Vichy France (État Français) (jun 22, 1940 – apr 22, 1945)

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Vichy France (22 June 1940 – 9 August 1944, French: Régime de Vichy) is the common name of the French State (État français) headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. It was an independent ally of Nazi Germany until late 1942 when Berlin took full control. Evacuated from Paris to the resort town of Vichy in the unoccupied "Free Zone" (zone libre) in the southern part of Metropolitan France, it remained responsible for the civil administration of France as well as its colonies.

France was invaded by Nazi Germany beginning on 10 May 1940. The Nazis rapidly conquered France by bypassing the highly fortified Maginot Line and invading through Belgium. By mid-June, the military situation of the French was dire, and it was apparent that the French had lost. The French government began to discuss the possibility of an armistice. Paul Reynaud resigned as prime minister of the French Third Republic rather than sign an armistice, and Marshal Philippe Pétain, a hero of World War I, became prime minister. Shortly thereafter, Pétain signed the Armistice of 22 June 1940. On 10 July, the Third Republic was effectively dissolved as Pétain was granted essentially dictatorial powers by the National Assembly.

Though the French public initially supported the regime, opinion gradually turned against the French government and the occupying German forces when it became clear that Germany was losing the war, and living conditions in France became increasingly difficult. A resistance movement, working largely in concert with de Gaulle's movement outside the country, increased in strength over the course of the occupation. Following the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944 and the liberation of France later that year, the Free French Provisional Government of the French Republic (GPRF) was installed as the new national government, led by de Gaulle.

The last of the Vichy exiles were captured in the Sigmaringen enclave in April 1945. Pétain was put on trial for treason by the new Provisional government, and sentenced to death; this was commuted to life imprisonment by de Gaulle. Only four senior Vichy officials were tried for crimes against humanity, although many more had participated in the deportation of Jews for internment in Nazi concentration camps, abuses of prisoners, and severe acts against members of the Resistance.

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