Vichy France

Vichy France (French: Régime de Vichy) is the common name of the French State (État français ') headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Evacuated from Paris to Vichy in the unoccupied "Free Zone" (zone libre) in the southern part of metropolitan France which included French Algeria, it remained responsible for the civil administration of France as well as the French colonial empire. After it's France's Surrender to the Nazis at the end of Battle of France during World War II, the National Assembly under the Third Republic voted to give full powers to Philippe Pétain on 10 July 1940, France loses it controls French Indochina by Imperial Japan, and the Fall of France in 1944, France declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, following the German invasion of Poland on 1 September. After the eight-month Phoney War, the Germans launched their offensive in the west on 10 May 1940. Within days, it became clear that French military forces were overwhelmed and that military collapse was imminent. Government and military leaders, deeply shocked by the débâcle, debated how to proceed. Many officials, including Prime Minister Paul Reynaud, wanted to move the government to French territories in North Africa, and continue the war with the French Navy and colonial resources. Others, particularly the Vice-Premier Philippe Pétain and the Commander-in-Chief, General Maxime Weygand, insisted that the responsibility of the government was to remain in France and share the misfortune of its people. The latter view called for an immediate cessation of hostilities.