Editing Operation Torch (section)

===Political results===
{{See also|François Darlan#Darlan's deal in North Africa|French Civil and Military High Command}}

It quickly became clear that Giraud lacked the authority to take command of the French forces. He preferred to wait in Gibraltar for the results of the landing. However, Darlan in Algiers had such authority. Eisenhower, with the support of Roosevelt and Churchill, made an [[Clark-Darlan accords|agreement with Darlan]], recognising him as French "High Commissioner" in North Africa. In return, Darlan ordered all French forces in North Africa to cease resistance to the Allies and to cooperate instead. The deal was made on 10 November, and French resistance ceased almost at once. The French troops in North Africa who were not already captured submitted to and eventually joined the Allied forces.{{sfn|Eisenhower|1948|pp=99–105, 107–10}} Men from French North Africa would see much combat under the Allied banner as part of the [[French Expeditionary Corps (1943–44)|French Expeditionary Corps]] (consisting of 112,000 troops in April 1944) in the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian campaign]], where Maghrebis (mostly Moroccans) made up over 60% of the unit's soldiers.{{Sfn|Gaujac|2003|p=31}}

The American press protested, immediately dubbing it the "Darlan Deal", pointing out that Roosevelt had made a brazen bargain with Hitler's puppets in France. If a main goal of Torch had originally been the liberation of North Africa, with this deal that had been jettisoned in favour of safe passage through North Africa. When [[Adolf Hitler]] learned of Darlan's deal with the Allies, he immediately ordered [[Case Anton|the occupation of Vichy France]].{{Sfn|Satloff|}}

The Eisenhower/Darlan agreement meant that the officials appointed by the Vichy regime would remain in power in North Africa. No role was provided for Free France, which deeply offended De Gaulle. It also offended much of the British and American public, who regarded all Vichy French as Nazi collaborators. Eisenhower insisted that he had no real choice if his forces were to move on against the Axis in Tunisia, rather than fight the French in Algeria and Morocco.{{Sfn|Gelb|1992|pp=255-264}} On 24 December, [[Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle]], a French resistance fighter and anti-fascist monarchist, assassinated Darlan. Giraud succeeded Darlan but, like him, replaced few of the Vichy officials. Under pressure from the Allies and De Gaulle's supporters, the French régime shifted, with Vichy officials gradually replaced and its more offensive decrees rescinded.{{Sfn|Gelb|1992|pp=272-282}}[[File:Toulon 1942.jpg|thumb|Scuttled and burning French warships in the harbor of Toulon]]