Vichy
France is the common name of the French State (État français), following its
relocation to the town of Vichy, headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain from 1940 to 1944 during World War II.
During this period, Paris remained the de
jurecapital of France. From 1940 to 1942, while the Vichy regime was the
nominal government of France as a whole, Germany militarily occupied northern France. Following the Allied landings in French North
Africa on 8 November
1942, southern France was also militarily occupied by Germany and Italy on 11
November 1942 through the enactment of Case Anton.
The French government remained in existence, but was very aware that it had to
please Germany.
Vichy
sought an anti-modern counter-revolution. The traditionalist right in France,
with strength in the aristocracy and among Catholics, had never accepted the
republican traditions of the French Revolution. It demanded a return to
traditional lines of culture and religion and embraced authoritarianism, while
dismissing democracy.[ The Communist element, strongest in
labour unions, turned against Vichy in June 1941, when Germany invaded the
Soviet Union. Vichy was intensely anti-Communist and generally pro-German;
Payne finds that it "was distinctly rightist and authoritarian but never
fascist".Paxton analyzes the entire range of Vichy supporters, from
reactionaries to moderate liberal modernizers, and concludes that genuine
fascist elements had but minor roles in most sectors.
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