MacFormat España 17/MacFormat 17 (Spain)/MacFormat 17.bin/DATABASE/SHARED.DIR/01267_68.cap.txt

Text File | 1996-03-14 | 3.4 KB | 195 lines

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After the fall of
France to the
Nazis in 1940,
General de Gaulle
fled to England,
where he formed
the Free French
movement. He
issued his famous
manifesto calling
on the French to
join the fight:
"France  has lost
a battle! But
France has not
lost the war!"
#
De Gaulle
(second left)
formed a French
provisional
government in
London, 1941.
Churchill had
already agreed
to recognise
the Free French
movement as a
legitimate ally
#
Marshall Petain, who had negotiated the surrender to the Germans, collaborated with
them to set up a fascist state in  southern France, with its capital in Vichy.
De Gaulle was sentenced to death in absentia by the Vichy regime
#
Free French
forces supported
Montgomery's
Eighth Army
during the
decisive battle of
El Alamein. De
Gaulle made the
trip to Egypt to
inspect his troops
#
General de Gaulle
formed an uneasy
alliance with
General Giraud, of
the French High
Command in
Algiers. Together
they became joint
presidents of the
French Committee
of National
Liberation, set up
in 1943. De Gaulle
emerged the
victor from the
ensuing struggle
for power
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When Paris was
liberated, in
August 1944,
General
Eisenhower
allowed the
French Second
Armoured
Division to lead
Allied troops into
the city. The
following day, de
Gaulle arrived
in the city
#
De Gaulle was
proclaimed head
of the provisional
government in
November 1945.
But the new
constitution
proposed by the
French Assembly
adopted a party
political system
rather than the
presidential
model favoured
by de Gaulle.
Instead of
fighting the
proposal, he
resigned
#
The rebellion
by Algerian
nationalists
provoked a crisis
in the French
colony, and in
France. De Gaulle
was recalled to
power, on his
own terms. A
new constitution
was approved,
and de Gaulle was
elected president
of the new Fifth
Republic in
December 1958
#
In May 1968
France descended
into anarchy .
Student protests
on campuses
turned into
pitched battles
with riot police
on the streets of
Paris. General
strikes followed.
The chaos seemed
 to undermine de
Gaulle's authority,
but when he
called an election
his party was
returned in a
landslide
#
In 1969 De Gaulle
turned a
referendum on
constitutional
reform into a
vote of
confidence in his
presidency. He
lost, and resigned.
De Gaulle died the
following year
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Nationalism was
the essence of de
Gaulle's political
philosophy; and
he argued that if
France was to be
strong, she had to
pursue a robust
foreign policy. He
developed an
independent
nuclear deterrent,
withdrew France
from NATO and
vetoed Britain's
entry into the
Common Market
#
Valery Giscard d'Estaing was a loyal supporter of de Gaulle, though not a Gaullist.
As de Gaulle's finance minister, Giscard d'Estaing helped restore economic stability;
and as president (1974-81) he continued de Gaulle's strategy of strengthening
ties with Germany
#
Mitterand held government office in the Fifties while de Gaulle languished on the
sidelines. He did not support the recall of de Gaulle in 1958, and was a fierce opponent
of the new constitution.  Jacques Chirac succeeded him as president in 1995
#
De Gaulle died in
November, 1970.
A giant granite
cross of Lorraine,
symbol of the
Free French, was
erected in his
memory on a hill
overlooking
Colombey-les-
deux-Eglises, de
Gaulle's beloved
country retreat,
where he is
buried in the
churchyard
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