Initially, the armistice of 22 June 1940 provided for the "occupation of territory without giving the French government a free space".
The total and rapid defeat of France followed by its partition had not been studied by the German General Staff.
Finally this partition, which handicapped the defeated, was decided by the winner.
Thus on 22 June 1940 Generals Wilhelm Keitel for Nazi Germany and Charles Huntziger for France signed an armistice which outlined in Article 2 the creation of a partition of the metropolitan area of France.
Article 3, however, stated:
"The German Government intends to reduce to a minimum the occupation of the West Coast after the cessation of hostilities with England."

which the French delegation had no power to agree to in any case.
This agreement was the basis of a tense political relationship between the two belligerents.
The French delegation to the German Armistice Commission at Wiesbaden indicated that this line of demarcation was a violation of territorial sovereignty which had an arbitrary character as much as the line was vague and requests for precision were in vain.
If the route seemed simple at the national level, at the departmental and local level uncertainties and inaccuracies were very numerous.

Marshal Philippe Pétain's regime did not know the exact route of the line until the end of 1941.
In practice, the occupiers regularly modified the route at the request of local authorities.

From the Swiss border it passed through Dole, Chalon-sur-Saône, Digoin, Paray-le-Monial, Moulins, Vierzon, Angoulême, Langon, Mont-de-Marsan, Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port before reaching the Spanish border.

Covering nearly 1,200 kilometres (750 mi), the demarcation line crossed thirteen departments: Basses-Pyrénées (Pyrénées-Atlantiques since 1969), Landes, Gironde, Dordogne, Charente, Vienne, Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Cher, Allier, Saône-et-Loire, Jura, and Ain.
Out of a total of 90 departments, the German Army occupied 42 entirely, 13 partially, while 35 were not occupied.
Initially, the armistice of 22 June 1940 provided for the "occupation of territory without giving the French government a free space". The total and rapid defeat of France followed by its partition had not been studied by the German General Staff. Finally this partition, which handicapped the defeated, was decided by the winner. Thus on 22 June 1940 Generals Wilhelm Keitel for Nazi Germany and Charles Huntziger for France signed an armistice which outlined in Article 2 the creation of a partition of the metropolitan area of France. Article 3, however, stated:
"The German Government intends to reduce to a minimum the occupation of the West Coast after the cessation of hostilities with England."
which the French delegation had no power to agree to in any case. This agreement was the basis of a tense political relationship between the two belligerents. The French delegation to the German Armistice Commission at Wiesbaden indicated that this line of demarcation was a violation of territorial sovereignty which had an arbitrary character as much as the line was vague and requests for precision were in vain. If the route seemed simple at the national level, at the departmental and local level uncertainties and inaccuracies were very numerous.
Marshal Philippe Pétain's regime did not know the exact route of the line until the end of 1941. In practice, the occupiers regularly modified the route at the request of local authorities.
From the Swiss border it passed through Dole, Chalon-sur-Saône, Digoin, Paray-le-Monial, Moulins, Vierzon, Angoulême, Langon, Mont-de-Marsan, Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port before reaching the Spanish border.
Covering nearly 1,200 kilometres (750 mi), the demarcation line crossed thirteen departments: Basses-Pyrénées (Pyrénées-Atlantiques since 1969), Landes, Gironde, Dordogne, Charente, Vienne, Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Cher, Allier, Saône-et-Loire, Jura, and Ain. Out of a total of 90 departments, the German Army occupied 42 entirely, 13 partially, while 35 were not occupied.
Demarcation line (France)