The French State, popularly known as Vichy France, as led by Marshal Philippe Pétain after the Fall of France in 1940 before Nazi Germany, was quickly recognized by the Allies, as well as by the Soviet Union, until 30 June 1941 and Operation Barbarossa. However, France broke with the United Kingdom after the destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir. Canada maintained diplomatic relations until the occupation of Southern France (Case Anton) by Germany and Italy in November 1942.
Relationships with the Axis powers Germany The armistice after Germany defeated France in June 1940 included numerous provisions, all of which largely guaranteed by the German policy of keeping 2 million French prisoners-of-war in Germany effectively as hostages. Vichy France was nominally in control of all of France apart from Alsace-Lorraine, but in practice the Germans controlled over half of the country; including the northern and western coasts, the industrial northeast, and the Paris region. Further, Italy, Germany's fascist ally, controlled a portion of southeastern France. The Pétain government in Vichy controlled the rest until November 1942, when Germany and Italy occupied the remainder. The Vichy regime then became entirely a puppet of the German occupiers. Germany wanted food, minerals, and industrial productions; as well as volunteers to work in German factories. Vichy was allowed to control its foreign colonies to the extent it could defend them against the Free French, and its fleet to the extent it could defend it against British naval attacks.
The small town of Montoire-sur-le-Loir was the scene of two meetings. On 22 October 1940, Pierre Laval met with Hitler to set up a meeting on 24 October between Hitler and Pétain. It ended in a much-publicized handshake between the two, but in fact their discussions had been entirely general and no decisions had been made. Hitler was impressed with Pétain's commitment to defend the French Empire. False rumours abounded that France had made major concessions regarding colonies and the German control of French ports and the French fleet.William L. Langer, Our Vichy Gamble (1947) pp 89–98. Vichy France never joined the Axis powers.
Italy Vichy's relations with Italy were regulated by the Armistice of Villa Incisa (25 June 1940) and overseen by the Italian Commission on the Armistice with France. Italian delegations were sent to Vichy-controlled territories of Algeria, Djibouti, Morocco, Syria, and Tunisia.
Relationships with the Allied powers
Australia Australia maintained, until the end of the war, full diplomatic relations with the Vichy Regime and entered also into full diplomatic relations with the Free French./ Australia's diplomatic relationships with Vichy: French embassy in Australia
Canada Canada maintained full diplomatic relations with the Vichy Regime, until the full German occupation of the country in the beginning of November 1942.Canada's diplomatic relationships with Vichy: Foreign Affairs Canada .
China Vichy France continued to maintain relations with the Republic of China government led by Chiang Kai-shek, who moved to Chongqing in the Chinese interior after the fall of the capital of Nanjing to the Japanese in 1937. French diplomats throughout the country were accredited to his Chongqing government. The Vichy regime resisted Japanese pressure to recognize, like the Axis, the Japanese puppet Reorganized National Government of China, which was established by Wang Jingwei in 1940 in occupied Nanjing.
United Kingdom A condition of the armistice (22 June 1940) was that France would retain the French Navy, the Marine Nationale, under strict conditions. The Pétain government pledged that the fleet would never fall into German hands, but it refused to send the fleet beyond Germany's reach to Britain, America or even far-away places in the French colonial empire such as in the West Indies. That was not enough security for Winston Churchill, who feared that the French fleet would wind up in German hands and be used against British ships, which were vital to maintaining worldwide shipping and communications.
French ships in British ports were seized by the Royal Navy. Vice-Admiral James Fownes Somerville, with Force H under his command, was instructed to deal with the large squadron in port at Mers El Kébir harbor near Oran in July 1940. Various terms were offered to the French squadron, but all of them were rejected. Consequently, Force H opened fire on the French ships, killing 1,297 French military personnel, including nearly 1,000 French sailors when the Bretagne blew up. The French squadron at Alexandria, under Admiral René-Emile Godfroy, was effectively interned until 1943 after an agreement was reached with Admiral Andrew Browne Cunningham, commander of the Mediterranean Fleet.
Less than two weeks after the armistice, Britain had fired upon forces of its former ally. The result was shock and resentment towards Britain within the French Navy and by the general public in France. Vichy severed diplomatic relations with Britain on 8 July.
United States The United States granted Vichy full diplomatic recognition, and sent Admiral William D. Leahy to France as ambassador. President Franklin Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull hoped to use American influence to encourage those elements in the Vichy government opposed to military collaboration with Germany. American attempts to work with the Vichy regime strained Anglo-American relations, as the British considered the Vichy regime to be firmly subservient to Nazi Germany. The Americans also hoped to encourage Vichy to resist German war demands, such as for the fleet, air bases in French-mandated Syria, or moving war supplies through French territories in North Africa. The essential American position was that France should take no action unless it was explicitly required by the armistice terms that could adversely affect Allied efforts in the war. Upon the Anglo-American landings in North Africa in November 1942, the Vichy government severed relations with the United States. Following the German occupation of the southern Zone days later, the U.S. treated the former Vichy Government as extinct. Though neither side declared war, diplomatic staffs were interned until exchanges were arranged in March 1944.Time Magazine, “U.S. At War: Diplomatic Exchange,” Mar. 20, 1944.William L. Langer, Our Vichy Gamble (1947)
The American position towards Vichy France and de Gaulle was especially hesitant and inconsistent. Roosevelt disliked de Gaulle and agreed with Leahy's view that de Gaulle was an "apprentice dictator."
While preparing for the landing in North Africa, the US looked for a senior French ally and turned to Henri Giraud. Finally, after François Darlan's turn towards the Free Forces, the US played him against de Gaulle. US General Mark W. Clark of the combined Allied command signed a deal with Admiral Darlan on 22 November 1942 a deal in which the Allies recognized Darlan as High Commissioner for North and West Africa.Arthur L. Funk, "Negotiating the 'Deal with Darlan, Journal of Contemporary History (1 973) 8#1 pp. 81–117.
Darlan was assassinated on 24 December 1942 and so Washington turned again towards Giraud, who was made High Commissioner of French North and West Africa. British resident minister Harold Macmillan brought together de Gaulle and Giraud, who were disparate personalities and quite hostile to each other, to serve as co-chairmen of the Committee of National Liberation. De Gaulle built a strong political base, but Giraud failed to do so and was displaced by de Gaulle.Martin Thomas, "The Discarded Leader: General Henri Giraud and the Foundation of the French Committee of National Liberation", French History (1996) 10#12 pp 86–111
Soviet Union From mid-1940 to mid-1941 the Soviet Union maintained diplomatic relations with Vichy France. In March 1940, the Soviet Ambassador to France, Yakov Surits, had been declared persona non grata in his host country. Afterwards, the Soviet Chargé d'Affaires in Vichy, Alexander Bogomolov, maintained contacts with Vichy France. In March 1941, Bogomolov was promoted to Soviet Ambassador to France.Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1941, General, The Soviet Union, Volume I: 701.6151/51: Telegram – The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Steinhardt) to the Secretary of State, Moscow, 21 March 1941. Available here. The Vichy Ambassador to the Soviet Union, Gaston Bergery, arrived in Moscow only in late April 1941. In July 1941, the Soviet Union broke off diplomatic relations with Vichy France. Unofficial relations with Free France were established in August 1941.Alexander Werth: Russia at War, 1941–1945: A History, New York: Simon & Schuster 2017, p. 665. Available here.
Free French Forces and threat of civil war
To counter the Vichy regime, General Charles de Gaulle created the Free French Forces (FFL) after his Appeal of 18 June 1940 radio speech. Initially, Winston Churchill was ambivalent about de Gaulle and dropped ties with Vichy only when it became clear that it would not fight the Germans. Even so, the Free France headquarters in London was riven with internal divisions and jealousies.
The additional participation of Free French forces in the Syrian operation was controversial within Allied circles. It raised the prospect of Frenchmen shooting at Frenchmen and fears of a civil war. Additionally, it was believed that the Free French were widely reviled within Vichy military circles and that Vichy forces in Syria were less likely to resist the British if they were not accompanied by elements of the Free French. Nevertheless, de Gaulle convinced Churchill to allow his forces to participate, but de Gaulle was forced to agree to a joint British-Free French proclamation promising that Syria and Lebanon would become fully independent at the end of the war.
Vichy French colonies While a few French colonies went over to the Free French immediately, many remained loyal to Vichy France. In time, the majority of the colonies tended to switch to the Allied side peacefully in response to persuasion and to changing events, but that took time. Guadeloupe and Martinique, in the West Indies, as well as French Guiana, on the northern coast of South America, did not join the Free French until 1943. Other French colonies had the decision to switch sides enforced more strenuously.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon The Capture of Saint Pierre and Miquelon was a fast and bloodless operation that occurred on 24 December 1941. A Free French flotilla of one submarine and three corvettes sailed from Halifax and then disembarked armed sailors at Saint-Pierre port. The islands surrendered in twenty minutes.
Conflicts with Britain in Dakar, Syria, and Madagascar