Vichy in Paris
The French government that was formed in Vichy on July 10, 1940 in the unoccupied zone suffered from a lack of autonomy from the very beginning. In theory, the authority of the French government, which had regrouped south of the true border that represented the line of demarcation, also extended into the Northen zone. In reality, however, the Germans exercised power over the occupied zone in matters of justice, police, finances, economy, and culture. In Paris, a Délégation générale du Gouvernement français dans les Territoires occupés (General Delegation of the French Government in the Occupied Territories) represented the government, while a German armistice commission headquarter in Wiesbaden was responsible for enforcing the conditions of the armistice, which was signed on June 22, 1940. The collaboration policy was made official during the Montoire interview between Maréchal Pétain and Hitler on October 24, 1940. The purpose of the meeting was to allow the negotiation of a favorable peace settlement, but in practice it increased the dependency and submissiveness of the Vichy government. After the invasion of the Southern zone on November 11, 1942 in response to the Allied landing in North Africa, the sovereignty of the Vichy government virtually disappeared.
