other · France and the Low Countries
Vichy France
Origins
After the German victory in 1940 and the armistice of 22 June, France was divided into an occupied north and an unoccupied south. On 10 July the parliament meeting at Vichy voted full powers to Marshal Philippe Pétain, ending the French Third Republic and creating the French State.
Rule and society
Pétain led a 'National Revolution' under the motto Work, Family, Fatherland, abolishing parliament and promoting conservative Catholic values. Vichy chose collaboration after Pétain met Hitler at Montoire in 1940. Its own anti-Jewish laws and its police's role in round-ups, such as the Vel d'Hiv in 1942, contributed to the deportation of about 76,000 Jews from France.
Decline and legacy
Germany occupied the south in November 1942, leaving Vichy little power. After the Allied landings of 1944 the regime collapsed; its leaders were taken to Sigmaringen in Germany. Pétain was sentenced to death, commuted to life imprisonment, and Pierre Laval was executed.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (3)
- French Algeria was part of Vichy France1940 CE – 1942 CE
- Vichy France was a vassal of Nazi Germany1940 CE – 1944 CE
- Vichy France was part of French Empire1940 CE – 1944 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Vichy France. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/vichy-france
- MLA
- “Vichy France.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/vichy-france. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Vichy France.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/vichy-france.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Vichy France’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/vichy-france (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻