French state TNO RP

With the final victory of the Axis powers, the Allies fell apart, and Free France was left alone, untouched by the victors, who saw no use in a desolate land populated by warring tribes and bitter nationalists.

In 1962, Free France was a shadow, an agonizing state that simply refused to die, fueled by hatred of the Germans and the conviction that they would one day return to France as heroes, even if they had to march through the desert, swim the Mediterranean, and kill every single human being standing before them.

In 1940, continental France fell under the relentless German advance, and the government chose humiliation and capitulation over freedom. However, not all Frenchmen followed Paris: a group of army and navy officers led by Charles de Gaulle, along with thousands of soldiers and refugees, evaded capture and managed to establish a government-in-exile in the African colonies that had not sworn allegiance to the French state. Thus was born Free France.

Throughout World War II, de Gaulle organized the efforts of what remained of the French armed forces, working closely with other allies and, more importantly, with the resistance on the mainland, always waiting for the right moment to strike, the moment when he and his compatriots would finally be safe. But that moment never came. While de Gaulle was gathering his forces to fight in the West African colonies against the advancing Italians, another catastrophe occurred: with the fall of the British Isles in Operation Sea Lion, the British were effectively eliminated from the war, and any hope of receiving assistance vanished, as the United States decided to redeploy its forces to defend the Pacific and Australia. This had the secondary effect of stopping the Italo-German advance and saving de Gaulle from total destruction: since the war was almost won and most of Africa's resources were secured, there was no need to further overexert himself just to crush the government in exile.

The French armed forces are subject to strict restrictions on the number of soldiers and equipment, effectively reducing them to border and symbolic ceremonial forces. The French state army is prohibited from using its air force.

The region surrounding the northwestern border with Burgundy is demilitarized

As a result of defeat in World War II, the French economy became permanently dependent on the Reich. Under pressure from the Reich, France was forced to participate in Germany's failed experiment of making the Reichsmark the sole European currency. As a result, the collapse of the German economy in the 1950s left the country with a ruined currency, one that was also completely controlled by another country. However, as the German economy slowly begins to recover, the light at the end of the tunnel is becoming increasingly clear.

Support for the Vichy regime, once sustained by Marshal Pétain's popularity, has virtually disappeared since his death. Tixier-Vignancourt is unpopular with the late Marshal, and marches in major cities have become a common occurrence. Despite the efforts of state security services, the popularity of all ideological ideas is rapidly growing throughout France as the French people now seek and demand a replacement for fascism. For the French people, World War II was a brief and humiliating experience, but the Germans dealt the greatest blow by imposing the Vichy Treaty. Blaming France for the bloodshed of both world wars, the treaty imposes severe restrictions on French military capabilities, effectively reducing the army to a ceremonial force. However, the treaty also limits the research the state can sponsor, imposes a number of political rules on the system, and effectively grants Germany unlimited access to French territory to do with as it pleases. The OAS, or Secret Army Organization, serves as the state's secret police. Specializing in counterterrorism operations, it has spent the past decade fighting resistance forces across France. Unfortunately, pressure on the government to eradicate this element of society has led to the OAS becoming an increasingly powerful organization, which is alarming. Several high-profile incidents in which OAS commanders ignored instructions from government, police, and military officials have led many in the government to fear that the OAS may only become bolder over time.

Although World War II had now ended, Vichy France's situation had improved little. Shortly after the war's end, Marshal Philippe Pétain died of old age, and was replaced by the far-right lawyer and politician Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancourt. However, Tixier-Vignancourt did not enjoy the late marshal's support, and subsequently, the French government began to become increasingly unpopular with the French people. Approval ratings plummeted, and marches, protests, strikes, and other unrest became a regular occurrence.

The West Russian War, the SS Uprising in Germany, and the postwar economic collapse further worsened Vichy France's situation. The French economy, already suffering from the aftermath of World War II and the Vichy Treaty, collapsed. The ensuing economic crisis left Vichy France more or less dependent on Germany for economic support, a country whose economy looked quite worn out. To top it all off, northeastern France was torn from France to form the SS Burgundy, essentially the personal fiefdom of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler. Vichy France in 1962 is a faded star. The economy is in ruins, the government is unpopular, politics is a chaotic mess, the colonial empire is a distant memory, the armed forces are limited, and about a third of the territory has ceded to the SS.

The Vichy regime had endured since its founding in 1940, during which it attempted to implement a series of social reform programs dubbed the "National Revolution" and "National Renaissance." The Vichy regime enjoyed diplomatic recognition from most Axis and Allied powers and was recognized as the official government of all metropolitan France, with the exception of Alsace-Lorraine and Savoy, which were occupied and annexed by Germany and Italy, respectively.

After World War II ended with the Axis victory, the leaders of Germany, France, and Italy concluded a series of agreements on the postwar geographic restructuring of Vichy France. Most of these entailed the territorial reintegration of the German-held zone into Vichy France, thus creating a unified French state. By the end of 1949, France was finally reunified, and its official capital returned to Paris. However, this would come at a price. Despite this gesture, the Reich nonetheless imposed rather strict restrictions on the French military. The size of their army was limited to a total of 250,000 personnel, their air force could not exceed 750 aircraft, and strict restrictions were imposed on state-sponsored research and development of weapons of any kind. Furthermore, the German armed forces were granted free movement and dominion over all French territory.

France's colonies, with the exception of Algiers, were partially divided between Germany, Italy, Japan, and Iberia, while others gained independence. The devastation of World War II and the Treaty, combined with the loss of the entire colonial empire with the exception of Algeria, ushered in a period of economic stagnation and decline in France.

Following the defeat of the Allied armies in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg in 1940 and the British evacuation of their troops from Dunkirk to England, the French front collapsed, and German forces were able to quickly overrun northern France, taking Paris without a fight. While the French armed forces teetered on the brink of collapse, the French government (evacuated from Paris to Vichy) concluded an armistice with Germany, effectively surrendering the entire country. The French government was allowed to remain in power, but its effective jurisdiction was limited to the unoccupied "Free Zone" in southern France, comprising approximately 45% of the pre-war territory of metropolitan France. In the following months, the French government underwent significant reorganization; Marshal Philippe Pétain became both head of state and head of government. A new constitution was drafted, granting Pétain extraordinary powers. By doing so, the Marshal effectively abolished the Third French Republic and replaced it with the French State, also known as the French Nation, or colloquially as Vichy France (Régime de Vichy), a unitary authoritarian dictatorship.