Question

Why did France fall so easily to the Nazis?

Answer 1

Answer:

in France there was a very strong support of extreme right (this terms is quite broad and does not include so-called nazism) already before the Great War. After 1870 French extreme right became quite powerful and had a stimulating support of intellectuals (Barres, Maurras) who were able to stimulate new generations ...a big part of intellectual elite invited Mussolini´s coup and in 30s there was a hayday of French right. When Hitler came in poweŕ, he had a strong support among French. But French extreme-right was frequently more conservative than modern (nazism).

Explanation:

Jacques Doriot (leader and founder of PPF), writer Pierre Drieu la Rochelle, Robert Brasillach or Céline had many motives to support nazism. They believed in something that could be called "revolution of the body and instinct", the criticized democracy of the IIIrd republic because of its liberalism and intellectualism. They wanted strong leader and politics of body and instinct. But they were never united. In the government there was a division between "marchalistes" (followers of Pétain) and "lavalistes" (folloowers of pro-nazi laval).