French State

The **French State** (**État français**), also referred to as **Vichy France**, is a country located in Western Europe. It is bordered by the Iberian Union to the south, the Italian Empire to the south-east, the SS State of Burgundy to the north, and the Nazi United Kingdom across the channel to the north-west.

## History

While not much early information was provided with regards to France, it can be assumed that at the outbreak of World War 2, France was one of the countries in Western Europe that fell early on to the Nazi war machine. During that time, a resistance movement was created with the intent to expel the Nazi occupiers, awaiting for Allied reinforcements.

However, during 1944, the Allies mounted an invasion into Normandy, with the hopes of establishing a beachhead into France and entering mainland Europe from there on. Instead, the Allied forces were slaughtered at the beaches, sustaining massive casualties and were forced to retreat, leaving France in German hands.

Having solidified their control over continental Europe, the Nazis began pacification campaigns, and proceeded to wipe out the vast majority of the French Resistance groups. By the 1980's, much of the Resistance have been wiped out, with the only known Resistance groups still active being currently led by Nazi infiltrator Julie Brandt. Much like the rest of the world, many major cities including Paris have been reconstructed to better suit the Nazi regime's architectural ideology, with even the Eiffel Tower having been rebuilt as a monument to Nazi dominance.

### World War II and formation

After the defeat of the allied armies in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg in 1940 and the British evacuation of their forces from Dunkirk to England, the french front collapsed and the forces of Germany were able to quickly overrun northern France, capturing Paris without a fight. With the french military teetering on the brink of collapse, the French government (having been evacuated from Paris to Vichy) concluded a ceasefire and subsequent armistice with Germany, effectively surrendering the whole country. The French government was allowed to remain in power but its effective jurisdiction was limited to the unoccupied "Free Zone" in southern France, constituting roughly 45% of Metropolitan France's pre-war territory.

In the following months, the French government was extensively reorganized; Marshal Philippe Pétain became "Chief of State" (effectively making him both head of state of and head of government at the same time with both offices being merged into one) and a new constitution was drafted, giving Pétain extraordinary powers. Through this, Pétain effectively abolished the Third French Republic and replaced it with the French State (État Français), also known as the French Nation (Nation Français), or colloquially/commonly known as Vichy France (Régime de Vichy), a unitary authoritarian dictatorship.

### Early years

The Vichy Regime would remain in place from its inception in 1940, during which it attempted to carry out a series of social/societal transformation programs named the "National Revolution" and "National Regeneration." The Vichy Regime enjoyed diplomatic recognition from the majority of the Axis and Allies and was recognized as the official government of the entirety of metropolitan France except for Alsace-Lorraine and Savoy, which were occupied and annexed by Germany and Italy, respectively.

After World War II ended with an Axis victory, there were a series of agreements penned by German, French, and Italian leadership for the post-war geographical restructuring of Vichy France into its own state. Most of which entailed the territorial reintegration of the former wartime, German-held *zone occupée* of France with that of Vichy France proper, thus forging a united French State. By the end of 1949, France was finally unified once more, with its official capital returning to Paris. However, this would come with a cost.

Despite this gesture, the Reich nonetheless imposed rather harsh restrictions on the French military. Restricting the size of their army manpower to only 250,000 in total, an air force that could not exceed a total of 750 aircraft, and imposing harsh restrictions on state-sponsored research and development for armaments of any kind. Moreover, German military forces were granted free movement and reign over all French territory.

The French colonial empire, except Algeria, was partitioned between Germany, Italy, Japan and Iberia. The devastation of World War II and the Treaty coupled with the loss of its entire colonial empire save Algeria bought about an era of economic stagnation and decline in France.

### Post-war years

Although World War II was now over, things would not get much better for Vichy France. Not long after the end of the war, Marshal Philippe Pétain would pass away from old age and in his place, the far-right lawyer and politician Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour would be appointed as leader. Tixier-Vignancour, however, enjoyed none of the popularity of the late Marshal and subsequently, the French government began to become increasingly unpopular with the French people, with approval ratings plummeting and marches, protests, strikes, and other unrest becoming a regular occurrence.

The West Russian War, the Schutzstaffel Rebellion in Germany, and the post-war German economic crash would serve to make Vichy France's situation even worse. The French economy, already struggling from the effects of World War II and the Treaty of Vichy, fell flat. The ensuing economic meltdown left Vichy France more or less dependent on Germany for economic sustenance, a country whose economy was looking rather worse for wear. To top it all off, northeastern France was ripped off from France to form the SS State of Burgundy, essentially a personal fiefdom of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler.

Vichy France in 1962 is a fallen star. Its economy is in shambles, its government is unpopular, its politics are a chaotic mess, its colonial empire is but a bygone memory, its military is restricted to being borderline non-existent, about a third of its territory has been ripped off to the SS, and even its capital is split in half by the new internal border. Things are not looking good for France.

## Economy

Still laboring from the devastation of World War II and the restrictions placed upon them by the Treaty of Vichy, the French State was heavily reliant on the German economy for sustenance and thus became one of the worst-affected Pakt members during the 1950's crash. In 1962, the economy is still struggling, receiving very little help from Berlin.

## Military

The French military is under crippling restrictions on the number of personnel and equipment, effectively reducing it to a borderline token ceremonial force. The armed forces of the French State are banned from fielding an air force.

The region surrounding the north-west border with Burgundy is demilitarized, similar to Southern England's demilitarized zone.