This is an authentic French aluminum city road sign - Vichy. The sign carries the name Vichy, indicating entrance to the city of Vichy, France.
Vintage ca. 1980s & sourced directly from the region of Saarland, Germany.
The sign surface is flat but curves around its perimeter giving it a solid, heavy duty presentation. It’s a solid, heavy weight piece presenting standard age wear scuffs, scratches, and markings. The red border is reflective & does contain faint "graffiti", in both French & German writing, within its boundary. The reverse stamp dates the production of this sign ca. September 1985 by "Laporte Signals" of Lyon, France. Standard age wear consistent with its age should be expected. Please review photos carefully.
Measurements (approximate):
Length: 31 1/2"
Height: 12"
Weight: 5 1/2 lbs
HISTORY:
Although Vichy, France is known today as a spa town, its historical significance adds a bit more of an interesting twist. It was the seat of the collaborationist government during World War II. It was a "Puppet" government of Nazi Germany.
Following France's defeat by Nazi Germany in 1940, Vichy became the headquarters of this puppet government, led by Marshal Philippe Pétain, a World War I hero in France. The Armistice between the two countries divided France into a German-occupied zone in the north and the unoccupied "Free Zone” in the south, governed by the Vichy regime. The Vichy government existed from 1940 to 1944.
The Vichy government was authoritarian & effectively acted as an arm of the Nazi regime, collaborating with them to implement their antisemitic laws and participated in the deportation of Jewish people to concentration camps.
Following the city's liberation in 1944, many Vichy officials were prosecuted for treason.
