Chapter 289 Entering Paris

The iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris was adorned with a 50-meter-wide, 80-meter-long tricolor flag of black, red, and gold. Not only that, but every significant building within Paris, such as the Paris Opera House, Bastille Square, City Hall, and others, indisputably displayed the tricolor flag. It is not an exaggeration to say that the tricolor flag was now waving in every corner of Paris.

Perhaps the victors of the last war would never have imagined that, just twenty years later, the same adversaries would firmly have them underfoot. The German Wehrmacht seemed to use this gesture to indicate that Paris now wholly belonged to Germanic Paris.

Although Wilhelm disapproved of such practices, he didn't want to dampen the spirits of these people, silently gazing at the scenery outside the car window.

Despite being both art capitals (Berlin had not experienced the original timeline's heavy bombing, leaving many cultural buildings intact), Paris possessed a different kind of beauty compared to Berlin. However, when Wilhelm toured Paris in the original timeline, he found the city had too many immigrants, coupled with its status as a tourist destination, leading to numerous visitors and street vendors. Under the Eiffel Tower, witnessing the police clearing away street vendors, Wilhelm's impression of Paris took a significant hit.

In contrast, Berlin gave him a feeling of stability and order.

A line of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars appeared on the street, inevitably drawing comments from some people. For Paris, which had already been occupied by the German Wehrmacht two days earlier, the appearance of German troops on the streets did not surprise anyone. However, the previous vehicles driving on the streets of Paris were all military vehicles, and this luxurious business car fleet with such a showy display was a first. Some people had started to use their imagination, speculating on which important figure had arrived in Paris. However, the windows of these vehicles were covered with Germany's latest one-way see-through glass film, making it impossible for anyone outside to see who was inside.

Rommel and Guderian looked nervously at the French people on the street. Even without using weapons, throwing a few stones could be seen as a great disrespect. They had previously suggested bringing at least a regiment and a few tanks as guards, but Wilhelm had vetoed it all.

This was not Serbia, and he was not Archduke Ferdinand. In the case of the inevitable defeat of France, assassinating high-ranking German officials would only result in retaliation against ordinary French citizens. Moreover, the larger the metropolis, the more they cared about such face.

Besides, the French were not suited for this kind of assassination work. If it were in London, let alone a regiment, he would have to send a division to surround the area, guarding against the sudden appearance of 007 shooting him in the head.

Upon entering the city center, Wilhelm instructed the driver to slow down, looking towards Goebbels. "Goebbels, what do you see in the eyes of these French people?"

"Hatred," Goebbels observed for a moment and replied respectfully, "Your Highness, I see hatred. However, it's only a very small minority; more are silent, indifferent, and carefree."

Wilhelm smiled and said, "Hatred is expected, after all, we are invaders. Every country has patriots; it's just a matter of more or less difference." This was not like the future Ukraine or Belarus, where people lined up to welcome the German troops. "But do you think they will rise up in resistance?" In the original timeline, the citizens of Paris were initially very panicked, thinking that the German troops would kill, burn, loot, but none of that happened. Their lives were hardly affected, continuing their daily routines.

For political purposes, the German high command demanded that all German troops stationed in France must conquer it like knights, strictly prohibiting any looting or pillaging akin to bandits. So, the French people in the occupied areas could still enjoy life, drinking and dancing as usual.

The German forces did not implement many defensive measures in the occupied Paris; they were quite confident in the Parisian citizens.

Goebbels was somewhat puzzled. "Are you suggesting they will willingly accept our rule?"

Wilhelm nodded. "Not exactly willingly, but certainly better than the Poles or the British. In times of war, people are just spoils; they support whoever has better policies and brings a good life. Besides, their situation was already terrible, abandoned by their own government. Under such circumstances, who would resent us? We only took control of the government, did not massacre the civilians, and intend to provide a better life for them. Moreover, we share common roots, historically tracing back to the descendants of the Frankish Kingdom. That's also why I didn't agree to hold the surrender ceremony in the train carriage where the Treaty of Versailles was signed." Wilhelm scorned the actions of the mustached one back then; perhaps this was a way to get back at the French for the humiliation they imposed on the Germans in 1918, but it was also like a slap in the face to the French.

The French were undoubtedly the proudest and most arrogant nation in all of Europe, and they did not hide this pride. Otherwise, "Rooster of Gaul" would not become synonymous with arrogance. For a long time, the English and the French looked down on each other. The French believed their cuisine, language, and art were the best in the world; of course, other aspects couldn't be lacking.

France maintained the most complete self-sufficient industrial chain in all of Europe until the future. For this reason, the government had to spend a considerable amount of subsidies every year to support some industries that should have been eliminated, which modern market-oriented economists found entirely incomprehensible. For example, although it had declined to a regional power, France found it difficult to let go of the posture of a global power, actively taking the lead in various international affairs, including military actions in Libya and Syria. They even regularly sent that useless Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier for a tour, swearing to maintain their presence globally.

However, the reality was that France had not been the big boss of Europe since Napoleon. Previously allied with the UK to balance Germany on the European continent and carving up interests in the Middle East, Crimea, and China, they were quickly surpassed by their rising neighbor, Germany. After World War II, France saw an opportunity to dominate Europe again. However, the US and the UK, not wanting to see a dominant France on the European continent, opposed excessive sanctions against Germany. France, out of the shame of being defeated, became the most ruthless country in sanctioning Germany. However, after decades, France surprisingly became Germany's lackey within the EU.

Furthermore, France produced numerous resistance films (some low-budget World War II films in Europe portrayed Germans like the Chinese Japanese troops in Hengdian) and propagated its crucial role in World War II. For decades, they held grand parades to celebrate victory over Japan, even though they surrendered a few weeks later.

Given this, Wilhelm graciously preserved the last bit of face for the French. After all, what he wanted this time was much more than what the mustached one wanted, so he didn't care much about such trivial matters of face. Moreover, deep in his soul, the moderation of the Chinese Middle Way was imprinted. He didn't want to handle things too harshly with an object that could be won over, which would also be beneficial for pacifying and assimilating the occupied areas' population.