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From 11 November 1942 negotiations took place between Germany and Vichy France. The settlement was that Toulon should remain a "stronghold" under Vichy control and defended against the Allies and "French enemies of the government of the Marechal". Grand Admiral Erich Raeder, commander of the , believed that French Navy officers would fulfil their armistice duty not to let the ships fall in the hands of a foreign nation.