In the establishment of Vichy France, Germany was undoubtedly a very important influencing factor. In 1940, Germany attacked France. The Maginot Line was vulnerable and almost collapsed. France's defeat was a foregone conclusion. At this time, Paul Reynold, then Prime Minister of the Third French Republic, resigned, and World War I hero Pétain succeeded him as Prime Minister and sued for peace with Germany.

On June 22, 1940, Germany and France signed an armistice agreement. In July of the same year, the French Congress held a vote in Vichy, ultimately granting Pétain all legislative, judicial, administrative and diplomatic powers and electing him as head of state. At the same time, France was renamed 'Vichy France', implemented a fascist dictatorship, and the Congress was reduced to an advisory body. And Hitler became the real decision-maker behind Vichy France. At that time, all European countries except Britain recognized the Vichy government.

De Gaulle resigned from his position as deputy minister of defense in France at the time, went into exile in London, and launched the "Free France" movement. At that time, de Gaulle and others began to actively seek international support. First, it would absorb those individuals and groups who resisted Germany to expand its strength. On the other hand, it would seek the support of French colonial and mandated regional governors and garrisons to disintegrate the power of Vichy France. By the end of August 1940, all of French Equatorial Africa except Gabon and Cameroon had declared their allegiance to de Gaulle and helped the Free French Army in training. After the Soviet-German war broke out in 1941, the Soviet Union also recognized de Gaulle's exile regime. So in September of the same year, the "Free France" movement established the "Council Nationale de France" (CNF) to form a government-in-exile with a sound structure.

By the end of August 1940, all of French Equatorial Africa except Gabon and Cameroon had declared their allegiance to de Gaulle and helped the Free French Army in training. After the Soviet-German war broke out in 1941, the Soviet Union also recognized de Gaulle's exile regime. So in September of the same year, the "Free France" movement established the "Council Nationale de France" (CNF) to form a government-in-exile with a sound structure.

The establishment of this government laid the foundation for the takeover of France after the collapse of the Vichy regime in France after the war. As the war intensified, the resistance movement developed vigorously. After the Allies landed in Normandy and invaded France in June 1944, De Gaulle announced the establishment of the Provisional Government of the French Republic. The Vichy government had to travel to Siegmaringen, Germany, where it collapsed the following year. Because of his exploits in World War I, Pétain's sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment. He was imprisoned in a fortress on an island in the Atlantic Ocean, where he died of illness.