# Armistice with Germany signed (1940)

URL: https://history-france.com/timeline/1940-armistice-with-germany-signed
Location: Compiègne

France accepted an armistice dividing the country into occupied and unoccupied zones. Within the broader Occupation, Liberation & Fourth Republic period, Defeat in 1940 divided France between Vichy, occupation and resistance. Liberation restored republican government, followed by reconstruction, welfare-state building, European integration and violent decolonization under the Fourth Republic. At this point in the timeline, the relevant governing authority is Albert Lebrun (President of the French Republic). Armistice with Germany signed mattered because it reshaped France’s external relationships, territory or place in wider international systems. The event is positioned here so visitors can read it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion, culture and France’s wider international setting.

## Why it matters
Armistice with Germany signed mattered because it reshaped France’s external relationships, territory or place in wider international systems.

Ruler at the time: [Charles de Gaulle](https://history-france.com/rulers/charles-de-gaulle-1940)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — Armistice with Germany signed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=Armistice+with+Germany+signed&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Armistice with Germany signed](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Armistice+with+Germany+signed)
- [Vie-publique — French institutions and history](https://www.vie-publique.fr/)