18 June 1940 - Appeal of Charles de Gaulle

To launch my new tour on the WWII Occupation and Liberation of Paris, I didn’t pick the start date of 18 June by chance, but to honour Charles de Gaulle, whom, on 18 June 1940 gave a memorable speech on the BBC radio.

As the French government lead by Pétain was about to surrender to Germany, de Gaulle chose to disobey orders from his hierarchy, flew to London, met with Winston Churchill and made history.

That day, De Gaulle took the destiny of France in his hands. In his speech, the word « Resistance » ignited a movement.