This was then occupied and used by the Vichy government-in-exile from September 1944 to April 1945. Pétain resided at the Castle, but refused to cooperate, and kept mostly to himself,[48] and ex-Prime MinisterPierre Laval also refused.[50] Despite the efforts of the collaborationists and the Germans, Pétain never recognized the Sigmaringen Commission.[51] The Germans, wanting to present a facade of legality, enlisted other Vichy officials such asFernand de Brinon as president, along withJoseph Darnand,Jean Luchaire,Eugène Bridoux, andMarcel Déat.[52]
On 7 September 1944,[53] fleeing the advance of Allied troops into France, while Germany was in flames and the Vichy regime ceased to exist, a thousand French collaborators (including a hundred officials of the Vichy regime, a few hundred members of theFrench Militia, collaborationist party militants, and the editorial staff of the newspaperJe suis partout) but also waiting-game opportunists[b] also went into exile in Sigmaringen.
The commission had its own radio station (Radio-patrie, Ici la France) and official press (La France,Le Petit Parisien), and hosted the embassies of theAxis powers: Germany, Italy and Japan. The population of the enclave was about 6,000, including known collaborationist journalists, the writersLouis-Ferdinand Céline andLucien Rebatet, the actorRobert Le Vigan, and their families, as well as 500 soldiers, 700 French SS, prisoners of war andFrench civilian forced laborers.[54]Inadequate housing, insufficient food, promiscuity among the paramilitaries, and lack of hygiene facilitated the spread of numerous illnesses includingflu andtuberculosis) and a high mortality rate among children, ailments that were treated as best they could by the only two French doctors, Doctor Destouches, aliasLouis-Ferdinand Céline andBernard Ménétrel.[53]
On 21 April 1945General de Lattre ordered his forces to take Sigmaringen. The end came within days. By the 26th, Pétain was in the hands of French authorities in Switzerland,[55] and Laval had fled to Spain.[50] Brinon,[56] Luchaire, and Darnand were captured, tried, and executed by 1947. Other members escaped to Italy or Spain.
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(July 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Theliberation of France in 1944 dissolved the Vichy government. TheProvisional Consultative Assembly requested representation, leading to theProvisional Government of the French Republic (French:Gouvernement provisoire de la République française,GPRF), also known as theFrench Committee of National Liberation. Past collaborators were discredited andGaullism andcommunism became political forces.
De Gaulle led the GPRF 1944-1946 while negotiations took place for a new constitution, to be put to areferendum. De Gaulle advocated a presidential system of government, and criticized the reinstatement of what he pejoratively called "the parties system".[citation needed] He resigned in January 1946 and was replaced byFelix Gouin of theFrench Section of the Workers' International (Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière,SFIO). Only theFrench Communist Party (Parti communiste français,PCF) and the socialist SFIO supported the draft constitution, which envisaged a form ofunicameralism. This constitution was rejected in the5 May 1946 referendum.
French voters adopted the constitution of the Fourth Republic on13 October 1946.
After the fall of France on 25 June 1940 many French colonies were initially loyal to Vichy. But eventually the overseas empire helped liberate France; 300,000 North African Arabs fought in the ranks of the Free French.[57]French Somaliland, an exception, got a governor loyal to Vichy on 25 July. It surrendered to Free French forces on 26 December 1942.[58] The length and extent of each colony's collaboration with Vichy ran a gamut however; antisemitic measures met an enthusiastic reception in Algeria, for example.[59]
Operation Torch on 8 Novemberlanded Allied troops atOran andAlgiers (Operation Terminal) as well as atCasablanca in Morocco, toattack Vichy territories in North Africa—Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia—then take Axis forces in theWestern Desert in their rear from the east.[60] Allied shipping had needed to supply troops in Africa via theCape of Good Hope, so the Mediterranean ports were strategically valuable.
TheBattle of Dakar against theFree French Forces in September 1940 followed the Fall of France. Authorities in West Africa declared allegiance to the Vichy regime, as did the colony ofFrench Gabon inFrench Equatorial Africa (AEF). Gabon fell to Free France after theBattle of Gabon in November 1940, but West Africa remained under Vichy control until the Allied landings in North Africa in November 1942.
The German military administration cooperated closely with theGestapo, theSicherheitsdienst (SD), the intelligence service of the SS, and theSicherheitspolizei (Sipo), its security police. It also drew support from the French authorities and police, who had to cooperate under the armistice, to round up Jews, anti-fascists and other dissidents, and fromcollaborationist auxiliaries like theMilice, theFranc-Gardes and theGroupe mobile de réserve. The Milice helpedKlaus Barbie seize members of the resistance and minorities including Jews for detention.
The two main collaborationist political parties, theFrench Popular Party (PPF) and theNational Popular Rally (RNP), each had 20,000 to 30,000 members. Collaborationists were fascists and Nazi sympathisers who collaborated for ideological reasons, unlike "collaborators", people who cooperated out of self-interest. A principal motivation and ideological foundation among collaborationists was anti-communism. Examples of these are PPF leaderJacques Doriot, writerRobert Brasillach andMarcel Déat (founder of the RNP).
Some Frenchmen also volunteered to fight for Germany or againstBolsheviks, such as theLegion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism. Volunteers from this and other outfits later constituted the cadre of the33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French).
The French State was quickly recognized by theAllies, as well as by theSoviet Union, until 30 June 1941 andOperation Barbarossa. However France broke with theUnited Kingdom after thedestruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir. The United States took the position that Vichy should do nothing adverse to US interests that was not specifically required by the terms of the armistice.Canada maintained diplomatic relations with Vichy until the occupation of southern France inCase Anton by Germany and Italy in November 1942.[61]
In 1941, theFree French Forces fought with British troops against the Italians inItalian East Africa during theEast African Campaign, and expanded operations north intoItalian Libya. In February 1941, Free French Forces invadedCyrenaica, led by Leclerc,[clarification needed] and captured the Italian fort at the oasis ofKufra. In 1942, Leclerc's forces and soldiers from the BritishLong Range Desert Group captured parts of the province ofFezzan. At the end of 1942, Leclerc moved his forces intoTripolitania to join British Commonwealth and other FFF forces in theRun for Tunis.[62]
French India underLouis Bonvin announced after the fall of France that they would join the British and the French underCharles de Gaulle.[63]
Nearly 300,000 French Jews, 80% of those remaining, moved to the Italian zone of occupation to escape theNazis.[64][65] The Italian Jewish bankerAngelo Donati had convinced the Italian civil and military authorities to protect the Jews from French persecution.[66]
In January 1943 the Italians refused to cooperate with Nazi roundups of Jews living under their control and in March prevented them from deporting Jews from their zone.[67] German foreign ministerJoachim von Ribbentrop complained to Mussolini that "Italian military circles ... lack a proper understanding of the Jewish question."[68] However, when the Italians signed thearmistice with the Allies, German troops invaded the former Italian zone on 8 September 1943 andAlois Brunner, the SS official for Jewish affairs, formed units to search out Jews. Within five months, 5,000 Jews were caught and deported.[69]
| This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Legitimacy of Vichy" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(July 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Given full constituent powers in the law of 10 July 1940, Pétain never promulgated a new constitution. A draft was written in 1941 and signed by Pétain in 1944, but never submitted nor ratified.[70][71]
The United States gave Vichy full diplomatic recognition, and sent AdmiralWilliam D. Leahy as ambassador.[72] President Roosevelt and Secretary of StateCordell Hull hoped to encourage elements in the Vichy government opposed to military collaboration with Germany. The Americans also wanted Vichy to resist German demands for its naval fleet or air bases in French-mandated Syria or to move war supplies through French territories inNorth Africa. Americans held that France should take no action not explicitly required by the terms of the armistice that could adversely affect Allied efforts in the war. The Americans ended relations with Vichy when Germany occupied thezone libre of France in late 1942.
The USSR maintained relations with Vichy until 30 June 1941, after the Nazis invaded Russia inOperation Barbarossa.
France for a long time took the position that the republic had been disbanded when power was turned over to Pétain, but officially admitted in 1995 complicity in the deportation of 76,000 Jews during WW II. PresidentJacques Chirac, speaking at the site of theVélodrome d'Hiver, where 13,000 Jews wererounded up for deportation to death camps in July 1942, said: "France, on that day [16 July 1942], committed the irreparable. Breaking its word, it handed those who were under its protection over to their executioners", he said. Those responsible for the roundup were "450 policemen and gendarmes, French, under the authority of their leaders [who] obeyed the demands of the Nazis. .... the criminal folly of the occupiers was seconded by the French, by the French state".[73][74]
The police under Bousquet collaborated to the point where they themselves compiled the lists of Jewish residents, gave them yellow stars, and even requisitioned buses andSNCF trains to transport them to camps such asDrancy.
The French[clarification needed] themselves distinguish betweencollaborators, andcollaborationists, who agreed with Nazi ideology and actively worked to further their domestic policies, as opposed to the majority of collaborators who worked with the Nazis reluctantly, and in order to avoid consequences to themselves.
The international tribunal at Nuremberg called Vichy régime agreements with the Nazis for deportation of citizens and residents voidab initio due to their "immoral content".[75][failed verification]
Notes
Citations
De septembre 1944 jusque fin avril 1945, Sigmaringen constitue donc une enclave française. Le drapeau français est hissé devant le château. Deux ambassades et un consulat en cautionnent la légitimité : l'Allemagne, le Japon et l'Italie.
"Ordonnance du 9 août 1944 relative au rétablissement de la légalité républicaine sur le territoire continental – Version consolidée au 10 août 1944" [Law of 9 August 1944 Concerning the reestablishment of the legally constituted Republic on the mainland – consolidated version of 10 August 1944].gouv.fr. Legifrance. 9 August 1944. Archived fromthe original on 16 July 2009. Retrieved21 October 2015.Article 1: The form of the government of France is and remains the Republic. By law, it has not ceased to exist.
Article 2: The following are therefore null and void: all legislative or regulatory acts as well as all actions of any description whatsoever taken to execute them, promulgated in Metropolitan France after 16 June 1940 and until the restoration of the Provisional Government of the French Republic. This nullification is hereby expressly declared and must be noted.
Article 3. The following acts are hereby expressly nullified and held invalid: The so-called "Constitutional Law of 10 July 1940; as well as any laws called 'Constitutional Law';
| Forces | .svg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leaders | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Administration | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| French campaign |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aftermath |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
