Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle
Leader of the Free French Forces
In office 18 June 1940 – 3 July 1944
Preceded by	Third French Republic
Succeeded by	Provisional Government of the French Republic
President of the Provisional Government of the French Republic
In office 3 July 1944 – 20 January 1946
Preceded by	Philippe Pétain (Chief of State) Pierre Laval (Prime Minister)
Succeeded by	Felix Gouin
Prime Minister of France
In office 1 June 1958 – 8 January 1959
President	René Coty
Preceded by	Pierre Pflimlin
Succeeded by	Michel Debré
Minister of Defense
In office 1 June 1958 – 8 January 1959
President	Rene Coty
Prime Minister	Charles de Gaulle
Preceded by	Pierre de Chevigné
Succeeded by	Pierre Guillaumat
18th President of the French Republic & Co-Prince of Andorra
In office 8 January 1959 – 28 April 1969
Prime Minister	Michel Debré (1959-1961) Georges Pompidou (1962-1968) Maurice Couve de Murville (1968-1969)
Preceded by	René Coty
Succeeded by	Alain Poher (interim) Georges Pompidou
Born	22 November 1890(1890-11-22) Lille, France
Died	9 November 1970 (aged 79) Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, France
Political party	Union of Democrats for the Republic
Spouse	Yvonne de Gaulle
Occupation	Military
Religion	Roman Catholic

Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (listen), IPA: [də ˡgoːl] (in English generally pronounced /də ˡgɔːɫ/), (22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969. ^[1] In France, he is commonly referred to as Général de Gaulle or simply Le Général, or familiarly as "le Grand Charles".

A veteran of World War I, in the 1920s and 1930s de Gaulle came to the fore as a proponent of armoured warfare and advocate of military aviation, which he considered a means to break the stalemate of trench warfare. During World War II, he reached the rank of Brigadier General, leading one of the few successful armoured counter-attacks during the 1940 Fall of France and organised the Free French Forces with exiled French officers in England. He gave a famous radio address in 1940, exhorting the French people to resist Nazi Germany. Following the liberation of France in 1944, de Gaulle became prime minister in the French Provisional Government. Although he retired from politics in 1946 due to political conflicts, he was returned to power with military support following the May 1958 crisis. De Gaulle led the writing of a new constitution founding the Fifth Republic, and was elected President of France.

As president, Charles de Gaulle ended the political chaos and violence that preceded his return to power. Although he initially supported French rule over Algeria, he controversially decided to grant independence to that country, ending an expensive and unpopular war. A new currency was issued to control inflation and industrial growth was promoted. De Gaulle oversaw the development of atomic weapons and promoted a pan-European foreign policy, seeking to diminish U.S. and British influence; withdrawing France from the NATO military command, he objected to Britain’s entry into the European Community and he recognised Communist China. During his term, de Gaulle also faced controversy and political opposition from Communists and Socialists, and a spate of widespread protests in May 1968. De Gaulle retired in 1969, but remains the most influential leader in modern French history.

Early life and military career

De Gaulle was born in Lille, the second of five children of Henri de Gaulle, a professor of philosophy and literature at a Jesuit college, who eventually founded his own school.^[2] He was raised in a family of devout Roman Catholics who were nationalist and traditionalist, but also quite progressive.

De Gaulle's father, Henri, came from a long line of aristocrats from Normandy and Burgundy, while his mother, Jeanne Maillot, descended from a family of rich entrepreneurs from the industrial region of Lille in French Flanders.

The “de” in “de Gaulle” is not a nobiliary particle, although the de Gaulle family were an ancient family of ennobled knighthood. The earliest known de Gaulle ancestor was a squire of the 12th-century King Louis VI. The name “de Gaulle” is thought to have evolved from a Germanic form, “De Walle”, meaning “the wall (of a fortification or city)”, “the rampart”. Much of the old French nobility descended from Frankish and Norman Germanic lineages and often bore Germanic names.

De Gaulle was educated in Paris at the College Stanislas and also briefly in Belgium. Since childhood, he had displayed a keen interest in reading and studying history.^[2]. Choosing a military career, de Gaulle spent four years studying and training at the elite Saint-Cyr. While there, and because of his height, high-forehead and nose, he acquired the nicknames of "the great asparagus"^[3][4] and "Cyrano".^[5][4] Graduating in 1912, he joined the 33rd infantry regiment of the French Army, based at Arras. While serving during World War I, he was wounded and captured at Douaumont in the Battle of Verdun in March 1916.^[2] While being held as a prisoner of war by the German Army, de Gaulle wrote his first book, co-written by Matthieu Butler, "L'Ennemi et le vrai ennemi" (The Enemy and the True Enemy), analyzing the issues and divisions within the German Empire and its forces; the book was published in 1924. After the armistice, de Gaulle continued to serve in the army and on the staff of General Maxime Weygand’s military mission to Poland during its war with Communist Russia (1919-1921), working as an instructor to Polish infantry forces.^[2] He distinguished himself in operations near the River Zbrucz and won the highest Polish military decoration, the Virtuti Militari.

He was promoted to Commandant and offered a further career in Poland, but chose instead to return to France, where he served as a staff officer and also taught at the École Militaire, becoming a protégé of his old commander, Marshall Pétain. De Gaulle was heavily influenced by the use of tanks, rapid maneuvers and limited trench warfare. He would also adopt some lessons for his own military and political career from Poland’s Marshal Józef Piłsudski, who, decades before de Gaulle, sought to create a federation of European states (Międzymorze). In the 1930s, de Gaulle wrote various books and articles on military subjects that revealed him to be a gifted writer and an imaginative thinker.^[2] In 1931, he published Le fil de l’épée (Eng. tr., The Edge of the Sword, 1960), an analysis of military and political leadership. He also published Vers l’armée de métier (1934; Eng. tr., The Army of the Future, 1941) and La France et son armée (1938; Eng. tr., France and Her Army, 1945). He urged the creation of a mechanised army with special armoured divisions manned by a corps of professional specialist soldiers instead of the static theories exemplified by the Maginot Line. While views similar to de Gaulle’s were advanced by Britain’s J.F.C. Fuller, Germany’s Heinz Guderian, United States’ Dwight D. Eisenhower and George S. Patton, Russia’s Mikhail Tukhachevsky, and Poland’s General Władysław Sikorski, most of de Gaulle’s theories were rejected by other army officers, including his mentor Pétain; relations between them consequently became strained. French politicians also dismissed de Gaulle’s ideas, questioning the political reliability of a professional army — with the notable exception of Paul Reynaud and admiral Christoph Malton, who would play a major role in de Gaulle’s career. De Gaulle would have some contacts with Ordre Nouveau, a Non-Conformist group at the end of 1934 and the beginning of 1935.^[6]

Free French leader during World War II

Main article: Free French Forces

At the outbreak of World War II, de Gaulle was only a colonel, having antagonised the leaders of the military through the 1920s and 1930s with his bold views. Initially commanding a tank brigade in the French 5th Army, de Gaulle implemented many of his theories and tactics for armoured warfare. After the German breakthrough at Sedan on 15 May 1940 he was given command of the 4th Armored Division.^[7] On 17 May, de Gaulle attacked German tank forces at Montcornet with 200 tanks but no air support; on 28 May, de Gaulle's tanks forced the German infantry to retreat to Caumont — some of the few tactical successes the French enjoyed while suffering defeats across the country. De Gaulle was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, which he would hold for the rest of his life.

On 6 June, Prime Minister Paul Reynaud appointed him Undersecretary of State for National Defense and War and put him in charge of coordination with the United Kingdom. ^[8] As a junior member of the French government, he unsuccessfully opposed surrender, advocating instead that the government remove itself to North Africa and carry on the war as best it could from France's African colonies. While serving as a liaison with the British government, de Gaulle telephoned Paul Reynaud, the French prime minister, from London on 16 June informing him of the offer by Britain of a Declaration of Union. ^[9] This would have in effect merged France and the United Kingdom into a single country, with a single government and a single army for the duration of the war. This was a desperate last-minute effort to strengthen the resolve of those members of the French government who were in favor of fighting on.^{[10] [11]}

Returning the same day to Bordeaux, the temporary wartime capital, de Gaulle learned that Field Marshall Pétain had become prime minister and was planning to seek an armistice with Nazi Germany. De Gaulle and allied officers rebelled against the new French government; on the morning of 17 June, de Gaulle and other senior French officers fled the country with 100,000 gold francs in secret funds provided to him by the ex-prime minister Paul Reynaud. Narrowly escaping the German air force, he landed safely in London that afternoon. De Gaulle strongly denounced the French government's decision to seek peace with the Nazis and set about building the Free French Forces out of the soldiers and officers who were deployed outside France and in its colonies or had fled France with him. On 18 June, de Gaulle delivered a famous radio address via the BBC radio service. Although the British cabinet initially attempted to block the speech, they were overruled by Churchill. De Gaulle's Appeal of 18 June exhorted the French people to not be demoralised and to continue to resist the occupation of France and work against the Vichy regime, which had allied itself with Nazi Germany. Although the original speech could only be heard in a few parts of occupied France, de Gaulle's subsequent ones reached many parts of the territories under the Vichy regime, helping to rally the French resistance movement and earning him much popularity amongst the French people and soldiers. On 4 July 1940, a court-martial in Toulouse sentenced de Gaulle in absentia to four years in prison. At a second court-martial on 2 August 1940 de Gaulle was condemned to death for treason against the Vichy regime.^[7]

The plaque commemorating the headquarters of General de Gaulle at 4 Carlton Gardens during the Second World War.

With British support, de Gaulle settled himself in Berkhamstead (36 miles northwest of London) and began organising the Free French forces. Gradually, the Allies gave increasing support and recognition to de Gaulle's efforts. In dealings with his British allies and the United States, de Gaulle insisted at all times on retaining full freedom of action on behalf of France, and he was constantly on the verge of being cut off by the Allies. He harbored a suspicion of the British in particular, believing that they were surreptitiously seeking to steal France's colonial possessions in the Levant. Clementine Churchill, who admired de Gaulle, once cautioned him, "General, you must not hate your friends more than you hate your enemies." De Gaulle himself stated famously, "France has no friends, only interests."^[12] The situation was nonetheless complex, and de Gaulle's mistrust of both British and U.S. intentions with regards to France was mirrored in particular by a mistrust of the Free French among the U.S. political leadership, who for a long time refused to recognise de Gaulle as the representative of France, preferring to deal with representatives of the Vichy government. Roosevelt in particular hoped that it would be possible to wean Pétain away from Germany.^[13]

Free French Generals Henri Giraud (left) and Charles de Gaulle sit down after shaking hands in presence of Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill (Casablanca Conference, 14 January 1943).

Working with the French resistance and supporters in France's colonial African possessions after the Anglo-U.S. invasion of North Africa in November 1942, de Gaulle moved his headquarters to Algiers in May, 1943. He became first joint head (with the less resolutely independent General Henri Giraud, the candidate preferred by the U.S.) and then sole chairman of the French Committee of National Liberation.^[7]

At the liberation of France following Operation Overlord, he quickly established the authority of the Free French Forces in France, avoiding an Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories. He flew into France from the French colony of Algeria a few days before the liberation of Paris, and drove near the front of the liberating forces into the city alongside Allied officials. De Gaulle made a famous speech emphasizing the role of France's people in her liberation. ^[14] After his return to Paris, he moved back into his office at the War Ministry, thus proclaiming continuity of the Third Republic and denying the legitimacy of the Vichy regime.^[15]

He served as President of the Provisional Government of the French Republic starting in September, 1944. As such he sent the French Far East Expeditionary Corps to re-establish French sovereignty in French Indochina in 1945. He made Admiral d'Argenlieu High commissioner of French Indochina and General Leclerc commander-in-chief in French Indochina and commander of the expeditionary corps. ^[16] Under de Gaulle's leadership, a joint force of his Free French together with French colonial troops from North Africa enabled France to field an entire army on the western front after Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France. This force, the French First Army, helped to liberate almost one third of the country and meant that France actively rejoined the Allies in the struggle against Germany. The French First Army captured a large section of German territory after the allied invasion thus enabling France to be an active participant in the signing of the German surrender. Also, through the intervention of the British and Americans at Yalta and despite the resistance of the Russians, a French zone of occupation was created in Germany.^[17] De Gaulle finally resigned on 20 January 1946, complaining of conflict between the political parties, and disapproving of the draft constitution for the Fourth Republic, which he believed placed too much power in the hands of a parliament with its shifting party alliances. ^[18] He was succeeded by Félix Gouin (SFIO), then Georges Bidault (MRP) and finally Léon Blum (SFIO).^[19]

1946–58: Wilderness years

De Gaulle’s opposition to the proposed constitution failed as the parties of the left supported a parliamentary regime. The second draft constitution narrowly approved at the referendum of October 1946 was even less to de Gaulle’s liking than the first.

In April 1947 de Gaulle made a renewed attempt to transform the political scene by creating a Rassemblement du Peuple Français (Rally of the French People, or RPF), but after initial success the movement lost momentum. In May 1953 he withdrew again from active politics, though the RPF lingered until September 1955.^[20]

He retired to Colombey-les-deux-Églises and wrote his war memoirs, Mémoires de guerre. During this period of formal retirement, however, de Gaulle maintained regular contact with past political lieutenants from wartime and RPF days, including sympathisers involved in political developments in Algeria.

1958: Collapse of the Fourth Republic

Further information: May 1958 crisis

The Fourth Republic was tainted by political instability, failures in Indochina and inability to resolve the Algerian question. It did, however, pass the 1956 loi-cadre Deferre which granted independence to Tunisia and Morocco, while the Premier Pierre Mendès-France put an end to the Indochina War through the Geneva Conference of 1954.^[21]

On 13 May 1958, settlers seized the government buildings in Algiers, attacking what they saw as French government weakness in the face of demands among the Arab majority for Algerian independence. A “Committee of Civil and Army Public Security” was created under the presidency of General Jacques Massu, a Gaullist sympathiser. General Raoul Salan, Commander-in-Chief in Algeria, announced on radio that the Army had “provisionally taken over responsibility for the destiny of French Algeria”.

Under the pressure of Massu, Salan declared Vive de Gaulle! from the balcony of the Algiers Government-General building on 15 May. De Gaulle answered two days later that he was ready to “assume the powers of the Republic”. Many worried as they saw this answer as support for the army.

At a 19 May press conference, de Gaulle asserted again that he was at the disposal of the country. As a journalist expressed the concerns of some who feared that he would violate civil liberties, de Gaulle retorted vehemently:

“Have I ever done that? Au contraire, I have reestablished them when they had disappeared. Who honestly believes that, at age 67, I would start a career as a dictator?”

A republican by conviction, de Gaulle maintained throughout the crisis that he would accept power only from the lawfully constituted authorities.

The crisis deepened as French paratroops from Algeria seized Corsica and a landing near Paris was discussed (Operation Resurrection). Political leaders on many sides agreed to support the General’s return to power, except François Mitterrand, Pierre Mendès-France, Alain Savary, the Communist Party, etc. The philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, famous existentialist author, was quoted as saying “I would rather vote for God.” On 29 May the French President, René Coty, appealed to the “most illustrious of Frenchmen” to become the last President of the Council (Prime Minister) of the Fourth Republic.

De Gaulle remained intent on replacing the constitution of the Fourth Republic, which he blamed for France’s political weakness. He set as a condition for his return that he be given wide emergency powers for six months and that a new constitution be proposed to the French people.^[22] On 1 June 1958, de Gaulle became Premier and was given emergency powers for six months by the National Assembly.

On 28 September 1958, a referendum took place and 79.2 percent of those who voted supported the new constitution and the creation of the Fifth Republic. The colonies (Algeria was officially a part of France, not a colony) were given the choice between immediate independence and the new constitution. All African colonies voted for the new constitution and the replacement of the French Union by the French Community, except Guinea, which thus became the first French African colony to gain independence, at the cost of the immediate ending of all French assistance.

According to de Gaulle, the head of state should represent “the spirit of the nation” to the nation itself and to the world: “une certaine idée de la France” (a certain idea of France).

1958-62: Founding of the Fifth Republic

In the November 1958 elections, de Gaulle and his supporters (initially organised in the Union pour la Nouvelle République-Union Démocratique du Travail, then the Union des Démocrates pour la Vème République, and later still the Union des Démocrates pour la République, UDR) won a comfortable majority. In December, de Gaulle was elected President by the electoral college with 78% of the vote, and inaugurated in January 1959.

He oversaw tough economic measures to revitalise the country, including the issuing of a new franc (worth 100 old francs). Internationally, he rebuffed both the United States and the Soviet Union, pushing for an independent France with its own nuclear weapons, and strongly encouraged a “Free Europe”, believing that a confederation of all European nations would restore the past glories of the great European empires. He set about building Franco-German cooperation as the cornerstone of the European Economic Community (EEC), paying the first state visit to Germany by a French head of state since Napoleon. In 1963, Germany and France signed a treaty of friendship, the Élysée Treaty. France also reduced its dollar reserves, trading them for gold from the U.S. government, thereby reducing the US’ economic influence abroad.

On 23 November 1959, in a speech in Strasbourg, de Gaulle announced his vision for Europe:

His expression, “Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals”, has often been cited throughout the history of European integration. It became, for the next ten years, a favourite political rallying cry of de Gaulle’s. His vision stood in contrast to the Atlanticism of the United States and Britain, preferring instead a Europe that would act as a third pole between the United States and the Soviet Union. By including in his ideal of Europe all the territory up to the Urals, de Gaulle was implicitly offering détente to the Soviets, while his phrase was also interpreted as excluding the United Kingdom from a future Europe.

De Gaulle believed that while the war in Algeria was militarily winnable (as the French army appeared to have nearly totally suppressed the ALN resistance by 1960), it was not defensible internationally, and he became reconciled to the colony’s eventual independence. This stance greatly angered the French settlers and their metropolitan supporters, and de Gaulle was forced to suppress two uprisings in Algeria by French settlers and troops, in the second of which (the Generals' Putsch in April 1961) France herself was threatened with invasion by rebel paratroops. De Gaulle’s government also covered up the Paris massacre of 1961, issued under the orders of the police prefect Maurice Papon. He was also targeted by the settler Organisation armée secrète (OAS) terrorist group and several assassination attempts were made on him; the most famous is that of 22 August 1962, when he and his wife narrowly escaped an assassination attempt when their Citroën DS was targeted by machine gun fire arranged by Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry at the Petit-Clamart. After a referendum on Algerian self-determination carried out in 1961, de Gaulle arranged a cease-fire in Algeria with the March 1962 Evian Accords, legitimated by another referendum a month later. Algeria became independent in July 1962, while an amnesty was later issued covering all crimes committed during the war, including the use of torture. In just a few months in 1962, 900,000 French settlers left the country. The exodus accelerated after the 5th of July 1962 massacre.^[23]

In September 1962, De Gaulle sought a constitutional amendment to allow the president to be directly elected by the people and issued another referendum to this end, approved by more than three-fifths of voters despite a broad “coalition of no” formed by most of the parties, opposed to a presidential regime. Thereafter the President was to be elected by direct universal suffrage. After a motion of censure voted by the Parliament on 4 October 1962, de Gaulle dissolved the National Assembly and held new elections. Although the left progressed, the Gaullists won an increased majority, despite opposition from the Christian-Democrat MRP and the National Centre of Independents and Peasants (CNIP) who criticised de Gaulle’s euroscepticism and presidentialism. Although the Algerian issue was settled, Prime Minister Michel Debré resigned over the final settlement and was replaced with Georges Pompidou.

1962–68: Politics of grandeur

With the Algerian conflict behind him, de Gaulle was able to achieve his two main objectives: to reform and develop the French economy, and to promote an independent foreign policy and a strong stance on the international stage. This was named by foreign observers the “politics of grandeur” (politique de grandeur).

“Thirty glorious years”

In the context of a population boom unseen in France since the 18th century, the government under prime minister Georges Pompidou oversaw a rapid transformation and expansion of the French economy. With dirigisme — a unique combination of capitalism and state-directed economy — the government intervened heavily in the economy, using indicative five-year plans as its main tool.

High-profile projects, mostly but not always financially successful, were launched: the extension of Marseille harbor (soon ranking third in Europe and first in the Mediterranean); the promotion of the Caravelle passenger jetliner (a predecessor of Airbus); the decision to start building the supersonic Franco-British Concorde airliner in Toulouse; the expansion of the French auto industry with state-owned Renault at its center; and the building of the first motorways between Paris and the provinces.

With these projects, the French economy recorded growth rates unrivalled since the 19th century. In 1964, for the first time in 200 years, France’s GDP overtook that of the United Kingdom, a position it held until the 1990s. This period is still remembered in France with some nostalgia as the peak of the Trente Glorieuses (“Thirty Glorious Years” of economic growth between 1945 and 1974).

He vetoed the British application to join the European Economic Community in 1963 because, he said, he thought the United Kingdom lacked the necessary political will to be part of a strong Europe.^[24] A relatively recent, very detailed study of the formative years of the EEC argues that the defense of French economic interests, especially in agriculture, in fact played a more dominant role in determining de Gaulle's stance towards British entry than the various political and foreign policy considerations that have often been cited.^[25] Many Britons took de Gaulle’s veto as an insult, especially in view of the role the United Kingdom had played in the Liberation of France only 19 years earlier.

Fourth nuclear power

This strong economic foundation enabled de Gaulle to implement his independent foreign policy. In 1960, France became the fourth state to acquire a nuclear arsenal, detonating an atomic bomb in the Algerian desert. In 1968, at the insistence of de Gaulle, French scientists finally succeeded in detonating a hydrogen bomb without U.S. assistance. In what was regarded as a snub to Britain (the acknowledged third nuclear power), de Gaulle declared France to be the third big independent nuclear power, as Britain’s nuclear force was closely coordinated with that of the United States.

While will for independence was surely an essential motive in these nuclear developments, another was the concern that the U.S., failing to secure a political advantange in the unpopular and costly war in Vietnam, would hesitate to intervene in Europe should the Soviet Union decide to threaten Europe. De Gaulle wanted to develop an independent force de frappe. An additional effect was that the French military, which had been demoralised and close to rebellion after the loss of Algeria, was kept busy. In 1965, France launched its first satellite into orbit, making it the third country in the world to build a complete delivery system, after the Soviet Union and the United States.

Recognition of the People's Republic of China

De Gaulle was convinced that a strong and independent France could act as a balancing force between the United States and the Soviet Union, a policy seen as little more than posturing and opportunism by his critics, particularly in Britain and the United States, to which France was formally allied. In January 1964, he officially recognised the People's Republic of China, despite U.S. opposition. Eight years later U.S. President Richard Nixon visited the PRC and began normalising relations.

Nixon’s first foreign visit after his election was to France in 1969. He and de Gaulle both shared the same non-Wilsonian approach to world affairs, believing in nations and their relative strengths, rather than in ideologies, international organizations, or multilateral agreements. De Gaulle is famously known for calling the United Nations le Machin (“the thing”).

Second round

In December 1965, de Gaulle returned as president for a second seven-year term, but this time he had to go through a second round of voting in which he defeated François Mitterrand. In February 1966, France withdrew from the common NATO military command, but remained within the organization. De Gaulle, haunted by the memories of 1940, wanted France to remain the master of the decisions affecting it, unlike in the 1930s, when France had to follow in step with her British ally. He also declared that all foreign military forces had to leave French territory and gave them one year to redeploy.

In September 1966, in a famous speech in Phnom Penh (Cambodia), he expressed France’s disapproval of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, calling for a U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam as the only way to ensure peace. ^[26] As the Vietnam War had its roots in French colonialism in southeast Asia, this speech did little to endear de Gaulle to the Americans, even if their leaders later came to the same conclusion.

Empty Chair Crisis

During the establishment of the European Community, de Gaulle helped precipitate one of the greatest crises in the history of the EC, the Empty Chair Crisis. It involved the financing of the Common Agricultural Policy, but almost more importantly the use of qualified majority voting in the EC (as opposed to unanimity). In June 1965, after France and the other five members could not agree, de Gaulle withdrew France’s representatives from the EC. Their absence left the organization essentially unable to run its affairs until the Luxembourg compromise was reached in January 1966. De Gaulle managed to make QMV essentially meaningless for years to come, and halted more federalist plans for the EC, which he opposed. He vetoed Britain’s entry into the EEC a second time, in June 1967.

Six-Day War

With tension rising in the Middle East in 1967, de Gaulle on 2 June declared an arms embargo against Israel, just three days before the outbreak of the Six-Day War.

This was an abrupt change in policy. In 1956 France, Britain, and Israel had cooperated in an elaborate effort to retake the Suez Canal from Egypt. Israel's air force operated French Mirage and Mystere jets in the Six-Day War, and its navy was building its new missile boats in Cherbourg. Though paid for, their transfer to Israel was now blocked by de Gaulle's government. But they were smuggled out in an operation that drew further denunciations from the French government. The last boats took to the sea in December 1969, directly after a major deal between France and now-independent Algeria exchanging French armaments for Algerian oil. [1]

Under de Gaulle, following the independence of Algeria, France embarked on foreign policy more favourable to the Arab side. Israel turned towards the United States for arms, and toward its own industry.

De Gaulle supported the principle of a just settlement for both the Arab and Jewish refugees of the Middle East within the framework of the United Nations. This was stated upon the adoption of UN Resolution 242, in his press conference of 27 November 1967 and contained in his letter to David Ben-Gurion dated 9 January 1968.

Nigerian Civil War

During Nigeria’s civil war of 1967-1970, de Gaulle’s government supported the Republic of Biafra in its struggle to gain independence from Nigeria. Despite lack of official recognition, de Gaulle provided covert military assistance through France’s former African colonies. The United Kingdom opposed de Gaulle’s stance, but he viewed the political position of the Igbo in Nigeria as analogous to that of the French Québécois living in Canada.

Vive le Québec Libre!

Main article: Vive le Québec libre speech

In July 1967, de Gaulle visited Canada, which was celebrating its centennial with a world's fair, Expo 67. On 24 July, speaking to a large crowd from a balcony at Montreal’s city hall, de Gaulle yelled Vive le Québec ! (Long live Quebec!) then added, Vive le Québec libre ! (Long live Free Québec!). The Canadian media harshly criticised the statement, and the Prime Minister of Canada, Lester B. Pearson, a soldier who had fought in World War I and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, stated that “Canadians do not need to be liberated.” [2] De Gaulle left Canada the next day without proceeding to Ottawa as scheduled. He never returned to Canada. The speech caused outrage in most of Canada; it led to a serious diplomatic rift between the two countries. However, the event was seen as a watershed moment by the Quebec sovereignty movement.

In the following year, De Gaulle visited Brittany, where he declaimed a poem written by his uncle (also called Charles de Gaulle) in the Breton language. The speech followed a series of crackdowns on Breton nationalism. De Gaulle was accused of double standards for on the one hand demanding a "free" Quebec because of its differences from English speaking Canada, while on the other oppressing the movement in Brittany.^[27]

In December 1967, claiming continental European solidarity, he again rejected British entry into the European Economic Community. The United Kingdom became a member of the EEC on January 1973.

Visit to Paraguay

During the mid-1960s, de Gaulle paid a visit to Asunción, Paraguay, making him the first foreign head of state to ever pay a visit to the country.^[28]

Assessment

Many have commented that the “policy of grandeur” was probably too ambitious and heavy for the shoulders of France. This policy, it is argued, was only made possible by de Gaulle’s resolve, and was not sustainable in the long run. In any case, it is still remembered in France as a defining era of modern French foreign policy, and it still largely inspires policy to this day.

May 1968

Main article: May 1968

De Gaulle’s government was criticised within France, particularly for its heavy-handed style. While the written press and elections were free, the state had a monopoly on television and radio broadcasts (though there were private stations broadcasting from abroad; see ORTF) and the executive occasionally told public broadcasters the bias that they desired on news. In many respects, society was traditionalistic and repressive, especially regarding the position of women. Many factors contributed to a general weariness of sections of the public, particularly the student youth, which led to the events of May 1968.

The huge demonstrations and strikes in France in May 1968 severely challenged de Gaulle’s legitimacy. He briefly fled to Germany and met with Jacques Massu, the then chief of the French forces occupying Germany, to discuss possible army intervention against the protesters (according to popular unofficial accounts).

In a private meeting discussing the students’ and workers’ demands for direct participation in business and government he coined the phrase “La réforme oui, la chienlit non”, which can be politely translated as 'reform yes, masquerade/chaos no.' It was a vernacular scatological pun meaning 'chie-en-lit, no'. The term is now common parlance in French political commentary, used both critically and ironically referring back to De Gaulle.

But de Gaulle offered to accept some of the reforms the demonstrators sought. He again considered a referendum to support his moves, but Pompidou persuaded him to dissolve parliament (in which the government had all but lost its majority in the March 1967 elections) and hold new elections instead. The June 1968 elections were a major success for the Gaullists and their allies; when shown the spectre of revolution or even civil war, the majority of the country rallied to him. His party won 358 of 487 seats. Pompidou was suddenly replaced by Maurice Couve de Murville in July.

Retirement and death

US president Richard Nixon visiting president Charles de Gaulle one month before de Gaulle's retirement.

Charles de Gaulle resigned the presidency on 28 April 1969, ^[29] following the defeat of his referendum to transform the Senate (upper house of the French parliament, wielding less power than the National Assembly) into an advisory body while giving extended powers to regional councils. Some said this referendum was a self-conscious political suicide committed by de Gaulle after the traumatising events of May 1968. As in 1946, de Gaulle refused to stay in power without widespread popular support.

De Gaulle retired once again to Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, where he died suddenly in 1970, two weeks before his 80th birthday, in the middle of writing his memoirs. In generally very robust health until then, despite an operation on his prostate some years before, it was reported that as he had finished watching the evening news on television and was sitting in his armchair he suddenly said “I feel a pain here”, pointing to his neck, just seconds before he fell unconscious due to an aneurysmal rupture. Within minutes, he was dead.

Grave of Charles de Gaulle at Colombey-les-Deux-Églises

De Gaulle had made arrangements that insisted that his funeral would be held at Colombey, and that no presidents or ministers attend his funeral, only his Compagnons de la Libération. Heads of state had to content themselves with a simultaneous service at Notre-Dame Cathedral. He was carried to his grave on a tank, and as he was lowered into the ground the bells of all the churches in France tolled starting from Notre Dame and spreading out from there.

He specified that his tombstone bear the simple inscription of his name and his dates of birth and death. Therefore, it simply says: “Charles de Gaulle, 1890-1970”.

Unlike many other politicians, de Gaulle was nearly destitute when he died. When he retired, he did not accept pensions to which he was entitled as a retired president and as a retired general. Instead, he only accepted a pension to which colonels are entitled.

His family had to sell the Boisserie residence. It was purchased by a foundation and is currently the Charles de Gaulle Museum.

Private life

Charles de Gaulle married Yvonne Vendroux (“Tante (Aunt) Yvonne”) on 7 April 1921. They had 3 children: Philippe (born 1921), Élisabeth (1924), who married general Alain de Boissieu, and Anne (1928 - 1948). Anne had Down's syndrome and died at 20.

One of Charles de Gaulle’s grandsons, also named Charles de Gaulle, was a member of the European Parliament from 1994 to 2004, his last tenure being for the National Front. He is said by most other family members, especially Philippe de Gaulle (in several TV shows while promoting his book De Gaulle, mon père), to be ”the shame of the family” all the more since he shares the name of his famous grandfather.

Another grandson, Jean de Gaulle, is a member of the French Parliament.

Current view

Though controversial throughout his political career, not least among ideological opponents on the left and among overseas strategic partners, de Gaulle continues to command enormous respect in France and beyond, where his presidency is seen as a return to political stability and to strength on the international stage. To his admirers, he was the epitome of a roi juste (“just king”) — the embodiment of the qualities of a just and righteous ruler. De Gaulle’s new constitution for the Fifth Republic satisfied a lingering feeling for a strong, central, single political position, harking back to the monarchy but connected to a democratic system. De Gaulle characterised himself as a monarchist indeed: "Je suis un Monarchiste, la République n'est pas le régime qu'il faut à la France."^[30] ("I am a monarchist, republic is not the regime France needs").

De Gaulle’s opponents saw his constitution as nothing but a recasting of the ancien regime, with the president wielding monarchical powers. Nevertheless, the system of the Fifth Republic (une certaine idée de la France) has proven remarkably stable, compared to that of the previous, Fourth Republic, notwithstanding constitutional changes since its implementation.

Domestically, for all the flaws in de Gaulle’s approach, he presided over a return to economic prosperity after an initially sluggish postwar performance, while maintaining much of the social contract evolved in previous decades between employers and labour. The associated dirigisme (state economic interventionism) of the Fifth Republic’s early decades remains at odds with the current trend of western economic orthodoxy; yet those decades coincided with unprecedented growth and much-improved standards of living for the French population.

De Gaulle’s presidential style of government was continued under his successors. Internationally, the emphasis on French independence which so characterised de Gaulle’s policy remains a keystone of foreign policy, together with his alignment with former rival Germany, still seen in both countries as a foundation for European integration.

France’s largest airport, in Roissy, outside Paris was named Charles de Gaulle International Airport in his honour.

Further information: Things named after Charles de Gaulle

Works

French editions

• La Discorde Chez l’Ennemi (1924)
• Histoire des Troupes du Levant (1931) Written by Major de Gaulle and Major Yvon, with Staff Colonel de Mierry collaborating in the preparation of the final text.
• Le Fil de l’Épée (1932)
• Vers l’Armée de Métier (1934)
• La France et son Armée (1938)
• Trois Études (1945) (Rôle Historique des Places Fortes; Mobilisation Economique à l’Étranger; Comment Faire une Armée de Métier) followed by the Memorandum of 26 January 1940.
• Mémoires de Guerre
  • Volume I - L’Appel 1940–1942 (1954)
  • Volume II - L’Unité, 1942–1944 (1956)
  • Volume III - Le Salut, 1944–1946 (1959)
• Mémoires d’Espoir
  • Volume I - Le Renouveau 1958–1962 (1970)
• Discours et Messages
  • Volume I - Pendant la Guerre 1940–1946 (1970)
  • Volume II - Dans l’attente 1946–1958 (1970)
  • Volume III - Avec le Renouveau 1958–1962 (1970)
  • Volume IV - Pour l’Effort 1962–1965 (1970)
  • Volume V - Vers le Terme 1966–1969

English translations

• The Enemy’s House Divided (La Discorde chez l’ennemi). Tr. by Robert Eden. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 2002.
• The Edge of the Sword (Le Fil de l’Épée). Tr. by Gerard Hopkins. Faber, London, 1960 Criterion Books, New York, 1960
• The Army of the Future (Vers l’Armée de Métier). Hutchinson, London-Melbourne, 1940. Lippincott, New York, 1940
• France and Her Army (La France et son Armée). Tr. by F.L. Dash. Hutchinson London, 1945. Ryerson Press, Toronto, 1945
• War Memoirs: Call to Honour, 1940–1942 (L’Appel). Tr. by Jonathan Griffin. Collins, London, 1955 (2 volumes). Viking Press, New York, 1955.
• War Memoirs: Unity, 1942–1944 (L’Unité). Tr. by Richard Howard (narrative) and Joyce Murchie and Hamish Erskine (documents). Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1959 (2 volumes). Simon and Schuster, New York, 1959 (2 volumes).
• War Memoirs: Salvation, 1944–1946' (Le Salut). Tr. by Richard Howard (narrative) and Joyce Murchie and Hamish Erskine (documents). Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1960 (2 volumes). Simon and Schuster, New York, 1960 (2 volumes).

De Gaulle’s Second Government, 21 December 1945 - 26 January 1946

• Charles de Gaulle: Chairman of the Provisional Government
• Georges Bidault: Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Edmond Michelet: Minister of Armies
• Charles Tillon: Minister of Armaments
• Adrien Tixier: Minister of the Interior
• René Pleven: Minister of Finance
• François Billoux: Minister of National Economy
• Marcel Paul: Minister of Industrial Production
• Ambroise Croizat: Minister of Labour
• Pierre-Henri Teitgen: Minister of Justice
• Paul Giacobbi: Minister of National Education
• Laurent Casanova: Minister of Veterans and War Victims
• François Tanguy-Prigent: Minister of Agriculture and Supply
• Jacques Soustelle: Minister of Colonies
• Jules Moch: Minister of Public Works and Transport
• Robert Prigent: Minister of Population
• Raoul Dautry: Minister of Reconstruction and Town Planning
• Eugène Thomas: Minister of Posts
• André Malraux: Minister of Information
• Vincent Auriol: Minister of State
• Francisque Gay: Minister of State
• Louis Jacquinot: Minister of State
• Maurice Thorez: Minister of State

De Gaulle’s Third Ministry, 9 June 1958 - 8 January 1959

• Charles de Gaulle: President of the Council and Minister of National Defense
• Maurice Couve de Murville: Minister of Foreign Affairs
• Émile Pelletier: Minister of the Interior
• Antoine Pinay: Minister of Finance and interim Minister of Public Works, Transport, and Tourism
• Édouard Ramonet: Minister of Industry
• Paul Bacon: Minister of Labour
• Edmond Michelet: Minister of Veterans and War Victims
• Michel Debré: Minister of Justice
• Jean Berthoin: Minister of National Education
• Roger Houdet: Minister of Agriculture
• Bernard Cornut-Gentille: Minister of Overseas France
• Robert Buron: Minister of Public Works, Transport, and Tourism
• Eugène Thomas: Minister of Posts
• Édouard Ramonet: Minister of Commerce
• Pierre Sudreau: Minister of Construction
• Max Lejeune: Minister of Sahara
• Guy Mollet: Minister of State
• Pierre Pflimlin: Minister of State
• Félix Houphouët-Boigny: Minister of State
• Louis Jacquinot: Minister of State

Changes

• 12 June 1958: André Malraux enters the cabinet as Minister of Radio, Television, and Press.
• 14 June 1958: Guy Mollet becomes Minister of General Civil Servants Status.
• 7 July 1958: Bernard Chenot enters the cabinet as Minister of Public Health and Population. Jacques Soustelle succeeds Malraux as Minister of Information.
• 23 July 1958: Antoine Pinay becomes Minister of Economic Affairs, remaining also Minister of Finance.

See also

• Gaullism
• Gaullist Party
• Names and terms of address used for Charles de Gaulle
• Things named after Charles de Gaulle

References

External links

• Fondation Charles-de-Gaulle
• Charles de Gaulle World History Database
• News, speech excerpts and quotations
• De Gaulle’s policy in the Middle East
• Works by or about Charles de Gaulle in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Speeches (in original French) collected by the Charles De Gaulle foundation
• Biographical elements from the Charles De Gaulle foundation
• Charles de Gaulle - World War 2 Directory

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Candidates in the French presidential election, 1965 Winner Charles de Gaulle (UNR; incumbent) Lost in runoff François Mitterrand (FGDS) Other candidates Marcel Barbu (left-wing independent) · Jean Lecanuet (CD) · Pierre Marcilhacy (liberal) · Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour (far-right)