French resistance movement in World War II. After the fall of France in 1940, it carried on resistance to the Nazi occupation. Supported by the French Communist Party, but not centrally controlled, its membership rose in 1943–44, and constituted a considerable hindrance to the German rear when the Allies landed in France. Its various groups, often operating independently, were coordinated into the Forces Françaises de l’Interieur in 1944.