Charles de Gaulle

Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (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(Sony VAIO VGN-SR94VS battery).

A veteran of World War I, in the 1920s and 1930s de Gaulle came to the fore as a proponent of mobile armoured divisions, which he considered would become central in modern warfare. During World War II, he reached the temporary rank of Brigadier General, leading one of the few successful armoured counter-attacks during the 1940 Battle of France(Sony VAIO VGN-SR94HS battery), and then briefly served in the French government as France was falling.

He escaped to Britain and gave a famous radio address, broadcast by the BBC on 18 June 1940, exhorting the French people to resist Nazi Germany and organised the Free French Forces with exiled French officers in Britain. As the war progressed de Gaulle gradually gained control of all French colonies except Indochina most of which had at first been controlled by the pro-German Vichy regime(Sony VAIO VGN-SR94GS battery). Despite earning a reputation for being a difficult man to do business with, by the time of the Allied invasion of France in 1944 he was heading what amounted to a French government in exile, but although he insisted that France be treated as a great independent power by the other Allies, the Americans in particular remained deeply suspicious of his motives. De Gaulle became prime minister in the French Provisional Government(Sony VAIO VGN-SR94FS battery), resigning in 1946 due to political conflicts.

After the war he founded his own political party, the RPF. Although he retired from politics in the early 1950s after the RPF's failure to win power, he was voted back to power as prime minister by the French Assembly during the May 1958 crisis. De Gaulle led the writing of a new constitution founding the Fifth Republic, and was elected President of France, an office which now held much greater power than in the Third and Fourth Republics(Sony VAIO VGN-SR93YS battery).

As President, Charles de Gaulle ended the political chaos that preceded his return to power. A new French currency was issued in January 1960 to control inflation and industrial growth was promoted. Although he initially supported French rule over Algeria, he controversially decided to grant independence to that country, ending an expensive and unpopular war but leaving France divided and having to face down opposition from the white settlers and French military who had originally supported his return to power(Sony VAIO VGN-SR93PS battery).

Immensely patriotic, de Gaulle and his supporters held the view, known as Gaullism, that France should continue to see itself as a major power and should not rely on other nations - like the US - for its national security and prosperity. Often critisised for his Politics of Grandeur, de Gaulle oversaw the development of French atomic weapons and promoted a foreign policy independent of U.S. and British influence(Sony VAIO VGN-SR93JS battery). He withdrew France from NATO military command—although remaining a member of the western alliance—and twice vetoed Britain's entry into the European Community. He travelled widely in Eastern Europe and other parts of the world and recognised Communist China. On a visit to Canada he gave encouragement to Quebec Separatism.

During his term, de Gaulle also faced controversy and political opposition from Communists and Socialists(Sony VAIO VGN-SR93DS battery). Despite having been re-elected as President, this time by direct popular ballot, in 1965, in May 1968 he appeared likely to lose power amidst widespread protests by students and workers, but survived the crisis with an increased majority in the Assembly. However, de Gaulle resigned after losing a referendum in 1969. He is considered by many to be the most influential leader in modern French history(Sony VAIO VGN-SR92US battery).

Early life and military career

De Gaulle's birth house in Lille, now a national museum.

De Gaulle was born in the industrial region of Lille in French Flanders, the third of five children of Henri de Gaulle, a professor of philosophy and literature at a Jesuit college, who eventually founded his own school. He was raised in a family of devout Roman Catholics who were nationalist and traditionalist, but also quite progressive(Sony VAIO VGN-SR92S battery).

De Gaulle's father came from a long line of aristocrats from Normandy and Burgundy, while his mother, Jeanne Maillot, descended from a family of rich entrepreneurs from Lille According to Henri, the family's true origin was never determined, but could have been Celtic. He thought that the name could be derived from the word gaule—a long pole which was used in the Middle Ages to beat olives from the trees(Sony VAIO VGN-SR92PS battery). Another source has the name deriving from Galle, meaning "oak" in the Gaulish language, and the sacred tree of the druids.

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. Choosing a military career, de Gaulle spent four years studying and training at the elite military academy, Saint-Cyr. While there, and because of his height, high forehead, and nose, he acquired the nicknames of "the great asparagus". and "Cyrano"(Sony VAIO VGN-SR92NS battery). He acquired yet another nickname, Le Connétable, when he was a prisoner of war in Germany during World War I. This had come about because of the talks which he gave to fellow prisoners on the progress of the conflict. These were delivered with such patriotic ardour and confidence in victory that they called him by the title which had been given to the commander-in-chief of the French army during the monarchy(Sony VAIO VGN-SR91US battery). Graduating from St Cyr in 1912, he joined the 33rd infantry regiment of the French Army, based at Arras and commanded by Colonel (and future Marshal) Philippe Pétain. De Gaulle's career would follow Pétain's for the next 20 years.

While serving during World War I, he reached the rank of captain, commanding a company, and was wounded several times. One wound in the left hand obliged him later to wear his wedding ring on his right hand(Sony VAIO VGN-SR91S battery). He was wounded again and captured at Douaumont in the Battle of Verdun in March 1916, one of the few survivors of his battalion. While being held as a prisoner of war by the German Army, de Gaulle made five unsuccessful escape attempts and wrote his first book, co-written by Matthieu Butler, "L'Ennemi et le vrai ennemi" (The Enemy and the True Enemy), analysing the issues and divisions within the German Empire and its forces(Sony VAIO VGN-SR91PS battery); the book was published in 1924. After the armistice, de Gaulle continued to serve in the army, and was with the staff of General Maxime Weygand's military mission to Poland as an instructor of Polish Infantry during its war with Communist Russia (1919–1921). He distinguished himself in operations near the River Zbrucz and won the highest Polish military decoration, the Virtuti Militari(Sony VAIO VGN-SR91NS battery).

He was promoted to Commandant in the Polish Army and offered a further career in Poland, but chose instead to return to France, where he taught at the École Militaire. Although he was a protégé of his old commander, Marshal Pétain, De Gaulle believed in the use of tanks and rapid manoeuvres rather than trench warfare(Sony VAIO VGN-SR90US battery).

De Gaulle served with the Army of Occupation in the Rhineland in the mid 1920s. As a Commandant (Major) by the late 1920s, he briefly commanded a light infantry battalion at Treves and then served a tour of duty in Syria, then a French protectorate under a mandate from the League of Nations. During the 1930s, now a lieutenant-colonel, he served as a staff officer in France(Sony VAIO VGN-SR90S battery). In 1934 he wrote "Vers l’Armée de Métier" (Toward a Professional Army), which advocated a professional army based on mobile armoured divisions. Such an army would both compensate for the poor French demography, and be an efficient tool to enforce international law, particularly the Treaty of Versailles which forbade Germany from rearming. The book sold only 700 copies in France, where Pétain advocated an infantry-based(Sony VAIO VGN-SR90NS battery), defensive army, but 7,000 copies in Germany, where it was read aloud to Adolf Hitler.

Second World War

The battle of France

Main article: Free French Forces

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

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 regiment in the French Fifth Army, de Gaulle implemented many of his theories and tactics for armoured warfare against an enemy whose strategies resembled his own(Sony VAIO VGN-SR90FS battery). After the German breakthrough at Sedan on 15 May 1940 he was given command of the improvised 4th Armored Division. On 17 May, de Gaulle attacked German tank forces at Montcornet with 200 tanks but no air support. Although de Gaulle's tanks forced the German infantry to retreat to Caumont the action brought only temporary relief and did little to slow the spearhead of the German advance(Sony VAIO VGN-SR74FB battery). Nethertheless, it was one of the few successes the French enjoyed while suffering defeats elsewhere across the country, and as recognition for his efforts, De Gaulle was promoted to brigadier general, a rank he would hold for the rest of his life.

On 5 June, Prime Minister Paul Reynaud appointed him Under Secretary of State for National Defence and War and put him in charge of coordination with the United Kingdom(Sony VAIO VGN-SR74FB/S battery).

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(Sony VAIO VGN-SR73JB battery). The declaration, inspired by Jean Monnet, would have merged France and the United Kingdom into one country, with a single government and army. The offer was a desperate, last-minute effort to strengthen the resolve of Reynaud's government; his cabinet's hostile reaction to the offer contributed to Reynaud's resignation(Sony VAIO VGN-SR73JB/S battery).

In rejecting the proposal, Marshal Petain, believing that Germany would soon defeat Britain as well and who later went on to lead the collaborationist Vichy regime, told Churchill that "in three weeks, England will have its neck wrung like a chicken" and that such a plan would be like "fusion with a corpse"(Sony VAIO VGN-SR72B/S battery).

General de Gaulle speaking on the BBC during the war

Returning the same day to Bordeaux, the temporary wartime capital, de Gaulle learned that Marshal Pétain had become prime minister and was planning to seek an armistice with Nazi Germany. De Gaulle and other allied officers rebelled against the new French government; on the morning of 17 June, de Gaulle and a few senior French officers flew to Britain with 100,000 gold francs in secret funds provided to him by the ex-prime minister Paul Reynaud(Sony VAIO VGN-SR72B/P battery). Narrowly escaping the Luftwaffe, he landed safely in London that afternoon.

Leader of the Free French

"To all Frenchmen" : De Gaulle exhorting the French to resist to the German occupation

De Gaulle strongly denounced the French government's decision to seek armistice with the Nazis and set about building the Free French Forces from the soldiers and officers deployed outside France or who had fled France with him. On 18 June, de Gaulle delivered a famous radio address via the BBC Radio service(Sony VAIO VGN-SR70B battery). 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 not to be demoralised and to continue to resist the occupation of France and work against the collaborationist Vichy regime, which had signed an armistice with Nazi Germany. Although the original speech could only be heard in a few parts of occupied France(Sony VAIO VGN-SR70B/S battery), 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(Sony VAIO VGN-SR59VG battery).

With British support, the de Gaulle family settled in Berkhamsted (36 miles northwest of London) from October 1941 to September 1942. He organised the Free French forces and 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(Sony VAIO VGN-SR59VG/H battery). Many denials of the deep and mutual antipathy between de Gaulle and political leaders of Anglo-American allies of the French are on historical record. He harboured a suspicion of the British in particular, believing that they were surreptitiously seeking to steal France's colonial possessions in the Levant. A self - confessed lover of all things French, Winston Churchill was often frustrated at de Gaulle's patriotic egocentricity(Sony VAIO VGN-SR55TF/B battery), but also wrote of his "immense admiration" for him during the early days of his British exile. Though their relationship later became strained, Churchill tried to explain the reasons for de Gaulle's behaviour in the 2nd volume of his history of WW2;

'He (de Gaulle) felt it was essential to his position before the French people that he should maintain a proud and haughty demeanour towards "perfidious Albion", although in exile, dependent upon our protection and dwelling in our midst(Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF battery). He had to be rude to the British to prove to French eyes that he was not a British puppet. He certainly carried out this policy with perseverance.'

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." The situation was nonetheless complex, and de Gaulle's mistrust of both British and U.S. intentions with regards to France was mirrored by a mistrust of the Free French among the U.S. political leadership(Sony VAIO VGN-SR51MF/W battery), 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.

Working with the French resistance and other 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(Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B battery). He became first joint head (with the less resolutely independent General Henri Giraud, the candidate preferred by the U.S. who wrongly suspected de Gaulle of being a British puppet) and then – after squeezing out Giraud by force of personality – sole chairman of the French Committee of National Liberation(Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B/S battery).

Rival French leaders 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) – a public display of unity, but the handshake was only for show.

Preparations for D-Day

As preparations for the liberation of Europe gathered pace, the Americans in particular found de Gaulle's tendency to view everything from the French perspective to be extremely tiring(Sony VAIO VGN-SR51B/P battery). Roosevelt, who refused to recognise any provisional authority in France until elections had been held, considered de Gaulle to be a potential dictator, a view backed by a number of leading Frenchmen in Washington, including Jean Monnet, who later became an instrumental figure in the setting up of the European Coal and Steel Community that led to the modern EU. He also refused to allow Churchill to provide de Gaulle with strategic details of the imminent invasion because he did not trust him to keep the information to himself (this fear was later proved groundless) (Sony VAIO VGN-SR49VN/H battery). French codes were known to be weak, but because Gallic pride prevented the Free French from using British or American codes, this posed a major security risk. Nevertheless, a few days before D-Day Churchill, whose relationship with the General had deteriorated since the days he first came to Britain, decided he needed to keep him more or less informed of developments(Sony VAIO VGN-SR49D battery), and on 2 June he sent two passenger aircraft and his representative, Duff Cooper to Algiers to bring de Gaulle back to Britain. De Gaulle refused because of Roosevelt's intention to install a provisional Allied military government in the former occupied territories pending elections, but he eventually relented and flew to Britain the next day(Sony VAIO VGN-SR49D/Q battery).

Upon his arrival at RAF Northolt on 4th June 1944 he received an official welcome, and a letter reading "My dear general! welcome to these shores, very great military events are about to take place!" Later, on his personal train, Churchill informed him he wanted him to make a radio address, but during the general conversation which followed with others present he raised his (justified) concerns about the validity of the new currency to be circulated by the Allies after the liberation(Sony VAIO VGN-SR49D/J battery), and when informed that the Americans continued to refuse to recognise his legitimate right to form a provisional government, de Gaulle erupted in anger. De Gaulle was concerned at a general break down of civil order and of a potential communist takeover in the vacuum which might follow a German withdrawal of France. Churchill then also lost his temper, saying that Britain could not act separately from America(Sony VAIO VGN-SR490JCN battery), and that under the circumstances, if they had to choose between France and the US, Britain would always choose the latter. De Gaulle replied that he realised that this would always be the case. The next day, de Gaulle refused to address the French nation because the script again made no mention of his being the legitimate interim ruler of France. It instructed the French people to obey Allied military authorities until elections could be held, and so the row continued(Sony VAIO VGN-SR48J battery), with de Gaulle calling Churchill a "gangster". Churchill in turn accused the general of treason in the height of battle, and demanded he be flown back to Algers "in chains if necessary".

In the years to come, the hostile dependent wartime relationship of de Gaulle and his future political peers re-enacted the historical national and colonial rivalry and lasting enmity between the French and English, and foreshadowed the deep distrust of France for post-war Anglo-American partnerships(Sony VAIO VGN-SR48J/J battery).

Return to France

Perhaps inevitably, de Gaulle ignored les Anglo-Saxons, and proclaimed the authority of the Free French Forces in France the same day. Under the leadership of General de Lattre de Tassigny, France fielded an entire army – a joint force of Free French together with French colonial troops from North Africa – on the western front. Initially landing as part of Operation Dragoon, in the south of France(Sony VAIO VGN-SR48J/B battery), the French First Army helped to liberate almost one third of the country and actively rejoined the Allies in the struggle against Germany. As the invasion slowly progressed and the Germans were pushed back, de Gaulle made preparations to return to France.

On 14th June he left Britain for France for what was supposed to be a one day trip. Despite an agreement that he would bring only two staff, he was accompanied by a large entourage with extensive luggage(Sony VAIO VGN-SR46TD/B battery), and upon arrival made his way to the city of Bayeux, which he now proclaimed as the capital of Free France. Though a number of rural Normans remained mistrustful of him, he was warmly greeted by the local inhabitants, and although the official position of the supreme military command remained unchanged, local Allied officers found it more practical to deal with the fledgling administration in Bayeux in everyday matters(Sony VAIO VGN-SR46MD/B battery).

Of little strategic value, Paris was initially not high on the list of Allied objectives, but both de Gaulle and the commander of the 2nd Armoured Division, General Leclerc were concerned that a possible communist attempt to take over of the capital would plunge France into civil war. De Gaulle successfully lobbied for Paris to be made a priority for liberation on humanitarian grounds and obtained from Allied Supreme Commander General Eisenhower an agreement that French troops would be allowed to enter the capital first(Sony VAIO VGN-SR46GDB battery). A few days later, General Leclerc's French Armoured Division entered the city, and after a six days of fighting in which the resistance played a major part, the German garrison surrendered on 25th August.

It was fortunate for de Gaulle that the Germans had forcibly removed members of the Vichy government and taken them to Germany a few days earlier on 20th August; it allowed him to enter Paris as a liberator in the midst of the general euthoria(Sony VAIO VGN-SR46GD battery), but there were serious concerns that communist elements of the resistance, which had done so much to clear the way for the military would try to sieze the opportunity to proclain their own 'Peoples' Government' in the capital. De Gaulle made contact with Leclerc and demanded the presence of the 2nd Armoured Division to accompany him on a massed parade down the Champs Elysees, 'as much for prestige as for security'(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45T/W battery)

As his procession came along the Place de Concorde it came under machine gun fire by Vichy militia and fifth columnists who were unable to give themselves up. Later, on entering the cathedral at Notre Dame to be received as head of the provisional government by the Committee of Liberation, loud shots broke out again, and General Leclerc and Koenig tried to hustle De Gaulle through the door(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45T/P battery), but De Gaulle shook off their hands and never faltered. While the battle began outside, he walked slowly down the aisle. Before he had gone far a machine pistol fired down from above, at least two more joined in, and from below the F.F.I, and police fired back. A BBC correspondent who was present reported(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45T/B battery);

“…the General is being presented to the people. He is being received…they have opened fire!… firing started all over the place. . . . that was one of the most dramatic scenes I have ever seen. . . . General de Gaulle walked straight ahead into what appeared to me to be a hail of fire. . . . but he went straight ahead without hesitation, his shoulders flung back, and walked right down the centre aisle, even while the bullets were pouring about him(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45H battery). It was the most extraordinary example of courage I have ever seen. . . . there were bangs, flashes all about him, yet he seemed to have an absolutely charmed life."

Later, in the great hall of the Hotel de Ville, de Gaulle was greeted by a jubilant crowd and delivered a characteristically Franco-centric proclamation;

"Paris outraged, Paris broken, Paris martyred, but Paris liberated! By herself, liberated by her people, with the help of the whole of France! We will not rest until we march, as we must, into enemy territory as conquerors(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45H/P battery). France has a right to be in the first line among the great nations who are going to organize the peace and the life of the world. She has a right to be heard in all four corners of the world. France is a great world power. She knows it and will act so that others may know it"

Speech by Charles de Gaulle.

Speech by Charles de Gaulle after the liberation of Paris, August 1944.

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The same day, Washington and London finally came to an agreement to accept the position of the Free French, and General Eisenhower bowed to the inevitable and gave his de facto blessing(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45H/N battery).

General de Gaulle delivering a speech in liberated Cherbourg from the Hôtel de ville (town hall).

President of France 1944-1946

Proclaiming the continuity of the Third Republic, De Gaulle tok up residency in his old office at the War Ministry and served as President of the Provisional Government of the French Republic from September 1944.

He sent the French Far East Expeditionary Corps to re-establish French sovereignty in French Indochina in 1945(Sony VAIO VGN-SR45H/B battery), making Admiral d'Argenlieu High commissioner of French Indochina and General Leclerc commander-in-chief in French Indochina and commander of the expeditionary corps. On a visit to Russia for talks with Stalin at the end of 1944, he demonstated that despite all that had happened, he retained great respect for the Germans. While visiting the battlefield at Stalingrad with Molotov, he stood for a long time before the incredible destruction befoe saying sombrely; "Un grand people, les Allemands"(Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/W battery)

The French First Army captured a large section of territory in southern Germany after the Rhine crossings, thus enabling France - despite Russian objections - to be an active participant in the signing of the German surrender. At the Yalta conference in February 1945, Churchill and Roosevelt insisted that Stalin allow a French post-war zone of occupation be created in Germany, but because he was not invited to the conference(Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/S battery), de Gaulle percieved this as a slight on his personal esteem. One commentator said that Yalta was "the lump that stuck in the back of de Gaulle’s throat".

As the war neared its end, the nation was forced to confront the reality of what had happened under German rule. In France, collaborators were more severely punished than in most other occupied countries; in addition to the estimated 4500 summarily killed by partisans, almost 2000 people recieved the death sentence from the courts, including Pierre Laval, a key member of the hated Vichy regime(Sony VAIO VGN-SR41M/P battery).

With the pre war leaders discredited, the communists became a major political force with over a million members, but de Gaulle refused to grant them any key positions in his cabinet because of their connections with Russia, although he did pardon thier leader, Maurice Thorez who had been sentenced to death in absentia by the former regime. De Gaulle found dealing with the "regime of parties" frustrating(Sony VAIO VGN-SR3S1 battery); one of his ministers described him as "A man equally incapable of monopolizing power and of sharing it". In October 1945, elections were held for a new Constituent Assembly whose main task was to write a constitution for the Fourth Republic. Three parties, the Communists, Socialists and Republican MRP won 75% of the vote and all wanted to deprive the President of most of his powers(Sony VAIO VGN-SR3CW/B battery).

De Gaulle resigned from the provisional government on 20 January 1946; he favoured a strong executive for the nation and disapproved 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. He was succeeded by Félix Gouin (French Section of the Workers' International, SFIO) (Sony VAIO VGN-SR39XN/S battery), then Georges Bidault (Popular Republican Movement, MRP) and finally Léon Blum (SFIO). The move was called "a bold and ultimately foolish political ploy", with de Gaulle hoping that as a war hero, he would be soon brought back as a more powerful executive by the French people. However, that did not turn out to be the case(Sony VAIO VGN-SR39VN/S battery).

1946–58: Out of power

The statement of Charles de Gaulle in reference to World War II

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. He then returned to his home at Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises to write his war memoirs(Sony VAIO VGN-SR39D battery).

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), which he hoped would be able to move above the familiar party squabbles of the parliamentary system. Despite taking 40% of vote in local elections and 121 seats in 1951, lacking its own press and access to television, support for the new party ebbed away(Sony VAIO VGN-SR39D/Q battery). In May 1953, he withdrew again from active politics, though the RPF lingered until September 1955.

He once more retired to his country home to continue his war memoirs, Mémoires de guerre. The famous opening paragraph of this work begins by declaring, "All my life, I have had a certain idea of France (une certaine idée de la France)", comparing his country to an old painting of a Madonna, and ends by declaring that, given the divisive nature of French politics, France cannot truly live up to this ideal without a policy of "grandeur" (roughly "greatness")(Sony VAIO VGN-SR39D/J battery). 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 French Algeria, becoming "perhaps the best-informed man in France".

Between 1946 and 1958 there were no less than 24 separate ministries. The president retained relatively little real executive power, and manoeverings among various radical and socialist groups in the Assembly led to the government being repeatedly overthrown(Sony VAIO VGN-SR390NAH battery). Governments were so short lived that they achieved little, and the politics of the 4th Republic began to show the same characteristics of the 3rd Republic. Endlessly frustrated by the devisiveness of the Fourth Republic, de Gaulle famously asked; how can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese(Sony VAIO VGN-SR390NAB battery)?

The public showed their frustration with a marked shift of suppport towards the extreme right, particularly the Poujadists, a far right party who championed the cause of shopkeepers, farmers and other small businesses who were concerned at increased taxes and price controls brought in to try to kerb inflation. Led by Pierre Poujade, the party were anti semitic, anti American and imperialist, but won 2.6 million votes in 1956, giving them 52 seats(Sony VAIO VGN-SR38 battery).

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. Under Guy Mollet, while he survived the 1956 Suez Crisis(Sony VAIO VGN-SR38/Q battery), French prestige suffered a humiliating defeat with the forced withdrawal from Egypt under international pressure.

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(Sony VAIO VGN-SR38/P battery). General Raoul Salan, Commander-in-Chief in Algeria, announced on radio that he was assuming provisional power, and appealed for "confidence in the Army and its leaders".

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(Sony VAIO VGN-SR38/B battery).

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? On the contrary, I have re-established them when they had disappeared. Who honestly believes that, at age 67, I would start a career as a dictator?

A constitutionalist by conviction, he maintained throughout the crisis that he would accept power only from the lawfully constituted authorities(Sony VAIO VGN-SR37TN/B battery). De Gaulle did not wish to repeat the difficulty the Free French movement experienced in establishing legitimacy as the rightful government. He told an aide that the rebel generals "will not find De Gaulle in their baggage".

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, and certain other leftists. On 29 May the French President, René Coty(Sony VAIO VGN-SR36GNS battery), appealed to the "most illustrious of Frenchmen" to confer with him and to examine what was immediately necessary for the creation of a government of national safety, and what could be done to bring about a profound reform of the country's institutions.

De Gaulle remained intent on replacing the constitution of the Fourth Republic, which he blamed for France's political weakness. He set as conditions for his return that he be given wide emergency powers for six months and that a new constitution be proposed to the French people(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35T/S battery). On 1 June 1958, de Gaulle became Premier and was given emergency powers for six months by the National Assembly, fulfilling his desire for parliamentary legitimacy.

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(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35T/P battery). 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(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35T/B battery).

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

De Gaulle in 1961 at the Köln/Bonn airport

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(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35M/B battery). 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(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35G/S battery). 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 January 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(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35G/P battery).

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

Oui, c’est l’Europe, depuis l’Atlantique jusqu’à l’Oural, c’est toute l’Europe, qui décidera du destin du monde.

("Yes, it is Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals, it is the whole of Europe, that will decide the destiny of the world.")

Monument to de Gaulle in Moscow

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(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35G/E1 battery). 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(Sony VAIO VGN-SR35G/B battery).

Algeria

Upon becoming president, de Gaulle was faced with the urgent task of finding a way to bring to an end the bloody and divisive war in Algeria. French left-wingers were in favour of granting independence to Algeria and urged him to seek a way to achieve peace while, at the same time, avoiding a French loss of face. Although the military's near-coup had contributed to his return to power, de Gaulle soon ordered all officers to quit the rebellious Committees of Public Safety(Sony VAIO VGN-SR33H battery). Such actions greatly angered the French settlers and their military supporters, whom de Gaulle had manipulated to believe that he supported them. He 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 again threatened with invasion by rebel paratroops. De Gaulle's government also covered up the Paris massacre of 1961(Sony VAIO VGN-SR33H/S battery), issued under the orders of the police prefect Maurice Papon. He was also targeted by the settlers' resistance group Organisation de l'armée secrète (OAS) 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 Colonel Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry at Petit-Clamart(Sony VAIO VGN-SR33H/P battery).

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. Although the Algerian issue was settled, Prime Minister Michel Debré resigned over the final settlement and was replaced with Georges Pompidou on 14 April 1962(Sony VAIO VGN-SR33H/B battery). France recognised Algerian independence on 3 July 1962, while an amnesty was belatedly issued covering all crimes committed during the war, including the genocide against the Harkis. In just a few months in 1962, 900,000 French settlers left the country. After 5 July, the exodus accelerated in the wake of the French deaths during the Oran massacre of 1962. It had now become clear that the Evian Accords would not be enforced and that the French government had no intention of protecting the settlers(Sony VAIO VGN-SR31M/S battery).

Direct presidential elections

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. 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—this despite opposition from the Christian democratic Popular Republican Movement (MRP) and the National Centre of Independents and Peasants (CNIP) who criticised de Gaulle's euroscepticism and presidentialism(Sony VAIO VGN-SR29XN/S battery). De Gaulle's proposal to change the election procedure for the French presidency was approved at the referendum on 28 October 1962 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 for the first time since Louis Napoleon in 1848(Sony VAIO VGN-SR29VN/S battery).

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). See Gaullism(Sony VAIO VGN-SR290NTB battery).

"Thirty glorious years"

In the immediate post war years France was in a bad way; wages remained at around half prewar levels, the winter of 1946-1947 did extensive damage to crops - leading to a reduction in the bread ration , hunger and disease remained rife and the black market continued to flourish. Germany was in an even worse position but after 1948 things began to improve dramatically with the introduction of Marshall Aid(Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JVH/C battery) - large scale American financial assistance given to help rebuild European economies and infrastructure. This laid the foundations of a meticulously planned programme of investment in energy, transport and heavy industry, overseen by the government of prime minister Georges Pompidou(Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JVB/C battery).

In the context of a population boom unseen in France since the 18th century, the government intervened heavily in the economy, using dirigisme— a unique combination of capitalism and state-directed economy — with indicative five-year plans as its main tool. This brought about a rapid transformation and expansion of the French economy.

Iranian Empress Farah Pahlavi meeting with Charles de Gaulle in France, 1961(Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTQ battery)

High-profile projects, mostly but not always financially successful, were launched: the extension of Marseille harbour (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(Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTJ battery); the expansion of the French auto industry with state-owned Renault at its centre; 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 nearly 100 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) (Sony VAIO VGN-SR290JTH battery).

Fourth nuclear power

During his first tenure as President, de Gaulle became enthusiastic about the possibilities of nuclear power. France had carried out important work in the early development of atomic energy and in October 1945 he established the French Atomic Energy Commission (Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, (CEA) responsible for all scientific, commercial, and military uses of nuclear energy(Sony VAIO VGN-SR28/Q battery). However, partly due to communist influences in government who opposed proliferation, research stalled, and France was excluded from American, British, and Canadian nuclear efforts.

By October 1952 Britain became the third country - after America and the Soviet Union - to independently test and develop nuclear weapons. This gave Britain the capability to launch a nuclear strike via its Vulcan bomber force and it began developing its own ballistic missile programme known as Blue Streak(Sony VAIO VGN-SR28/J battery).

As early as April 1954 while out of power, de Gaulle had proposed that France should also have its own nuclear weapons; at the time nuclear weapons were seen as a national status symbol and a way of maintaining international prestige with a place at the ‘Top Table’ of the United Nations. Full-scale research began again in late 1954 when Prime Minister Pierre Mendes-France authorized a plan to develop the atomic bomb(Sony VAIO VGN-SR28/B battery); large deposits of uranium had been discovered near Limoges, in central France, providing the researchers with an unrestricted supply of nuclear fuel. France's independent force de frappe (strike force) came into being soon after de Gaulle’s election with his authorisation for the first nuclear test.

With the cancellation of Blue Streak, the US agreed to supply Britain with its Skybolt and later Polaris weapons systems, and in 1958 the two nations signed the Mutual Defence Agreement forging close links which have seen the US and UK cooperate on nuclear security matters ever since(Sony VAIO VGN-SR27TN/B battery). Although at the time it was still a full member of NATO, France proceeded to develop its own independent nuclear technologies - this would enable it to become a partner in any reprisals and would give it a voice in matters of atomic control.

Six years later, on 13 February 1960, France became the world's fourth nuclear power when an extremely high powered nuclear device was exploded in the Sahara some 700 miles south-south-west of Algiers. In August 1963 France decided against signing the Partial Test Ban Treaty designed to slow the arms race because it would have prohibited her from testing nuclear weapons above ground(Sony VAIO VGN-SR26MN/B battery). France continued to carry out tests at the Algerian site until 1966, despite the independence of Algeria in 1962. France's testing program then moved to the Mururoa and Fangataufa Atolls in the South Pacific.

In November 1967, an article by the French Chief of the General Staff (but inspired by de Gaulle) in the Revue de la Défense Nationale caused international consternation. It was stated that French nuclear force should be capable of firing "in all directions" – thus including even America as a target(Sony VAIO VGN-SR26GN/B battery). This surprising statement was intended as a declaration of French national independence, and was in retaliation to a warning issued long ago by Dean Rusk that US missiles would be aimed at France if it attempted to employ atomic weapons outside an agreed plan. However, criticism of de Gaulle was growing over his tendency to act alone with little regard for the views of others. In August, concern over de Gaulle's policies had been voiced by Valéry Giscard d’Estaing when he queried ‘the solitary exercise of power’ (Sony VAIO VGN-SR26/S battery).

NATO

With the onset of the Cold War and the perceived threat of invasion from the Soviet Union and the countries of the eastern bloc, America, Canada and the other western European countries set up the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) to co-ordinate a military response to any possible attack. France played a key role during the early days of the organisation(Sony VAIO VGN-SR26/P battery), providing a large military contingent and agreeing - after much soul-searching - to the participation of West German forces. But after his election in 1958 Charles de Gaulle took the view that the organisation was too dominated by the US and UK, and that with its problems in Vietnam, America would not fulfil its promise to defend Europe in the event of a Russian invasion(Sony VAIO VGN-SR26/B battery).

De Gaulle demanded political parity with Britain and America in NATO, and for its geographic coverage to be extended to include French territories abroad, including Algeria, then experiencing civil war. This was not forthcoming, and so in March 1959 France, citing the need for it to maintain its own independent military strategy, withdrew its Mediterranean fleet from NATO, and a few months later de Gaulle demanded the removal of all US nuclear weapons from French territory(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25T/S battery). In 1965, de Gaulle pulled France out of SEATO, the Southeast Asian equivelent of NATO and refused to participate in any future NATO manoeuvres.

In 1964 de Gaulle visited Russia, where he hoped to establish France as an alternative influence in the Cold War. Later, he proclaimed a new alliance between the nations, but although the Soviet statesman Alexei Kosygin made a return visit to France, the Russians did not accept France as a super power, knowing that in any future conflict they would have to rely on the overall protection of the Western Alliance(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25T/P battery).

In February 1966, France withdrew from NATO military command, but remained within the organisation. However, secret protocols were agreed whereby French forces could quickly be re-integrated into NATO command, demonstrating that the move was little more that a symbolic show of defiance to America and Britain. De Gaulle, haunted by the memories of 1940(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25S/B battery), wanted France to remain the master of the decisions affecting it, unlike in the 1930s, when it had to follow in step with its British ally. He also declared that all foreign military forces had to leave French territory and gave them one year to redeploy. This latter action was particularly badly received in the US, prompting Dean Rusk, the US Secretary of State to ask de Gaulle if the cemeteries containing the 50,000 American war dead from the two world wars were also to be removed(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25M/B battery).

EEC

Despite its success in the war, Britain experienced a difficult time in the post war world. While France and other European countries were enjoying booming economies, Britain experienced high inflation, stagnant growth and poor labour relations. A number of her important colonial possessions - not least India and Palestine - quickly gained independence, and following the Suez Crisis(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25G/S battery), where Britain and France unsuccessfully sought to prevent the Egyptians from nationalalising the Suez Canal, Britain struggled to adjust to its reduced world position. The US Secretary of State Dean Acheson commented that Britain had "lost an empire and had not yet found a role" (Sony VAIO VGN-SR25G/P battery)

France meanwhile, experiencing the disintegration of her own empire and severe problems in Algeria, turned towards Europe after Suez, and to Germany in particular. In the years after, the economies of both nations came together and they became leading partners in the drive towards European unity(Sony VAIO VGN-SR25G/B battery).

One of the conditions of Marshall Aid was that the nation’s leaders must get together to co-ordinate economic efforts and to pool the supply of raw materials. By far the most critical commodities in driving growth were coal and steel. France assumed it would receive large amounts of high quality German coal from the Ruhr as reparations for the war, but America refused to allow this, fearing it could lead to a repeat of the renewed bitterness after the Treaty of Versailles which partly caused World War 2(Sony VAIO VGN-SR240N/B battery).

Under the inspiration of the French statesmen Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman, together with the German leader Konrad Adenauer, the rift between the two nations had begun to heal and along with Italy and the Benelux countries, they formed the European Coal and Steel Community, which following the Treaty of Rome of 1957 became the European Economic Community, also known as the Common Market(Sony VAIO VGN-SR240J/B battery), beginning around the same time as de Gaulle's presidency. Though he had not been instrumental in setting up the new organisation, de Gaulle spoke enthusiastically of his vision of "an imposing confederation" of European states and of formulating a common European foreign policy.

De Gaulle, who in spite of recent history admired Germany and spoke excellent German in contrast to his poor, mumbling English(Sony VAIO VGN-SR23H/B battery), established a close relationship with the ageing West Germany Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, and in the first few years of the Common Market, France's industrial exports to the other five members tripled and its farm export almost quadrupled. The franc became a solid, stable currency for the first time in half a century, and the economy mostly boomed. Adenauer however(Sony VAIO VGN-SR220J/H battery), all too aware of the importance of American support in Europe, gently distanced himself from the general’s more extreme ideas, wanting no suggestion that any new European community would in any sense challenge or set itself at odds with the U.S. In Adenauer's eyes, the support of the U.S. was more important than any question of European prestige. Adenauer was also anxious to reassure Britain that nothing was being done behind her back and was quick to inform the Prime Minister Harold McMillan of any new developments(Sony VAIO VGN-SR220J/B battery).

Great Britain initially declined to join the Common Market, preferring to remain with another organisation known as the European Free Trade Area, mostly consisting of the northern European countries and Portugal. By the late nineteen fifties German and French living standards began to exceed those in Britain, and the government of Harold Macmillan, realising that the EEC was a stronger trading bloc than EFTA, began negotiations to join(Sony VAIO VGN-SR21M/S battery).

De Gaulle vetoed the British application to join the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1963, famously uttering the single word 'non' into the television cameras at the critical moment, a statement used to sum up French opposition and belligerence towards Britain for many years afterwards.[80] MacMillan said afterwards that he always believed that de Gaulle would prevent Britain joining, but thought he would do it quietly, behind the scenes. He later complained privately that "all our plans are in tatters"(Sony VAIO VGN-SR19XN battery)

One reason given for de Gaulle's refusal was the recent American agreement to supply Britain with the Skybolt nuclear missile. He did it, he said, because he thought the United Kingdom lacked the necessary political will to be part of a strong Europe. He further saw Britain as a "Trojan Horse" for the USA. He maintained there were incompatibilities between continental European and British economic interests(Sony VAIO VGN-SR19VN battery). In addition, he demanded that the United Kingdom accept all the conditions laid down by the six existing members of the EEC (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands) and revoke its commitments to countries within its own free trade area (which France had not done with its own). He supported a deepening and an acceleration of common market integration rather than an expansion(Sony VAIO VGN-SR190F battery).

However, in this latter respect, a detailed study of the formative years of the EEC argues that the defence 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. The General's attitude was also influenced by resentments which had come about during his exile in Britain during the Second World War(Sony VAIO VGN-SR190EBQ battery).

Dean Acheson belived that Britain made a grave error in not signing up to the European idea right from the start, and that they continued to suffer the political consequences for at least two decades afterwards. However he also stated his belief that de Gaulle used the 'Common Market' (as it was then termed) as an "exclusionary device to direct European trade towards the interest of France and against that of the United states, Britain and other countries." (Sony VAIO VGN-SR190EBJ battery)

Claiming continental European solidarity, de Gaulle again rejected British entry when they next applied to join the community in December 1967 under the Labour leadership of Harold Wilson. During negotiations, de Gaulle chided Britain for relying too much on the Americans, saying that sooner or later they would always do what was in their best interests(Sony VAIO VGN-SR175N/B battery). Wilson said he then gently raised the spectre of the threat of a newly powerful Germany as a result of the EEC, which de Gaulle agreed was a risk. The veto on British entry made de Gaulle unpopular in Ireland since it was clear that for economic reasons Ireland would be excluded from the EEC as long as Britain remained outside.

After de Gaulle left office the United Kingdom applied again and finally became a member of the EEC in January 1973(Sony VAIO VGN-SR175NB battery). . Britain had to give up its exclusive rights to the fishing grounds around its island however, the catch being pooled with other nations as part of the Common Fisheries Policy. It also caused great anger in Australia and New Zealand, who lost important trading markets, among them exports of lamb(Sony VAIO VGN-SR165NB battery).

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, France established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China (PRC)—the first step towards formal recognition(SONY Vaio VGN-SR165E/S Battery). This was done without first severing links with the Republic of China (Taiwan), led by Chiang Kai-shek. Hitherto the PRC had insisted that all nations abide by a "one China" condition, and at first it was unclear how the matter would be settled. However, the agreement to exchange ambassadors was subject to a delay of three months and in February, Chiang Kai-shek resolved the problem by cutting off diplomatic relations with France(SONY Vaio VGN-SR165E/P Battery). Eight years later U.S. President Richard Nixon visited the PRC and began normalising relations – a policy which was confirmed in the Shanghai Communiqué of 28 February 1972.

As part of a European tour, Nixon visited 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 organisations, or multilateral agreements. De Gaulle is famously known for calling the UN the pejorative "le Machin" ("the thingamajig.") (SONY Vaio VGN-SR165E/B Battery)

Visit to Latin America

In September and October 1964, despite a recent operation for prostate cancer and fears for his security, he set out on a punishing 20,000-mile tour of all ten republics in Latin America. He had visited Mexico the previous year and spoke, in Spanish, to the Mexican people on the eve of their celebrations of their independence at the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City. During his visit(SONY Vaio VGN-SR150FN Battery), he was again keen to show the French flag and gain both cultural and economic influence in this new 26-day tour. He spoke constantly of his resentment of US influence (hegemony) in Latin America – "that some states should establish a power of political or economic direction outside their own borders". Yet France could provide no investment or aid to match that from Washington(SONY Vaio VGN-SR140NS Battery).

Second term

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, who did far better than anyone dreamed possible, gaining 45% of the vote. 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(SONY Vaio VGN-SR140ES Battery), calling for a U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam as the only way to ensure peace. As the Vietnam War had its roots in the previous Indochina War, in which the United States had provided France with aid, this speech did little to endear de Gaulle to the Americans[who?], even if their leaders later came to the same conclusion. He later visited Guadeloupe, in the aftermath of Hurricane Inez for 2 days, bringing aid which totalled billions of francs(SONY Vaio VGN-SR140EP Battery).

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(SONY Vaio VGN-SR140EB Battery), de Gaulle withdrew France's representatives from the EC. Their absence left the organisation essentially unable to run its affairs until the Luxembourg compromise was reached in January 1966. De Gaulle succeeded in influencing the decision-making mechanism written into the Treaty of Rome by insisting on solidarity founded on mutual understanding. He vetoed Britain's entry into the EEC a second time, in June 1967(SONY Vaio VGN-SR140E/S Battery).

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, however, did not affect spare parts for the French military hardware with which the Israeli armed forces were equipped(SONY Vaio VGN-SR13GN/S Battery).

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 Mystère 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(SONY Vaio VGN-SR13GN/P Battery). 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.

Under de Gaulle, following the independence of Algeria, France embarked on foreign policy more favourable to the Arab side(SONY Vaio VGN-SR13GN/B Battery). General de Gaulle's position in 1967 at the time of the Six Day War played a part in France's newfound popularity in the Arab world. Israel turned towards the United States for arms, and toward its own industry.

In a televised news conference on 27 November 1967, de Gaulle described the Jewish people as "this elite people, sure of themselves and domineering". In his letter to David Ben-Gurion dated 9 January 1968, he explained that he was convinced that Israel had ignored his warnings and overstepped the bounds of moderation by taking possession of Jerusalem, and so much Jordanian(SONY Vaio VGN-SR130NB Battery), Egyptian, and Syrian territory by force of arms. He felt Israel had exercised repression and expulsions during the occupation and that it amounted to annexation. He said that provided Israel withdrew her forces, it appeared that it might be possible to reach a solution through the UN framework which could include assurances of a dignified and fair future for refugees and minorities in the Middle East, recognition from Israel's neighbors, and freedom of navigation through the Gulf of Aqaba and the Suez Canal(SONY Vaio VGN-SR130ES Battery).

Nigerian Civil War

The Eastern Region of Nigeria declared itself independent under the name of The Independent Republic of Biafra on 30 May 1967. On 6 July the first shots in the Nigerian civil war were fired, marking the start of a conflict would last until January 1970. Britain provided military aid to the Federal Republic of Nigeria—yet more was made available by the Soviet Union. Under de Gaulle's leadership, France embarked on a period of interference outside the traditional French zone of influence(SONY Vaio VGN-SR130EP Battery). A policy geared toward the break-up of Nigeria put Britain and France into opposing camps. Relations between France and Nigeria had been under strain since the third French nuclear explosion in the Sahara in December 1960. From August 1968, when its embargo was lifted, France provided limited and covert support to the breakaway province(SONY Vaio VGN-SR130EB Battery). Although French arms helped to keep Biafra in action for the final 15 months of the civil war, its involvement was seen as insufficient and counterproductive. The Biafran Chief of Staff stated that the French "did more harm than good by raising false hopes and by providing the British with an excuse to reinforce Nigeria."

Vive le Québec libre!

Main article: Vive le Québec libre

A day after his Vive le Québec Libre! speech, Charles de Gaulle attracts a crowd at Montreal's Expo 67 on 25 July 1967(SONY Vaio VGN-SR12G/S Battery).

In July 1967, de Gaulle visited Canada, which was celebrating its centennial with a world fair in Montreal, Expo 67. On 24 July, speaking to a large crowd from a balcony at Montreal's city hall, de Gaulle shouted Vive le Québec! (Long live Quebec!) then added, Vive le Québec libre! (Long live Free Quebec!). The Canadian media harshly criticised the statement, and the Prime Minister of Canada, Lester B. Pearson stated that "Canadians do not need to be liberated(SONY Vaio VGN-SR12G/P Battery)." De Gaulle left Canada abruptly two days later, without proceeding to Ottawa as scheduled. He never returned to Canada. The speech caused offence in most of Canada; it led to a significant diplomatic rift between the two countries. However, the event was seen as a watershed moment by the Quebec sovereignty movement(SONY Vaio VGN-SR12G/B Battery).

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 hypocrisy, on the one hand supporting a "free" Quebec because of linguistic and ethnic differences from other Canadians, while on the other "oppressing" a regional and ethnic nationalist movement in Brittany(SONY Vaio VGN-SR11M Battery).

May 1968

Main article: May 1968 in France

De Gaulle's government was criticised within France, particularly for its heavy-handed style. While the written press and elections were free, and private stations such as Europe 1 were able to broadcast in French from abroad, the state's ORTF had a monopoly on television and radio. This monopoly meant that the executive was in a position to bias the news. In many respects, society was traditionalistic and repressive(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ38 battery), including 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 and other government leaders feared that the country was on the brink of revolution or civil war. On 29 May de Gaulle disappeared without notifying Prime Minister Pompidou or anyone else in the government, stunning the country. He fled to Baden-Baden, Germany to meet with General Massu(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ37 battery), now head of the French military there, to discuss possible army intervention against the protesters. De Gaulle returned to France after being assured of the military's support.

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' (crap-in-bed, no). The term is now common parlance in French political commentary, used both critically and ironically referring back to de Gaulle(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ390 battery).

But de Gaulle offered to accept some of the reforms the demonstrators sought. He again considered a referendum to support his moves, but on 30 May 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(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ290 battery); when shown the spectre of revolution or civil war, the majority of the country rallied to him. His party won 352 of 487 seats, but de Gaulle remained personally unpopular; a survey conducted immediately after the crisis showed that a majority of the country saw him as too old, too self-centred, too authoritarian, too conservative, and too anti-American(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ290E battery).

Retirement

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

Charles de Gaulle resigned the presidency at noon, 28 April 1969, following the rejection of his proposed reform of the Senate and local governments in a nationwide referendum. De Gaulle vowed that if the referendum failed, he would resign his office. Despite an eight-minute-long speech by de Gaulle, the referendum failed and he duly resigned, whereupon he was replaced by Georges Pompidou(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ280E/B battery).

De Gaulle retired once again to his beloved nine-acre country estate, La Boisserie (the woodland glade), in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, 120 miles southeast of Paris. There the General, who often described old age as a "shipwreck," continued his memoirs, dictated to his secretary from notes. To visitors, de Gaulle said: "I will finish three books, if God grants me life" 'The Renewal', the first of 3 planned volumes to be called Memoirs of Hope was quickly finished and immediately became the fastest seller in French publishing history(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ28 battery). During the day he also usually also took two strolls, one alone and the other with his wife Yvonne around the village.

He did not accept the sizable pensions to which he was entitled as a retired president and as a retired general, instead, he accepted only a much smaller colonel's pension. He was punctilious with regard to money, taking care to separate his private expenses from those of his official function(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ27 battery). He paid for his own haircuts, the stamps for personal correspondence and had an electricity meter installed in the private accommodation at his official residence.

Private life

Charles de Gaulle married Yvonne Vendroux on 7 April 1921. They had three children: Philippe (born 1921), Élisabeth (1924), who married General Alain de Boissieu, and Anne (1928–1948). Anne had Down's syndrome and died at the age of 20.

De Gaulle always had a particular love for his handicapped daughter; one Colombey resident recalled how he used to walk with her hand-in-hand with her around the property, caressing her and talking quietly about the things she understood(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ250E/B battery).

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. Another grandson, Jean de Gaulle, was a member of the French Parliament until his retirement in 2007(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ250E battery).

Death

On 9 November 1970, two weeks short of what would have been his 80th birthday, Charles de Gaulle died suddenly, despite enjoying very robust health his entire life (except for a prostate operation a few years earlier). He had been watching the evening news on television and playing Solitaire around 7.40 pm when he suddenly pointed to his neck and said "I feel a pain right here." before collapsing. His wife called the doctor and the local priest, but by the time they arrived he had died from a ruptured blood vessel(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ25 battery).

His wife asked that she be allowed to inform her family before the news was released. She was able to contact her daughter in Paris quickly, but their son, who was in the navy was difficult to track down and so the President, Georges Pompidou was not informed until 4am the next morning and went on television some 18 hours after the event to inform the nation of the general's death. He said simply; "France is a widow"(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ240N/B battery)

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

Despite his wishes, such were the number of foreign dignitaries who wanted to honour De Gaulle that Pompidou was forced to arrange a separate memorial service at the Notre-Dame Cathedral Cathedral, to be held at the same time as his actual funeral. Among those at the memorial service were 63 present or former heads of state(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ240N battery), including US President Nixon, Soviet President Nikolai Podgorny, British Prime Minister Edward Heath, the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the President of Italy, representatives of 17 of France’s former African colonies and the reigning monarchs of Ethiopia, Iran, The Netherlands, Belgium, Monaco and Luxembourg. Also in the congregation were David Ben-Gurion, Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan, Harold Wilson, former West German Chancellors Ludwig Erhard and Kurt-Georg Kiesinger(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ240NB battery), Marlene Dietrich and US Senator Edward Kennedy, who remembered De Gaulle's immediate decision to attend the presidential funeral of his brother John in 1963. The Chinese leader Mao Tse-tung was unable to attend but sent a wreath.

It was the biggest such event in French history, with hundreds of thousands of French people - many carrying blankets and picnic baskets - and thousands of cars parked in the roads and fields along the routes to the two venues. Special trains were laid on to bring extra mourners to the region and the crowd was packed so tightly that those who fainted had to be passed overhead toward first-aid stations at the rear(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ240E battery).

The General was carried to his grave next to his daughter Anne on an armoured reconnaissance vehicle 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 was buried on 12 November(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ240E/B battery).

Madame de Gaulle asked the undertaker to provide the same type of oak casket he used for everyone else, but because of his extreme height, it cost $9 more than usual. He specified that his tombstone bear the simple inscription of his name and his years of birth and death. Therefore, it simply says: "Charles de Gaulle, 1890–1970"(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ240EB battery).

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

The French newspaper Le Monde referred to the days after his death as "a planetary mourning." At the service, President Pompidou said "de Gaulle gave France her governing institutions, her independence and her place in the world." André Malraux, the writer and intellectual who served as his Minister of Culture, called him "a man of the day before yesterday and the day after tomorrow." (Sony VAIO VGN-FZ17G battery)

His family has turned the La Boisserie residence into a foundation. It is currently the Charles de Gaulle Museum.

Critics of Charles de Gaulle's legacy

Outside of France, Charles de Gaulle remains a respected yet often controversial figure. There is a considerable number of memoirs and texts by public figures who dealt with him, such as Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Acheson, Montgomery, and others, which mostly refer to their dislike and mistrust of him. Churchill called him a "wrong-headed, ambitious and detestable Anglo-phobe"(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ17 battery), and in a letter to Anthony Eden just before D-Day, wrote of him "there is not a scrap of generosity about this man, who only wishes to pose as the saviour of France in this operation".

Americans were resentful of his lack of expressed gratitude at the major role their forces played in liberating Europe, often forgetting that the US government did not recognize the Free French as the legitimate government of France but instead recognized Vichy France as the legitimate government until October 1944(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ160E/B battery). During Overlord, the White House continually urged its army war correspondents to press the point that young Americans were dying to set France free from the Nazis.

In post-war Britain, his vetoing twice the British attempt at joining the EEC was keenly felt for many years.

The historian Anthony Beevor writes of De Gaulle's "almost perverse pleasure at biting the American and British hands that fed him", and of his "...supreme disdain for inconvienient facts, especially anything which might undermine the glory of France; only de Gaulle could write a history of the French army without mentioning the Battle of Waterloo"(Sony VAIO VGN-FZ160E battery).

His influence can still be seen today in the form of many of the policies of the European Union, such as the controversial Common Agricultural Policy.