 After the 25 June armistice, Huntziger became the Vichy government's commander-in-chief of land forces.He became Minister of Defence on 6 September 1940, serving until 11 August 1941.He was one of the signatories of the anti-Semitic Statute on Jews of 3 October 1940 (excluding nine Jewish generals from the army) together with Philippe Pétain, Pierre Laval, Raphaël Alibert, Marcel Peyrouton, Paul Baudouin, Yves Bouthillier, and François Darlan.