Vichy Government

views updated

Vichy Government (1940–45) Regime established in France after the defeat by Germany in June 1940. Its capital was the town of Vichy, Auvergne, central France. It held authority over French overseas possessions as well as the unoccupied part of France. After German forces occupied Vichy France in November 1942, it became little more than a puppet government. See also Laval; Pétain