At 12:31 p.m. on August 7, all French government officials and members of parliament in Paris were placed under military control.
Just over ten minutes later, under the eyes of many Parisian civilians and soldiers, the renowned General Weygand entered the French Government and emerged a little over an hour later, heading for the French Parliament.
At 2:30 p.m., a diplomatic press conference was held at the French Parliament. The incumbent Undersecretary of Defense, Ron, Major General De Gaulle, commander of the Armored Corps, and General Weygand of the Army all attended the conference.
As soon as the meeting began, Weygand made a startling announcement: because of the treasonous actions of the current French Government, he would abolish it and establish a Provisional Military Government.
Weygand stated that attempting to surrender to Germany was a grave betrayal of France. All members of parliament and officials who agreed to surrender to Germany would be sanctioned by Parliament.
In addition to establishing a Provisional Military Government, Weygand announced that the French Parliament would be dissolved until France won the war.
At the end of the meeting, Weygand also announced the appointments to the French Provisional Government.
Weygand himself became president of the French Provisional Military Government while concurrently serving as French Commander-in-Chief. The former Undersecretary of Defense, Ron, became Minister of Defense and Commander of the Army of the Provisional Military Government.
De Gaulle was promoted to French Chief of Staff, Minister of the Army, and commander-in-chief of the Paris Garrison.
It was obvious that these three were the triumvirate leading the French Provisional Military Government.
France had always been a severely lopsided country, with the French Army holding a position far above that of the navy and air force.
Especially after the Army's massive expansion, its influence had already far surpassed