| | The [[United States]] granted Vichy full diplomatic recognition, thus acknowledging the puppet regime's [[legitimacy]], and it sent Admiral [[William Leahy]] to its capital as American ambassador. <ref>[http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/WorldWar2/leahy.htm President Roosevelt to the Appointed Ambassador to France (Leahy), 20 December 1940], U.S., Department of State, Publication 1983, Peace and War: United States Foreign Policy, 1931-1941 (Washington, D.C.: U.S., Government Printing Office, 1943), pp. 595-598.</ref> | | The [[United States]] granted Vichy full diplomatic recognition, thus acknowledging the puppet regime's [[legitimacy]], and it sent Admiral [[William Leahy]] to its capital as American ambassador. <ref>[http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/WorldWar2/leahy.htm President Roosevelt to the Appointed Ambassador to France (Leahy), 20 December 1940], U.S., Department of State, Publication 1983, Peace and War: United States Foreign Policy, 1931-1941 (Washington, D.C.: U.S., Government Printing Office, 1943), pp. 595-598.</ref> |
| − | The great enemy of Vichy was [[Charles de Gaulle]], leader of the Free French. When they came to power in 1944-45 they systematically eradicated Vichy influence; many Vichy leaders were executed or imprisoned. Petain was given a death sentence, which de Gaulle commuted to life in prison. | + | The great enemy of Vichy was [[Charles de Gaulle]], leader of the [[Free French]]. When they came to power in 1944-45 they systematically eradicated Vichy influence; many Vichy leaders were executed or imprisoned. Petain was given a death sentence, which de Gaulle commuted to life in prison. |
| | * Azema, Jean-Pierre. ''From Munich to Liberation 1938-1944'' (The Cambridge History of Modern France) (1985) | | * Azema, Jean-Pierre. ''From Munich to Liberation 1938-1944'' (The Cambridge History of Modern France) (1985) |