Vichy France

      Following French defeat in July of 1940 and the armistice that followed, France was split into two zones. Divided by north and south, the north being occupied by German forces, the south being an zone free of German occupation. This region, known as Vichy France, was still however a puppet regime under the Germans. Vichy France got it's name from it's capital city, Vichy, located in southern France. The government that was set up was lead by General Philippe Petain, a hero of the Great War. While Petain publicly declared his initiative was to help Axis forces defeat England, claiming this to be a common goal between the two governments, Petain was at the same time not entirely against the anti-fascist movements, aiding them secretly. Being a puppet however, Petain was not too successful in his attempts.
      At the same time, however, Vichy was not always able to control it's populace or members of government, with their actions were not always working in the favor of the Germans. One such example occurred following the arrival of Allied forces in North Africa. Upon hearing of this news, alongside the knowledge that Germany wishes to capture and use their fleet, a naval admiral who was the replacement to an already defected admiral scuttled, or deliberately sinked, the ships off the coast of Toulon. Partially emboldened by the Allied invasions of North Africa and to keep the ships out of German hands, the event signifies that while still a puppet, Vichy France was not always compliant with the Germans. However, following this, Hitler retaliated. The action taken was in violation of the 1940 armistice that created Vichy France and soon the after the event German troops would occupy and take control of the region.
      However, Vichy was also in many cases compliant with the Germans. Declassified documents showed how the Vichy government helped deport 76,000 Jews from France. 13,000 of the Jews deported would end up in Auschwitz, 4,000 being children. Furthermore, before enforcement of adopting Nazi policy, the Vichy government adopted similar policies that removed Jews from civil service and other policies that enabled the seizure of Jewish property. Other examples of government officials supportive of the Nazis include those such as Pierre Laval who helped Nazi programs of oppression, genocide, and would end up fighting for and aiding the Nazis until his execution on October 15th, 1945. While in some cases defiant to the Germans, the Vichy government was still largely supportive of the Nazis, compliant in their policies, with only the occasional government official, general, or admiral defying the Nazis. And while resistance did grow as the war went on, the Nazis still held the region until it was lost in the Allied invasions of France.

Sources:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-take-vichy-france
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/vichy-leader-executed-for-treason
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35188755
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/vichy-government-france-world-war-ii-willingly-collaborated-nazis-180967160/