Treaty of Paris (1945) (Empires of Liberty)

Following the collapse of France in 1945, and the capture of Paris in August, the Allies finally had victory in Europe on August 5th. The Germans in hundreds of concentration camps all over eastern France were freed by the Americans, and the horrors were filmed so that no one could deny it occurred.

Meeting in the Versailles Palace, the Allied Powers met with General Marie-Pierre Kœnig, representing Free France, and General Charles de Gaulle, representing fascist France for a week, working details between the victorious powers and the defeated French.

The original plan for France, according to Johannes Dieckmann, the interim President of Germany until they could write a more permanent constitution, was a complete pastoralization of the country, which was begun until 1950, when the Allied Powers changed plans to one of rebuilding France into an allied power with other European nations against a resurgent Russia.

Declaration Regarding the Defeat of France and the Assumption of Supreme Authority by Allied Powers was signed by the four Allies on 5 August. It included the following:

The Governments of the United States of America, the Union of Eastern Slavic Republics, the United Kingdom, and the Provisional Government of the German Republic, hereby assume supreme authority with respect to France, including all the powers possessed by the French Government, the High Command and any state, municipal, or local government or authority. The assumption, for the purposes stated above, of the said authority and powers does not effect [a] the annexation of France.

— US Department of State, Treaties and Other International Acts Series, No. 1520.

Versailles Treaty Provisions
The resultant treaty between France and the Allied Powers was much debated, including the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine, and the arrondissements of Briey and Belfort by Germany, Nord-Pas-de-Calais by the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Arrondissement of Calais by the United Kingdom.

Some of Germany's delegation demanded the annexation of the entire Franche Comte, Burgundy, and the rest of Lorraine, but this was dismissed by both the Americans and British.

Occupation Zones
The occupation zones of France were as follows, including Allied-derived regions and the departments included in parentheses:

Ardèche, Cantal, Drôme, Haute-Loire, Isère, Loire, Puy-de-Dôme, Rhône) and Provence (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Hautes-Alpes, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches-du-Rhône, Var, Vaucluse)
 * Germany: eastern France including Ardennes, Marne, Aube, Yonne, Nièvre, Saonne et Loire, Yura, and all territory east thereof
 * United States: Aquitaine (Charente, Charente-Maritime, Corrèze, Creuse, Deux-Sèvres, Dordogne, Gironde, Haute-Vienne, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Vienne) and Occitania (Ariège, Aude, Aveyron, Gard, Gers, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées, Hérault, Lot, Lozère, Pyrénées-Orientales, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne)
 * United Kingdom: Normandy, Brittany, Iles-de-France (Paris, Essonne, Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, Seine-et-Marne, Val-de-Marne, Val-d'Oise and Yvelines), Pays de la Loire (Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Sarthe, Vendée), Loire Valley (Cher, Eure-et-Loir, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Loiret)
 * United Kingdom of the Netherlands: Nord, Pas-de-Calais, Aisne, Somme, Oise
 * Union of Eastern Slavic Republics: Auvergne and Rhone Alpes (Ain, Allier,
 * Italy: Haute-Savoie, Savoie; arrondissement of Nice (from Alpes-Maritimes)

Annexations
As part of the final settlement with respect to France, the territory of the country was altered with several minor annexations as part of the war reparations to the Allied Powers. The following areas were annexed:


 * United Kingdom of the Netherlands: Nord, most of Pas-de-Calais (corresponding to the former province of Artois); reorganized into existing Dutch provinces of Hainaut, Flanders, and the new province of Artois, reformed after several centuries
 * Federal Republic of Germany: Alsace-Lorraine (including Briey and Belfort)
 * United States of America: St Pierre et Miquelon (added to Quebec), Guadeloupe, Martinique
 * Italian Republic: Corsica, Savoy, Haute Savoy, Nice
 * United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: Arrondissement of Calais
 * Spain: department of Rousillon

Separations
The following territories were separated from France as a result of World War 2 into independent countries:


 * Normandy
 * Brittany

Reparations
France was required to pay reparations of $85 billion to the US, ₤7.4 billion to the United Kingdom, 20.6 billion DM, and another $20 billion to the other Allies. The reparations were to be made in $750 million annual payments that would be disbursed annually to each of the Allies until the entire amount, in constant 1945 dollars, was paid. Due to inflation, this meant an increasing amount of French francs would be paid out over the next few decades.