Vichy

Vichy (/ˈvɪʃi/;French pronunciation: ​[viʃi]; Occitan: Vichèi) is a city in the Allier department in Auvergne in central France. It belongs to the historic province of Bourbonnais.

It is known as a spa and resort town and was the seat of government and de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi German occupation from 1940 to 1944. The term Vichyste indicated collaboration or sympathy with the ideology either of the Vichy regime or the German occupation, often carrying a pejorative connotation.

Today, the town's inhabitants are called Vichyssois. Up until the 18th century they were more properly known as les Vichois which stems from the Occitan name of the town, Vichèi. The writer Valery Larbaud uses the term Vicaldiens after the Ancient Roman Latin name for the community, aquae calidae (hot waters).

Climate

The city enjoys an inland oceanic climate that incorporates some characteristics of a mountain climate because of the nearby Massif Central and Alps. Heavy snows in the Massif Central often make roads impassable, but Vichy is low enough — about 249 metres (817 feet) above sea level — that the climate is more continental than mountain. Rainfall is moderate around Vichy, averaging about 779.5 millimetres (30.7 in) annually.

Vichy France

Vichy France is the common name of the French State (État français), following its relocation to the town of Vichy, headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain from 1940 to 1944 during World War II. During this period, Paris remained the de jure capital of France. From 1940 to 1942, while the Vichy regime was the nominal government of France as a whole, Germany militarily occupied northern France. Following the Allied landings in French North Africa on 8 November 1942, southern France was also militarily occupied by Germany and Italy on 11 November 1942 through the enactment of Case Anton. The French government remained in existence, but was very aware that it had to please Germany.

After being appointed Premier of France by President Albert Lebrun, Marshal Pétain ordered the French Government's military representatives to sign the armistice with Germany on 22 June 1940, following a decision by the French Cabinet. Pétain subsequently established an authoritarian regime when the National Assembly of the Third Republic granted him full powers on 10 July 1940. At that point, the French Third Republic was dissolved. Calling for "National Regeneration," the French Government at Vichy reversed many liberal policies and began tight supervision of the economy, with central planning a key feature. Labour unions came under tight government control. The independence of women was reversed, with an emphasis put on motherhood. Conservative Catholics became prominent. Paris lost its avant-garde status in European art and culture. The media were tightly controlled and stressed virulent anti-Semitism, and after June 1941, anti-Bolshevism.

Vichy (disambiguation)

Vichy is a town in Auvergne, France.

Vichy may also refer to:

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See also

France

France (French: [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a sovereign state comprising territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European part of France, called metropolitan France, extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. France spans 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and has a total population of 66.6 million. It is a unitary semi-presidential republic with the capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. The Constitution of France establishes the state as secular and democratic, with its sovereignty derived from the people.

During the Iron Age, what is now Metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The Gauls were conquered in 51 BC by the Roman Empire, which held Gaul until 486. The Gallo-Romans faced raids and migration from the Germanic Franks, who dominated the region for hundreds of years, eventually creating the medieval Kingdom of France. France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years' War (1337 to 1453) strengthening French state-building and paving the way for a future centralized absolute monarchy. During the Renaissance, France experienced a vast cultural development and established the beginning of a global colonial empire. The 16th century was dominated by religious civil wars between Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots).

France (disambiguation)

France is a country in Europe.

France may also refer to:

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France (European Parliament constituency)

In European elections, France was a constituency of the European Parliament. It was replaced by subdivided constituencies in 2004. The boundaries of this constituency were the same as the member state of France. Its MEPs can be found in MEPs representing the French constituencies before 2004

Results

1979

1984

1989

1994

1999

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