Why didn't France fight to the end in 1940?

The start of the French decline into surrender is generally agreed to have been the German invasion into France. Sometimes known as the Fall of Grace, this incursion occurred after France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939, in response to the German invasion of Poland. Initially, France had actually made prior efforts to prepare for a hostile German invasion and was theoretically in a good situation to face their foe in World War II. Earlier in the 1930s, the French decided to take action in hopes to avoid any further defeats. Doing so, they created the Maginot Line, which was essentially a line of fortifications that mainly extended from the Swiss border, along the French-German border, and up to the Longuey, just before Belgium. The intention of the line was to force any incursion to go through Belgium, where the French army's top divisions could prevent any further movement. Since the Belgian side of the line ended at an assumably impenetrable section of the Ardennes forest, the French military believed that their fortifications were unpassable by any German aggression and would give them time to meet the invaders with a counterattack at the opening. Confident in their preparation, once the Germans invaded Poland, due to the Franco-Polish alliance, France decided to invade the German Saarland on September 7, beginning the Saar Offensive. But after Poland fell on September 21, General Maurice Camelin ordered a withdrawal of all troops back to the Maginot Line, just as they were about to reach the German Siegfried Line. The last of the French were out of Germany by the end of October 17, and a time known as the Phoney War, an eight-month-long period of inaction, followed. Finally, in May of 1940, Germany began its offensive against the Low Countries, with its eyes set on France as the ultimate goal. First, the Germans managed to occupy Luxembourg without much of a struggle. They then invaded the Netherlands and Belgium shortly after. When France and their British allies found out that the Belgian border had easily been breached, they scrambled to prepare to meet the Germans themselves, as they had previously expected to have a few weeks of successful Belgian resistance. Instead, on May 12, the French and German troops clashed at the Battle of the Hanau. In total, roughly 1,500 armored vehicles engaged in the battle, with the French taking down about 160 German tanks. Meanwhile, the Germans disabled around 120 French tanks. Despite the higher number of vehicles damaged, the Germans maintained supremacy as the French suddenly chose to withdraw, so they could repair their damaged vehicles, and moreover, due to the fact that their main objective, which was to stall the German troops to give the French army time to arrive at Jeanbleu, had been completed. The Battle of Jeanbleu then took place, as the Germans and French clashed on a second front. The French First Army found success for two solid days, as they shot down any offensive attacks from the German Sixth Army, but were eventually forced to retreat towards Lille. While this gave the Germans occupation of central Belgium, the siege of Lille also served to distract a decent portion of Germany's troops from Dunkirk, which allowed the British Expeditionary Force and an Allied French contingent to be evacuated. The next target for the Germans was the Ardennes. Both Belgian and French forces attempted to stop or at least slow the German forces down, but the latter was unable to move through too quickly, leaving the French completely unprepared as the Germans dismantled their barriers and pushed forward. The French, not possessing the proper equipment to face off with the approaching German tanks, had to withdraw yet again, this time heading behind the Meuse River. The Germans were able to cross the river on May 13th, and by nightfall of the 14th, they had invaded France through the west of the Sedan. The French were a bit stunned and unsure of what to do, as they had genuinely believed that there was no way for the Germans to successfully pass through the Ardennes and overpower their troops. While the Maginot Line had never necessarily been broken through, the overall plan that it had been meant for failed. Additionally, the Luftwaffe simply flew over the line when needed. The French forces utterly lacked the necessary anti-tank and anti-aircraft weaponry needed and were eventually compelled to evacuate the Maginot Line as the Germans pushed stronger around it. On May 15th, the Germans led by Heinz Guderian made a breakthrough and began practically racing his men to the west. The French could not slow nor stop the Germans, although Heinz's own superiors suggested that he slow his pace and consolidate troops, given the fact that he had the Belgian army, much of the British expeditionary force, and two French armies to the north, with the rest of the French troops to the south. Heinz nonetheless continued without hesitation and reached the English Channel on May 20th. By now, communication between the allies to the north and south had been severed and Heinz finally decided to halt his momentum and wait for reinforcements. The war waged on into June, with the French strength dwindling and their final resistance collapsing in the early days of the month. After Italy decided to enter the war in support of Germany on June 10th, the momentum of the Germans became undeniable. On the 14th, Paris fell. The French government had already relocated to Bordeaux and a decision was made to request talks for an armistice from the German Chancellor. Great Britain pleaded with France to stay in the war, even attempting to bribe their ally by promising a United States declaration of war against the Axis powers, but France was unconvinced. Thus far, the French had already sustained 92,000 dead and over 200,000 wounded from their war efforts. Completely exhausted and unwilling to continue, France signed the Armistice of June 22nd, 1940, which would go into effect after midnight on the 25th. The aftermath of the agreement left over half of France under German occupation. The following month, Marshal Henry Pétain took the full position of Chief of State at the unoccupied city of Vichy, yet he remained an ally and in full compliance with the Germans, serving no purpose in terms of potential French freedom. With such depressing results and suffering for the entirety of France during the occupation, it seems questionable as to why France was willing to surrender after barely over six weeks since the start of Germany's campaign in the region. Some believe that the French were wrong about how prepared and equipped their army was, but others disagree and blame the government for creating such an excuse. While some of the military leadership did lack the proper courage and tactics, the whole of their forces was far from cowardly, and lack of proper equipment at times did not mean a lack of willingness or strength of the men. France's military was good, and they had strong allies. Furthermore, once Paris had fallen, the French government was unable to make a united decision to stand its ground, and was ultimately willing to give up on sovereignty if it meant avoiding severe destruction of its nation. It is widely believed that France was simply too caught up on the previous world war, both in some of its strategies and its fear of taking too much damage within the French borders. Shown even before the German invasion of Poland by the construction of the Maginot Line, which was a blatant attempt to keep any conflict off of French soil. In defense of the French as well, after the British tried to convince their ally to continue the fight against Germany, the government did in fact reach out to the US government to see if the promise of American support was legitimate. The US, however, was only willing to provide material support for the French, as they were hoping to avoid a full declaration of war. Given that this left the French with only the aid of their current allies, who had been unable to save them so far, it therefore failed to change the mind of the French government. While everyone may not agree with France's choice to surrender after the fall of Paris, it must be acknowledged that in all technicality, given that the nation was freed after roughly four years when the Germans signed their surrender to the French 2nd Armored Division, which had been formed in London with the goal of taking back their country, severe destruction was avoided. So although it appears to be a complex, perfect storm that led to France deciding that surrender would serve them better than fighting until the end, it can be said that in some ways, they made the right decision nonetheless.