The Fall of France and a Leader’s Resolve

June 1940 marked one of history’s most dramatic military collapses. As Nazi panzers rolled through France, the government fled Paris in disarray, first to Tours, then Bordeaux. Amid this chaos, a towering figure emerged—General Charles de Gaulle. His June 9 meeting with Winston Churchill at 10 Downing Street revealed stark truths: Britain, judging France doomed, refused air support, offering only remnants of Belgian campaign troops.

De Gaulle’s return to France found a government paralyzed by defeatism. When Churchill visited Tours on June 13, he witnessed Marshal Pétain’s faction already pushing for surrender. In a poignant hallway encounter, Churchill murmured “l’homme du destin” (man of destiny) to the stone-faced de Gaulle—a prophecy soon fulfilled.

The Birth of Resistance: London’s “Appeal of June 18”

With Paris falling on June 14, de Gaulle executed his audacious plan. Boarding a plane to London on June 17, he carried France’s honor in his luggage. The next evening at BBC studios, his voice crackled across airwaves:

“France is not alone! She has a vast empire behind her… The flame of French resistance must not and will not die!”

This “Appeal of June 18” became Free France’s founding manifesto. Though initially commanding just 7,000 volunteers (including key figures like Admiral Émile Muselier), de Gaulle’s symbolic power grew exponentially. By Bastille Day 1940, his forces paraded in London, adopting the Cross of Lorraine as their emblem—a deliberate evocation of Joan of Arc’s defiant standard.

The Reluctant Allies: Navigating Anglo-American Suspicion

Britain’s June 28 recognition of de Gaulle as Free France’s leader came with strings attached. The August 7 Churchill-de Gaulle agreement made him military commander but subordinated to British strategy. Worse awaited across the Atlantic. Roosevelt dismissed de Gaulle as an “upstart,” preferring Vichy collaborators like Admiral Darlan. When de Gaulle’s envoy René Pleven arrived in Washington, U.S. officials insisted he attend meetings as an “expert”—not a representative.

The nadir came in January 1941 with the Muselier Affair. British intelligence falsely accused de Galete’s naval commander of treason, arresting him without consultation. De Gaulle’s ultimatum—apologize within 24 hours or face severed relations—forced Churchill’s humiliating climbdown at 10 Downing Street.

From Exile to Government: The Brazzaville Declaration

October 27, 1940, marked Free France’s constitutional moment. In Brazzaville (capital of French Equatorial Africa), de Gaulle proclaimed:

“Vichy is but a tool of the enemy. A new authority must lead France back to war.”

This established the Empire Defense Council, Free France’s first governing body. By September 1941, it matured into the French National Committee—a government-in-exile with ministries and diplomatic missions. Crucially, de Gaulle now controlled African territories providing troops and resources, including the strategic port of Douala.

The North African Crucible: Outmaneuvering Giraud

Allied operations in North Africa exposed Anglo-American hostility. November 1942’s Operation Torch saw Roosevelt bizarrely reinstate Vichy officials, even after Darlan’s assassination. His preferred French leader—General Henri Giraud—possessed military credentials but no political vision.

The January 1943 Casablanca Conference became a surreal showdown. Roosevelt forced a staged handshake between de Gaulle and Giraud for photographers, but de Gaulle refused power-sharing. His masterstroke came by mobilizing Resistance networks via Jean Moulin, whose May 27 National Resistance Council endorsed de Gaulle as France’s sole legitimate leader.

By July 31, 1943, the French Committee of National Liberation shed its “dual presidency.” Giraud, though remaining commander, answered to de Gaulle’s defense committee. This victory over Anglo-American designs preserved French sovereignty.

Liberation and Legacy: The Walk Down the Champs-Élysées

As D-Day approached, tensions peaked. Churchill threatened choosing Roosevelt over de Gaulle; Eisenhower’s speech drafts ignored Free France entirely. Yet when Leclerc’s 2nd Armored Division liberated Paris on August 25, 1944, history vindicated the stubborn general.

De Gaulle’s deliberate walk from the Arc de Triomphe to Notre Dame—amid sniper fire—was no mere ceremony. It visually asserted continuity with pre-war France, rejecting Allied plans for military occupation. His later exclusion from Yalta confirmed his warning: great powers respect only strength.

The Free France epic redefined modern nationalism. From a BBC microphone to the Élysée Palace, de Gaulle proved that legitimacy springs not from recognition, but from embodying a nation’s unbroken will. His battles against allies and axis alike forged a template for postcolonial sovereignty struggles—a flame that refused extinction.