(Usually with the) the underground movement formed in France during the Second World War (1939–45) to resist the authority of the German occupying forces and the Vichy government.
Origin
1940s; earliest use found in The Observer.
Definition of French Resistance in US English:
French Resistance
noun
historical
(Usually with the) the underground movement formed in France during the Second World War (1939–45) to resist the authority of the German occupying forces and the Vichy government.