Post WW2 France Question

In a world where Germany won/survived the second world war (and you can take your pick - an early victory in '42, or managed to grind down the Allies enough to get a peace settlement in '44 or whatever), what would happen with the State of France? If the Allies never set foot in the place or are driven from the Continent, what will the Germans do with it?

Honor/restore the Petaine Regime? Remove occupation forces and allow a new government? Keep troops in place (which might then become Germany's second Vietnam)?
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
Assuming a genuine German victory, my guess is that they would maintain the Petain regime and eventually allow Pierre Laval to hold rigged elections ensuring that a pseudofascist and pro-German government remains in power. In other words, France would become to Germany what Poland was to the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

The French Resistance would not die, though. And the Free French overseas would continue to exist and insist that they were the legitimate representatives of the French people.
 

BlondieBC

Banned
I have seen maps where Germany give back all of France but 4-6 naval bases including Brest. It was at least one of the ideas consider.
 
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