French Democratization
A history of French democratization.
Contents
Kingdom of France
First Republic
First Empire
Bourbon Restoration
July Revolution
Second Republic
Second Empire
Third Republic
Vichy France
Following the armistice of June 22nd, 1940, Alsace-Lorraine were ceded to Germany and the northern half of metropolitan France, including the Atlantic coast, was placed under occupation. The southern half, with a new capital city in Vichy, became known as the zone libre.
On July 10th, the National Assembly voted to grant full powers to Pétain. This effectively ended the third Republic and established Vichy France as an autocratic state.
The armistice specifically allowed France to retain a militarized Navy that would not be compelled to re-enter the war. From the German perspective, it was a dormant threat that must either be swiftly absorbed or left unprovoked. From the French perspective, it was the final bargaining chip to guarantee independence for the zone libre. As a compromise, most of the Navy was relocated to Mers-el-Kébir under command of Darlan or Alexandria under command of René-Émile Godfroy. Standing orders were given to scuttle the ships if the German Navy attempted a seizure. Churchill was unwilling to leave any possibility of seizure however, and ordered Operation Catapult against the North African naval bases. Pétain severed diplomatic relations with the UK, and tensions were raised with De Gaulle and Free France as well.
Fourth Republic
In 1942, Roosevelt made plans to vassalize France as the United States Army Military Government in France. In negotiations through Admiral Mark Clark, he compelled Darlan to sign an agreement consenting to American rule. De Gaulle opposed any such arrangements. In founding the Provisional Government of the French Republic from Algiers and negotiating diplomatic recognition of it as the legitimate French state, he aimed to diplomatically block those efforts.