Charles de Gaulle - President of the French Republic (1959-1969)
Charles Andre Joseph Marie de Gaulle was born in Lille on November 22, 1890. He was the third child in the family of Jeanne and Henri de Gaulle. The family was quite wealthy; his parents were right-wing Catholics. The parents raised their five children in the spirit of patriotism, thoroughly introducing them to the history and culture of France. Events of the revolution at the end of the 18th century. were regarded as a tragic mistake of the French nation, and Henri de Gaulle called “La Marseillaise” a “godless song”
His father, Henri de Gaulle, was a teacher of philosophy and history at the Jesuit College on the Rue Vaugirard. In 1901, Charles began his studies at this college. Proud and obstinate, Charles was at the same time a romantically minded young man who knew how to admire and think deeply about the future of his homeland. Many years later, in his memoirs, he would write: “I was sure that France was destined to go through the crucible of trials.” I believed that the meaning of life was to accomplish an outstanding feat in the name of France, and that the day would come when I would have such an opportunity.”
Charles received a religious education, read a lot, showed great interest in literature from childhood, and even wrote poetry. Having won a school poetry competition, young de Gaulle chose the latter of two possible prizes - a cash prize or publication. De Gaulle was keen on history, especially since the de Gaulle family was proud not only of its noble origins and deep roots, but also of the exploits of its ancestors: according to family legend, one of the de Gaulle family, Zhegan, participated in the campaign of Joan of Arc. Little de Gaulle listened his father's stories about the glorious past of his family with sparkling eyes. Many, for example, Winston Churchill, later laughed at de Gaulle, saying that he suffered from a “Joan of Arc complex.” But the future general dreamed of the most revered French saint as a child; in his dream, he fought side by side with her for the salvation of France.
Even as a child, de Gaulle's character showed obsessive persistence and the ability to control people. So, he taught himself and forced his brothers and sister to learn a coded language in which words were read backwards. It must be said that this is much more difficult to achieve for French spelling than for Russian, English or German, and, nevertheless, Charles could speak such a language in long phrases without hesitation. He constantly trained his memory, the phenomenal qualities of which amazed those around him later, when he delivered speeches of 30-40 pages by heart, without changing a single word compared to the text he had jotted down the day before.
From his youth, de Gaulle had an interest in four disciplines: literature, history, philosophy and the art of war. The philosopher who had the greatest influence on him was Henri Bergson, from whose teaching the young man could glean two important points that determined not only his general worldview, but also practical actions in everyday life. The first is that Bergson considered the natural division of people into a privileged class and an oppressed people, on which he based the advantages of dictatorship over democracy. The second is the philosophy of intuitionism, according to which human activity was a combination of instinct and reason. The principle of acting on a whim after precise calculation was used by de Gaulle many times when making the most important decisions that led him to the heights, as well as those that overthrew him from them.
Family environment and hobbies shaped de Gaulle’s attitude towards his homeland, its history, and his mission. However, the desire for military affairs forced de Gaulle to put into practice the fulfillment of that duty to his homeland, which for many generations of de Gaulle philosophers and teachers remained a pure theorem. In 1909, after graduating from college, Charles entered the Saint-Cyr military school.
There is a widespread opinion that military service deprives a person of the ability to think independently, teaches him only to follow orders that are not subject to discussion, and prepares martinets. There is hardly a more obvious refutation of such nonsense than the example of Charles de Gaulle. Every day of service was not wasted for him. Without ceasing to read and educate himself, he carefully observed the life of the French army, noticing all the shortcomings in its structure. Being a diligent cadet, without violating the regulations in any way, he remained a strict judge of what he saw.
In 1913, with the rank of second lieutenant, de Gaulle enlisted in an infantry regiment under the command of the then Colonel Philippe Pétain (who was destined to raise de Gaulle to commanding heights, only to later, in 1945, be pardoned by his former protégé and thereby avoid death penalty).
Having completed his studies brilliantly, the young de Gaulle went to the front of the First World War. Three times wounded after hand-to-hand combat near Verdun, he falls into German captivity, from which he tries to escape 5 times. Only after the end of the war does he return to France, where he continues to improve himself at the highest military school in Paris. At the same time, he wrote several books, exploring the possibility of widespread use of tanks and aircraft in military operations. In the 20s de Gaulle gives presentations, publishes articles and books in which, in particular, he analyzes the results of the First World War, sets out his military doctrine, paints an image of a strong personality, a leader (under the influence of the ideas of the philosopher Nietzsche)
After the war, de Gaulle participated in the intervention in Soviet Russia as an officer-instructor in the Polish forces. After that, he served in the occupation forces in the Rhineland and participated in the operation of the French invasion of the Ruhr, an adventure from which he warned his superiors and which ended in a resounding failure - under pressure from Germany and the allies, France was forced to retreat, and its share in reparations payments were reduced. At this time, he wrote several books, among which it is worth highlighting “Discord in the Enemy’s Camp,” a commentary on the actions of the German army and government during the First World War, begun while in captivity. The actions of the German headquarters in this work were sharply criticized. De Gaulle did not dwell on the objective reasons for Germany’s defeat, but gave an analysis from which it followed that the defeat was led, perhaps in the first place, by the internal and military policies of the German government and the General Staff. It must be said that at that time in France, paradoxically, the organization of the Wehrmacht military machine was considered a model. De Gaulle pointed out significant miscalculations of the Germans.
The book was subsequently appreciated for its many fresh ideas. For example, de Gaulle argued that even during war, the military administration of the state must be subordinate to the civil one. Now this statement, which directly follows from the thesis that wars are won on the home front, seems quite obvious. In the 20s of the 20th century in France it was sedition. It was not useful for a career military man to express such judgments. De Gaulle, in his views on the structure of the army, on the tactics and strategy of war, was very different from the mass of the French military establishment. At that time, his former commander, the winner at Verdun, Marshal Pétain was an unquestioned authority in the army. In 1925, Pétain drew his attention to the fact that de Gaulle did not take a worthy place in the headquarters, and appointed him as his adjutant, instructing him to soon prepare a report on the system of defensive measures in France.
Meanwhile, Hitler comes to power in Germany and World War II becomes inevitable. De Gaulle senses the impending danger, but, alas, not everyone listens to his warnings.
While engaged in military pedagogical activities, he came up with a number of theoretical works on strategy and tactics, and proposed a new model of interaction between various branches of the military. In 1937, de Gaulle became a colonel. Two years later, having unleashed World War II, Germany also attacks France; in 1940, having broken the resistance, the Germans forced the French army to retreat. De Gaulle is promoted to the rank of general and becomes commander of a tank division. The newly appointed brigadier general who commanded the division insists on continuing the war, although the government is inclined to end it.
The French say: "De Gaulle will remain in the history of France as a sacred figure, since he was the first to draw the sword." However, the situation in which de Gaulle found himself was not easy. According to historian Grosset, the Free French fought on three fronts: against German and Japanese enemies, against Vichy, whose spirit of capitulation it exposed, and against the Anglo-Americans. Sometimes it was unclear who the main enemy was."
Churchill hoped, by sheltering the fugitive general, to get into his hands a person with whose help he could influence the policy of internal resistance and the free colonies, but this was a cruel delusion. With amazing speed, de Gaulle, practically from scratch, created a centralized organization, completely independent of the allies and anyone else, with its own information headquarters and armed forces. Around him he gathered people practically unknown to him before. Moreover, everyone who signed the Act of Accession, which meant joining the Free France, necessarily signed an obligation to unconditionally obey de Gaulle.
“I believed,” de Gaulle wrote in his “War Memoirs,” that the honor, unity and independence of France would be lost forever if in this world war France alone capitulated and reconciled with such an outcome. For in this case, no matter how the war ended "Whether the conquered nation were liberated from invaders by foreign armies or remained enslaved, the contempt which it would inspire in other nations would long poison its soul and the lives of many generations of Frenchmen." He was convinced: “Before philosophizing, you need to win the right to life, that is, win.”
After leaving for England (for negotiations with Churchell to gain support), he learns about the truce between the French government and Hitler.
An aura of mystery has surrounded de Gaulle since his voice was first heard on British radio in 1940 in Nazi-occupied France (De Gaulle makes a radio call to fight against fascism), and for many French people de Gaulle has been like that for several years. and remained just a voice - the voice of freedom, delivering five-minute speeches twice a day, remained the name of hope that participants in the Resistance movement conveyed to each other. De Gaulle himself used this mystery more than once to achieve certain political goals. However, in practice, Charles de Gaulle was not such a mysterious person at all. Ambiguous - yes. But all the general’s “secrets” are hidden in his biography. After all, first of all, the figure of the great general was a product of the extraordinary circumstances in which all of France found itself. And one of her soldiers in particular.
De Gaulle himself remains in England (his family also moves there). An organization of “Free French” (later renamed “Fighting France”) was formed, the motto of which was the words “Honor and Homeland”. De Gaulle is doing a lot of work to develop the Resistance movement and negotiations to unite various groups. The tireless general, together with Giraud, the “civil and military commander-in-chief,” established the French Committee for National Liberation (FCNL), and formed the Provisional Government of France. The committee and the government were recognized as allied countries in the anti-Hitler coalition: England, the USSR and the USA.
From 1940 to 1942, the number of soldiers alone fighting under the banner of Free (later Fighting) France grew from 7 to 70 thousand. The Americans had already printed the occupation currency and expected to transfer power to the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General Eisenhower, but as a result of the political and military struggle, by the time of D-Day, as the Allies called the day of the Normandy landing on June 7, 1944, de Gaulle had achieved international recognition of those subordinate to him National Liberation Committee as the provisional government of France. Moreover, thanks to the efforts of this man, France, formally under the leadership of the Vichy government in an alliance with Nazi Germany, practically “occupied” by the Allies, received the right to its own occupation zone in Germany as a victorious country, and a little later, a seat in the UN Security Council. Without exaggeration, such successes can be called phenomenal, considering that at the beginning of this struggle he was just a deserter of the French army, warmed by Britain, whom a military tribunal in his homeland sentenced to death for treason.
To what did Brigadier General de Gaulle owe such successes? Firstly, the idea of creating “Free France” and daily broadcasting in the occupied territory. Emissaries of the Free French traveled to all the free French colonies and countries of the current “third world”, trying to achieve recognition of de Gaulle as a representative of the “free French”. And, it must be said, the methodical work of de Gaulle’s secret agents eventually yielded results. Secondly, de Gaulle immediately established close contact with the Resistance, supplying it with what little funds he had. Thirdly, from the very beginning he positioned himself as an equal in relation to the allies. Often de Gaulle's arrogance infuriated Churchill. Everything went well if their positions agreed, but if disagreements arose, they began to argue. At the same time, de Gaulle accused Churchill of drinking too much and the whiskey went to his head. Churchill responded by stating that de Gaulle imagined himself as Joan of Arc. Once this almost ended in de Gaulle’s deportation from the island. However, stubbornness and arrogance, which gave de Gaulle’s figure authority in the eyes of his fellow citizens, helped him defend France’s rights to the former colonies and avoid literally their rejection.
The content of the article
DE GAULLE, CHARLES(De Gaulle, Charles André Marie) (1890–1970), President of France. Born November 22, 1890 in Lille. In 1912 he graduated from the Saint-Cyr Military Academy. During the First World War, he was wounded three times and captured near Verdun in 1916. In 1920–1921, with the rank of major, he served in Poland at the headquarters of General Weygand's military mission. In the period between the two world wars, de Gaulle taught military history at the Saint-Cyr School, served as an assistant to Marshal Pétain, and wrote several books on military strategy and tactics. In one of them, called For a professional army(1934), insisted on the mechanization of ground forces and the use of tanks in cooperation with aviation and infantry.
Leader of the French Resistance during World War II.
In April 1940, de Gaulle received the rank of brigadier general. On June 6 he was appointed Deputy Minister of National Defense. On June 16, 1940, when Marshal Pétain was negotiating surrender, de Gaulle flew to London, from where on June 18 he made a radio call to his compatriots to continue the fight against the invaders. Founded the Free France movement in London. After the landing of Anglo-American troops in North Africa in June 1943, the French Committee for National Liberation (FCNL) was created in Algeria. De Gaulle was first appointed as its co-chairman (with General Henri Giraud) and then as its sole chairman. In June 1944, the FKNO was renamed the Provisional Government of the French Republic.
Political activity after the war.
After the liberation of France in August 1944, de Gaulle returned to Paris in triumph as head of the provisional government. However, the Gaullist principle of a strong executive was rejected at the end of 1945 by voters, who preferred a constitution in many ways similar to that of the Third Republic. In January 1946, de Gaulle resigned.
In 1947, de Gaulle founded a new party, the Rally of the French People (RPF), whose main goal was to fight for the abolition of the 1946 Constitution, which proclaimed the Fourth Republic. However, the RPF failed to achieve the desired result, and in 1955 the party was dissolved.
In order to preserve the prestige of France and strengthen its national security, de Gaulle supported the European Reconstruction Program and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In the course of coordinating the armed forces of Western Europe at the end of 1948, thanks to the influence of de Gaulle, the French were given command of the ground forces and navy. Like many Frenchmen, de Gaulle continued to be suspicious of a “strong Germany” and in 1949 opposed the Bonn Constitution, which ended Western military occupation, but did not correspond to the plans of Schumann and Pleven (1951).
In 1953, de Gaulle retired from political activity, settled in his house in Colombey-les-deux-Eglises and began writing his War memoirs.
In 1958, the protracted colonial war in Algeria caused an acute political crisis. On May 13, 1958, ultra-colonialists and representatives of the French army rebelled in the Algerian capital. They were soon joined by supporters of General de Gaulle. All of them advocated keeping Algeria within France. The general himself, with the support of his supporters, skillfully took advantage of this and achieved the consent of the National Assembly to create his own government on the terms dictated by him.
Fifth Republic.
The first years after returning to power, de Gaulle was engaged in strengthening the Fifth Republic, financial reform, and searching for a solution to the Algerian issue. On September 28, 1958, a new constitution for the country was adopted in a referendum.
On December 21, 1958, de Gaulle was elected president of the republic. Under his leadership, France's influence in the international arena increased. However, de Gaulle faced problems in colonial policy. Having begun to resolve the Algerian problem, de Gaulle firmly pursued a course towards Algerian self-determination. In response to this, there were mutinies of the French army and ultra-colonialists in 1960 and 1961, the terrorist activities of the Armed Secret Organization (OAS), and the assassination attempt on de Gaulle. However, after the signing of the Evian Accords, Algeria gained independence.
In September 1962, de Gaulle proposed an amendment to the constitution, according to which the election of the president of the republic should be held by universal suffrage. Faced with resistance from the National Assembly, he decided to resort to a referendum. At a referendum held in October, the amendment was approved by a majority of votes. The November elections brought victory to the Gaullist party.
In 1963, de Gaulle vetoed Britain's entry into the Common Market, blocked the US attempt to supply nuclear missiles to NATO, and refused to sign an agreement on a partial ban on nuclear weapons testing. His foreign policy led to a new alliance between France and West Germany. In 1963, de Gaulle visited the Middle East and the Balkans, and in 1964 – Latin America.
On December 21, 1965, de Gaulle was re-elected as president for another 7-year term. The long standoff between NATO reached its climax in early 1966, when the French president withdrew his country from the bloc's military organization. Nevertheless, France remained a member of the Atlantic Alliance.
Elections to the National Assembly in March 1967 brought the Gaullist party and its allies a slight majority, and in May 1968 student unrest and a nationwide strike began. The President again dissolved the National Assembly and called new elections, which were won by the Gaullists. On April 28, 1969, after defeat in the April 27 referendum on the reorganization of the Senate, de Gaulle resigned.
Childhood. Carier start
House in Lille where de Gaulle was born
Poland, military training, family
Monument to de Gaulle in Warsaw
De Gaulle was released from captivity only after the armistice on November 11, 1918. From 1921 to 1921, de Gaulle was in Poland, where he taught the theory of tactics at the former imperial guard school in Rembertow near Warsaw, and in July-August 1920 he fought for a short time on the front of the Soviet-Polish war of 1919-1921 with the rank of major (with the troops of the RSFSR in This conflict is commanded, ironically, by Tukhachevsky). Having rejected the offer of a permanent position in the Polish Army and returning to his homeland, on April 6 he married Yvonne Vandrou. On December 28 of the following year, his son Philippe is born, named after the boss - later the notorious traitor and antagonist of de Gaulle, Marshal Philippe Pétain. Captain de Gaulle taught at the Saint-Cyr school, then was admitted to the Higher Military School. On May 15, daughter Elizabeth is born. In 1928, the youngest daughter Anna was born, suffering from Down syndrome (the girl died in; de Gaulle was subsequently a trustee of the Foundation for Children with Down Syndrome).
Military theorist
It was this moment that became a turning point in de Gaulle’s biography. In “Memoirs of Hope” he writes: “On June 18, 1940, answering the call of his homeland, deprived of any other help to save his soul and honor, de Gaulle, alone, unknown to anyone, had to take responsibility for France " On this day, the BBC broadcasts a radio speech by de Gaulle calling for the creation of the Resistance. Leaflets were soon distributed in which the general addressed “To all the French” (A tous les Français) with the statement:
“France lost the battle, but it did not lose the war! Nothing is lost because this war is a world war. The day will come when France will regain freedom and greatness... That is why I appeal to all French people to unite around me in the name of action, sacrifice and hope."
The general accused the Pétain government of treason and declared that “with full consciousness of duty he speaks on behalf of France.” Other appeals from de Gaulle also appeared.
So de Gaulle stood at the head of “Free (later “Fighting”) France” - an organization designed to resist the occupiers and the collaborationist Vichy regime.
At first he had to face considerable difficulties. “I... at first did not represent anything... In France, there was no one who could vouch for me, and I did not enjoy any fame in the country. Abroad - no trust and no justification for my activities.” The formation of the Free French organization was quite protracted. Who knows what de Gaulle's fate would have been like if he had not enlisted the support of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The desire to create an alternative to the Vichy government led Churchill to recognize de Gaulle as “the head of all free French” (June 28) and to help “promote” de Gaulle internationally. However, in his memoirs about the Second World War, Churchill does not give de Gaulle a very high assessment and considers his cooperation with him forced - there was simply no alternative.
Control over the colonies. Development of the Resistance
Militarily, the main task was to transfer to the side of the French patriots the "French Empire" - vast colonial possessions in Africa, Indochina and Oceania. After an unsuccessful attempt to capture Dakar, de Gaulle creates in Brazzaville (Congo) the Council of Defense of the Empire, the manifesto of which began with the words: “We, General de Gaulle (nous général de Gaulle), head of the free French, decree,” etc. The council includes anti-fascist military governors of the French (usually African) colonies: generals Catroux, Eboue, Colonel Leclerc. From this point on, de Gaulle emphasized the national and historical roots of his movement. He establishes the Order of Liberation, the main sign of which is the cross of Lorraine with two crossbars - an ancient symbol of the French nation, dating back to the era of feudalism. The decree on the creation of the order is reminiscent of the statutes of the orders of the times of royal France.
The great success of the Free French was the establishment, soon after June 22, 1941, of direct ties with the USSR (without hesitation, the Soviet leadership decided to transfer Bogomolov, their ambassador under the Vichy regime, to London). For 1941-1942 The network of partisan organizations in occupied France also grew. Since October 1941, after the first mass executions of hostages by the Germans, de Gaulle called on all French people for a total strike and mass actions of disobedience.
Conflict with the Allies
Meanwhile, the actions of the “monarch” irritated the West. Roosevelt's staff spoke openly about the “so-called free French” who were “sowing poisonous propaganda” and interfering with the conduct of the war. On November 7, 1942, American troops land in Algeria and Morocco and negotiate with local French military leaders who supported Vichy. De Gaulle tried to convince the leaders of England and the United States that cooperation with the Vichys in Algeria would lead to the loss of moral support for the allies in France. “The United States,” said de Gaulle, “introduces elementary feelings and complex politics into great affairs.” The contradiction between de Gaulle's patriotic ideals and Roosevelt's indifference in the choice of supporters (“I like all those who help solve my problems,” as he openly declared) became one of the most important obstacles to coordinated action in North Africa.
Head of State
“The first in France,” the president was by no means eager to rest on his laurels. He poses the question:
“Can I make it possible to solve the vital problem of decolonization, to begin the economic and social transformation of our country in the era of science and technology, to restore the independence of our politics and our defense, to turn France into a champion of the unification of all European Europe, to return France to its halo and the influence in the world, especially in the “third world” countries, which it has enjoyed for many centuries? There is no doubt: this is a goal that I can and must achieve.”
Decolonization. From the French Empire to the Francophone Community of Nations
De Gaulle puts the problem of decolonization first. Indeed, in the wake of the Algerian crisis, he came to power; he must now reaffirm his role as a national leader by finding a way out. In trying to accomplish this task, the president encountered desperate opposition not only from the Algerian commanders, but also from the right-wing lobby in the government. Only on September 16, 1959, the head of state offered three options for resolving the Algerian issue: a break with France, “integration” with France (to completely equate Algeria with the metropolis and extend the same rights and obligations to the population) and “association” (Algerian in national composition a government that relied on the help of France and had a close economic and foreign policy alliance with the metropolis). The general clearly preferred the latter option, which was supported by the National Assembly. However, this further consolidated the ultra-right, which was fueled by the never-replaced Algerian military authorities.
A particular scandal erupted during a visit to Quebec (a French-speaking province of Canada). The President of France, concluding his speech, exclaimed in front of a huge crowd of people: “Long live Quebec!”, and then added the words that instantly became famous: “Long live free Quebec!” (fr. Vive le Québec libre!). De Gaulle and his official advisers subsequently proposed a number of versions that made it possible to deflect the charge of separatism, among them that they meant the freedom of Quebec and Canada as a whole from foreign military blocs (that is, again NATO). According to another version, based on the entire context of de Gaulle’s speech, he meant Quebec comrades in the Resistance who fought for the freedom of the whole world from Nazism. One way or another, supporters of Quebec independence referred to this incident for a very long time.
France and Europe. Special relations with Germany and the USSR
Links
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General Charles de Gaulle came to power in France twice. The first time was in 1944, when he was faced with difficult tasks in organizing the post-war life of the state. In the second - in 1958, when events in Algeria, which at that time was a colony of France, escalated.
For several years, war raged in Algeria, which led to fears among the French "ultras" fighting there that the government would abandon the African colony. On May 13, 1958, they seized the colonial administration building and sent a telegram to Paris to de Gaulle asking him to break the silence and create a new government of popular unity.
Heeding the requests of the military, two days later the main symbol of the Resistance addressed the French with an appeal:
“For 12 years now, France has been trying to solve problems that are beyond the capabilities of the party regime, and is heading towards disaster. Once, in a difficult hour, the country trusted me so that I would lead it to salvation. Today, when the country faces new challenges, let it know that I am ready to assume all the powers of the Republic,” de Gaulle said.
These strong words were followed by decisive actions. Fearing that the general might use the power of the military loyal to him, then French President Rene Coty invites de Gaulle to form a new government for the country. “De Gaulle was able to offer himself as the only alternative to the far-right coup and the establishment of a fascist regime. And the republic fell at his feet,” write the authors of the book “The Beginning of the End. France. May 1968" by Angelo Catrocci and Tom Hire.
De Gaulle did not serve as Prime Minister for long - from June 1958 to January 1959. In January 1959, he was elected president. In this position
he managed to achieve the main thing - constitutional reform, which led to the popular election of the president and the separation of the functions of the president and parliament. The reform was supported by almost 80% of the votes. And although de Gaulle himself was first elected president under the old system, with his accession to this post the birth of the Fifth Republic took place.
Having returned to power in the wake of the situation in Algeria, de Gaulle at the same time did not strive to maintain this African territory under French influence at all costs. However, the President General decided to offer the public several options for resolving the situation - from giving Algeria the status of a territory associated with France, to a complete severance of relations and the creation of a government friendly to Paris in this country.
In Moscow without
In 1962, the military conflict in Algeria ended, which marked the beginning of the formation of an independent Algerian state. Despite the fact that Algerian independence had many opponents who made several attempts on de Gaulle's life, France agreed with the new president. In 1965, the country again chose de Gaulle as its leader.
De Gaulle's second presidential term was marked by active steps in foreign policy. Confirming the independent nature of French foreign policy, he withdraws France from the NATO military organization. The organization's headquarters are being moved from Paris to Brussels.
Everything happens in a hurry, one of the most powerful organizations in the world receives a long-term residence permit in a nondescript building of a former hospital. NATO officers, who gave a Gazeta.Ru correspondent a tour of the alliance’s headquarters, half-jokingly admit that they “still have a grudge against the French president.”
If de Gaulle's actions are condemned in Washington, then in the USSR, on the contrary, they are treated with undisguised delight, welcoming the French Fronde in every possible way. In 1966, the French President went to the USSR on his first official visit, but this was his second trip to the USSR. He first visited Moscow in 1944 as a leader fighting the Nazis in France.
Never having any sympathy for communist ideas, De Gaulle always had a rather warm attitude towards Russia.
However, he is drawn to Moscow primarily by politics. “De Gaulle needed a “counterbalance” and therefore met the USSR and its allies halfway,” note the then Soviet political heavyweights, Vadim Kirpichenko and.
As a result of the visit of the French president to the USSR, several key documents were signed. In addition, they talked about “détente”, and it was also emphasized that “the USSR and France are responsible for preserving and ensuring both European and world peace.”
Of course, there was no talk of a real rapprochement between the USSR and France - the political and economic approaches of the two countries were too different. However, de Gaulle saw Russia not only as a major world power, but also as part of Europe. “All of Europe - from the Atlantic to the Urals - will decide the fate of the world!” said de Gaulle in his historic 1959 speech in Strasbourg.
In addition to the USSR, de Gaulle's France built relations with Eastern European and developing countries and worked to improve relations with Germany. Once hostile to France, Germany, which fought against that country during the war, became a major trading partner of Paris.
From revolution to revolution
However, despite his successes in the international arena, de Gaulle faced a crisis within the country towards the end of his first presidential term.
After the expiration of the first seven-year term, the general intended to be re-elected to the presidency of France. These elections, according to the amendments made to the Constitution, should have been popular. De Gaulle, as expected, won the elections, although only in the second round, defeating his main critic, the socialist.
The second round and the popularity of Mitterrand indicated a decline in the popularity of the Resistance legend himself. This was caused by problems in the economy, the arms race and criticism of the general's largely authoritarian style of government.
De Gaulle's opponents note that he actively used the power of state television to legitimize his power, although this did not exclude sharp criticism of his rule, which came from the pages of the print media.
The political crisis led to a real revolutionary situation - students at the University of Paris and the Sorbonne, dissatisfied with the state of affairs in the field of education, rebelled. It was led by radical left activists, who would later be joined by trade unions. Tens of thousands of people block the streets and clash with police and gendarmes. The events will become the largest mass unrest in Europe and will be called “May 1968”.
Many slogans of that time - for example, “It is forbidden to prohibit” - would be repeated decades later by the president’s opponents.
De Gaulle, despite the entreaties of some ministers to start negotiations with the protesters, was quite tough and did not want to negotiate, but the situation looked threatening. “By turning politics into theatre, de Gaulle was today confronting a movement that had turned theater into politics,” writes presidential biographer Julian Jackson.
For the first time, the military general seems confused, but he addresses the nation and demands broad powers, since the country, in his words, is “on the brink of civil war.”
While not feeling sympathy for his opponents, the president will still tell them: “I understand you.”
After the address, de Gaulle flies out of the country to Baden-Baden, although not to bask at the resort, but to visit the French troops stationed nearby in Germany. Soon the president returns to France, and his next step is the dissolution of the National Assembly and the announcement of early elections, where the Gaullist Rally for the Republic party receives the majority of votes. However, the victory turns out to be Pyrrhic.
As a leading researcher at the Institute of Europe notes, de Gaulle's conservatism began to slow down the development of France. “His time was running out, the Senate reform failed, and attempts to do something led to a crisis,” the expert tells Gazeta.Ru. We are talking about the reform of the upper house of parliament, which he planned to turn into a body representing the interests of trade unions and business. However, this reform failed. De Gaulle said that if the reform did not take place, he would resign from his post. As befits a military man and a man of honor, the general keeps his word and leaves power.
After his resignation, De Gaulle did not live long and died of a ruptured aorta on November 9, 1970. The head of government, and then the President of France, Georges Pompidou, will say: “De Gaulle is dead, France is a widow.” Thousands of people accompanied the coffin of the military general, politician and world statesman. Over the years, Charles de Gaulle remains one of the most revered French politicians - many still consider him the most powerful president of the Fifth Republic.
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (French: Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle). Born on November 22, 1890 in Lille - died on November 9, 1970 in Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises (department of Haute-Marne). French military and statesman, general. During World War II it became a symbol of the French Resistance. Founder and first president of the Fifth Republic (1959-1969).
Charles de Gaulle was born on November 22, 1890 into a patriotic Catholic family. Although the de Gaulley family is noble, the de in the surname is not the traditional French “particle” of noble surnames, but the Flemish form of the article. Charles, like his three brothers and sister, was born in Lille in his grandmother's house, where his mother came every time before giving birth, although the family lived in Paris. His father Henri de Gaulle was a professor of philosophy and literature at a Jesuit school, which greatly influenced Charles. From early childhood he loved to read. History struck him so much that he developed an almost mystical concept of serving France.
In his War Memoirs, de Gaulle wrote: “My father, an educated and thoughtful man, brought up in certain traditions, was filled with faith in the high mission of France. He first introduced me to her story. My mother had a feeling of boundless love for her homeland, which can only be compared with her piety. My three brothers, my sister, myself - we were all proud of our homeland. This pride, mixed with a sense of anxiety for her fate, was second nature to us.”.
Jacques Chaban-Delmas, the hero of the Liberation, then the permanent chairman of the National Assembly during the years of the General's presidency, recalls that this “second nature” surprised not only people of the younger generation, to which Chaban-Delmas himself belonged, but also de Gaulle’s peers. Subsequently, de Gaulle recalled his youth: “I believed that the meaning of life was to accomplish an outstanding feat in the name of France, and that the day would come when I would have such an opportunity.”.
Already as a boy he showed great interest in military affairs. After a year of preparatory exercises at the Stanislas College in Paris, he was accepted into the Special Military School in Saint-Cyr. He chooses the infantry as his branch of the army: it is more “military” because it is closest to combat operations. After graduating 13th from Saint-Cyr in 1912, de Gaulle served in the 33rd Infantry Regiment under the command of the then Colonel Pétain.
Since the beginning of the First World War on August 12, 1914, Lieutenant de Gaulle has taken part in military operations as part of the 5th Army of Charles Lanrezac, stationed in the northeast. Already on August 15 in Dinan he received his first wound; he returned to duty after treatment only in October.
On March 10, 1916, at the Battle of Mesnil-le-Hurlu, he was wounded for the second time. He returns to the 33rd Regiment with the rank of captain and becomes company commander. In the Battle of Verdun near the village of Douaumont in 1916, he was wounded for the third time. Left on the battlefield, he - posthumously - receives honors from the army. However, Charles survives and is captured by the Germans; he is treated at the Mayenne hospital and held in various fortresses.
De Gaulle makes six attempts to escape. Mikhail Tukhachevsky, the future marshal of the Red Army, was also captured with him; Communication begins between them, including on military-theoretical topics.
De Gaulle was released from captivity only after the armistice on November 11, 1918. From 1919 to 1921, de Gaulle was in Poland, where he taught the theory of tactics at the former imperial guard school in Rembertow near Warsaw, and in July - August 1920 he fought for a short time on the front of the Soviet-Polish war of 1919-1921 with the rank of major (in the troops of the RSFSR in this conflict, the commander, ironically, is Tukhachevsky).
Having rejected the offer to take a permanent position in the Polish Army and returning to his homeland, on April 6, 1921 he married Yvonne Vandroux. On December 28, 1921, his son Philippe was born, named after his boss - later the notorious collaborator and antagonist of de Gaulle, Marshal Philippe Pétain.
Captain de Gaulle taught at the Saint-Cyr school, then in 1922 he was admitted to the Higher Military School.
On May 15, 1924, daughter Elizabeth is born. In 1928, the youngest daughter Anna was born, suffering from Down syndrome (Anna died in 1948; de Gaulle was subsequently a trustee of the Foundation for Children with Down Syndrome).
In the 1930s, Lieutenant Colonel and then Colonel de Gaulle became widely known as the author of military theoretical works, such as “For a Professional Army”, “On the Edge of the Sword”, “France and Its Army”. In his books, de Gaulle, in particular, pointed out the need for the comprehensive development of tank forces as the main weapon of a future war. In this, his works come close to the works of Germany's leading military theorist, Heinz Guderian. However, de Gaulle's proposals did not evoke understanding among the French military command and in political circles. In 1935, the National Assembly rejected the army reform bill prepared by future Prime Minister Paul Reynaud according to de Gaulle's plans as "useless, undesirable and contrary to logic and history."
In 1932-1936, Secretary General of the Supreme Defense Council. In 1937-1939, commander of a tank regiment.
By the beginning of World War II, de Gaulle had the rank of colonel. The day before the start of the war (August 31, 1939), he was appointed commander of tank forces in the Saarland, and wrote on this occasion: “It fell to my lot to play a role in a terrible hoax... The several dozen light tanks that I command are just a speck of dust. We will lose the war in the most pathetic way if we don't act."
In January 1940 de Gaulle wrote the article “The Phenomenon of Mechanized Troops”, in which he emphasized the importance of interaction between diverse ground forces, primarily tank forces, and the Air Force.
On May 14, 1940, he was given command of the fledgling 4th Panzer Division (initially 5,000 soldiers and 85 tanks). From June 1, he temporarily acted as a brigadier general (he was never officially confirmed in this rank, and after the war he received only a colonel’s pension from the Fourth Republic).
On June 6, Prime Minister Paul Reynaud appointed de Gaulle Deputy Minister of War. The general invested with this position tried to counteract the plans for a truce, which were favored by the leaders of the French military department and, above all, Minister Philippe Pétain.
On June 14, de Gaulle traveled to London to negotiate ships for the evacuation of the French government to Africa; at the same time, he argued to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill that "that some dramatic step is required to provide Reynaud with the support he needs to induce the government to continue the war". However, on the same day, Paul Reynaud resigned, after which the government was headed by Pétain; Negotiations with Germany about an armistice immediately began.
On June 17, 1940, de Gaulle flew from Bordeaux, where the evacuated government was based, not wanting to participate in this process, and arrived again in London. According to the assessment, “on this plane de Gaulle took with him the honor of France.”
It was this moment that became a turning point in de Gaulle’s biography. In "Memoirs of Hope" he writes: “On June 18, 1940, answering the call of his homeland, deprived of any other help to save his soul and honor, de Gaulle, alone, unknown to anyone, had to take responsibility for France.”. On this day, the BBC broadcast de Gaulle's radio speech - a speech on June 18 calling for the creation of a French Resistance. Soon leaflets were distributed in which the general addressed “to all the French” (A tous les Français) with the statement:
"France lost the battle, but she did not lose the war! Nothing is lost, because this war is a world war. The day will come when France will regain freedom and greatness... That is why I appeal to all French people to unite around me in the name of action, sacrifice and hope." .
The general accused the Pétain government of treason and declared that “with full consciousness of duty he speaks on behalf of France.” Other appeals from de Gaulle also appeared.
So de Gaulle became the head of “Free (later “Fighting”) France”- an organization designed to resist the occupiers and the collaborationist Vichy regime. The legitimacy of this organization was based, in his eyes, on the following principle: “The legitimacy of power is based on the feelings that it inspires, on its ability to ensure national unity and continuity when the homeland is in danger.”
At first he had to face considerable difficulties. “I... at first did not represent anything... In France, there was no one who could vouch for me, and I did not enjoy any fame in the country. Abroad - no trust and no justification for my activities.” The formation of the Free French organization was quite protracted. De Gaulle managed to enlist Churchill's support. On June 24, 1940, Churchill reported to General G. L. Ismay: “It seems extremely important to create now, before the trap has yet slammed shut, an organization that would allow French officers and soldiers, as well as prominent specialists who want to continue the fight, to break into various ports. It is necessary to create a kind of "underground railroad"... I have no doubt that there will be a continuous stream of determined people - and we need to get everything we can - for the defense of the French colonies. The Navy Department and the Air Force must cooperate.
General de Gaulle and his committee will, of course, be the operational body.” The desire to create an alternative to the Vichy government led Churchill not only to a military, but also to a political decision: recognizing de Gaulle as “the head of all free French” (June 28, 1940) and helping to strengthen de Gaulle’s position internationally.
Militarily, the main task was to transfer to the side of the French patriots the “French Empire” - vast colonial possessions in Africa, Indochina and Oceania.
After an unsuccessful attempt to capture Dakar, de Gaulle created the Imperial Defense Council in Brazzaville (Congo), the manifesto of which began with the words: "We, General de Gaulle (nous général de Gaulle), head of the free French, decree" etc. The Council includes anti-fascist military governors of the French (usually African) colonies: generals Catroux, Eboue, Colonel Leclerc. From this point on, de Gaulle emphasized the national and historical roots of his movement. He establishes the Order of Liberation, the main sign of which is the Lorraine cross with two crossbars - an ancient symbol of the French nation, dating back to the era of feudalism. At the same time, adherence to the constitutional traditions of the French Republic was also emphasized, for example, the “Organic Declaration” (the legal document of the political regime of “Fighting France”), promulgated in Brazzaville, proved the illegitimacy of the Vichy regime, citing the fact that it expelled “from its quasi-constitutional acts even the very the word “republic”, giving the head the so-called. "of the French State" unlimited power, similar to the power of an unlimited monarch."
The great success of Free France was the establishment, shortly after June 22, 1941, of direct ties with the USSR - without hesitation, the Soviet leadership decided to transfer A.E. Bogomolov, its plenipotentiary representative under the Vichy regime, to London. During 1941-1942, the network of partisan organizations in occupied France also grew. Since October 1941, after the first mass executions of hostages by the Germans, de Gaulle called on all French people for a total strike and mass actions of disobedience.
Meanwhile, the actions of the “monarch” irritated the West. The apparatus openly talked about the “so-called free French”, “sowing poisonous propaganda” and interfering with the conduct of the war.
On November 8, 1942, American troops landed in Algeria and Morocco and negotiated with local French military leaders who supported Vichy. De Gaulle tried to convince the leaders of England and the United States that cooperation with the Vichys in Algeria would lead to the loss of moral support for the allies in France. “The United States,” said de Gaulle, “brings elementary feelings and complex politics to great affairs.”
The head of Algeria, Admiral Francois Darlan, who by that time had already gone over to the Allied side, was killed on December 24, 1942 by 20-year-old Frenchman Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, who, after a quick trial, was shot the next day. The Allied leadership appoints Army General Henri Giraud as the “civil and military commander-in-chief” of Algeria. In January 1943, at a conference in Casablanca, de Gaulle became aware of the Allied plan: to replace the leadership of “Fighting France” with a committee headed by Giraud, which was planned to include a large number of people who had once supported the Pétain government. In Casablanca, de Gaulle shows understandable intransigence towards such a plan. He insists on unconditional respect for the country’s national interests (in the sense as they were understood in “Fighting France”). This leads to the split of “Fighting France” into two wings: nationalist, led by de Gaulle (supported by the British government led by W. Churchill), and pro-American, grouped around Henri Giraud.
On May 27, 1943, the National Council of the Resistance meets at a founding conspiratorial meeting in Paris, which (under the auspices of de Gaulle) assumes many powers to organize the internal struggle in the occupied country. De Gaulle's position became increasingly stronger, and Giraud was forced to compromise: almost simultaneously with the opening of the NSS, he invited the general to the ruling structures of Algeria. He demands the immediate submission of Giraud (the commander of the troops) to civil authority. The situation is heating up. Finally, on June 3, 1943, the French Committee of National Liberation was formed, headed by de Gaulle and Giraud on equal terms. The majority in it, however, goes to the Gaullists, and some adherents of his rival (including Couve de Murville, the future Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic) go over to de Gaulle's side. In November 1943, Giraud was removed from the committee.
On June 4, 1944, de Gaulle was summoned by Churchill to London. The British prime minister announced the upcoming landing of allied forces in Normandy and, at the same time, full support for Roosevelt's line of complete dictate of the will of the United States. De Gaulle was made to understand that his services were not needed. The draft address, written by General Dwight Eisenhower, ordered the French people to comply with all orders of the Allied command “until the election of legitimate authorities”; in Washington, the DeGaulle Committee was not considered such. De Gaulle's strong protest forced Churchill to grant him the right to speak separately to the French on the radio (rather than join Eisenhower's text). In the address, the general declared the legitimacy of the government formed by Fighting France and strongly opposed plans to subordinate it to American command.
On June 6, 1944, Allied forces successfully landed in Normandy, thereby opening a second front in Europe.
De Gaulle, after a short stay on liberated French soil, again headed to Washington for negotiations with President Roosevelt, the goal of which was still the same - to restore the independence and greatness of France (a key expression in the general’s political vocabulary). “Listening to the American president, I was finally convinced that in business relations between two states, logic and feeling mean very little in comparison with real force, that the one who knows how to grab and hold what is captured is valued here; and if France wants to take its former place, it must rely only on itself,” writes de Gaulle.
After the Resistance rebels led by Colonel Rolle-Tanguy open the way to Paris for the tank troops of the military governor of Chad, Philippe de Hautecloque (who went down in history under the name Leclerc), de Gaulle arrives in the liberated capital. A grandiose performance takes place - de Gaulle’s solemn procession through the streets of Paris, with a huge crowd of people, to which a lot of space is devoted in the general’s “War Memoirs”. The procession passes by historical places of the capital, consecrated by the heroic history of France; de Gaulle subsequently spoke about these points: “With every step I take, walking through the most famous places in the world, it seems to me that the glory of the past is, as it were, added to the glory of today.”.
Since August 1944, de Gaulle has been Chairman of the French Council of Ministers (Provisional Government). He subsequently characterizes his short, one-and-a-half-year activity in this post as “salvation.” France had to be “saved” from the plans of the Anglo-American bloc: the partial remilitarization of Germany, the exclusion of France from the list of great powers. Both at Dumbarton Oaks, at the Great Powers Conference on the creation of the UN, and at the Yalta Conference in January 1945, representatives of France are absent. Shortly before the Yalta meeting, de Gaulle went to Moscow with the aim of concluding an alliance with the USSR in the face of the Anglo-American danger. The general first visited the USSR from December 2 to 10, 1944, arriving in Moscow via Baku.
On the last day of this visit, the Kremlin and de Gaulle signed an agreement on “alliance and military assistance.” The significance of this act was, first of all, to return France to the status of a great power and recognize it among the victorious states. French General de Lattre de Tassigny, together with the commanders of the Allied powers, accepted the surrender of the German armed forces in Karlshorst on the night of May 8-9, 1945. France has occupation zones in Germany and Austria.
After the war, the standard of living remained low and unemployment increased. It was not even possible to properly define the political structure of the country. Elections to the Constituent Assembly did not give an advantage to any party (the Communists received a relative majority, Maurice Thorez became Deputy Prime Minister), the draft Constitution was repeatedly rejected. After one of the next conflicts over the expansion of the military budget, de Gaulle left the post of head of government on January 20, 1946 and retired to Colombey-les-Deux-Églises (French Colombey-les-Deux-Églises), a small estate in Champagne (Haute-Marne department ). He himself compares his situation to exile. But, unlike the idol of his youth, de Gaulle has the opportunity to observe French politics from the outside - not without the hope of returning to it.
The general’s further political career is connected with the “Unification of the French People” (according to the French abbreviation RPF), with the help of which de Gaulle planned to come to power through parliamentary means. The RPF staged a noisy campaign. The slogans are still the same: nationalism (the fight against US influence), adherence to the traditions of the Resistance (the emblem of the RPF becomes the Cross of Lorraine, which once shone in the middle of the “Order of Liberation”), the fight against a significant communist faction in the National Assembly. Success, it would seem, accompanied de Gaulle.
In the autumn of 1947, the RPF won the municipal elections. In 1951, 118 seats in the National Assembly were already at the disposal of the Gaullists. But the triumph that de Gaulle dreamed of is far away. These elections did not give the RPF an absolute majority, the communists further strengthened their positions, and most importantly, de Gaulle’s electoral strategy brought bad results.
Indeed, the general declared war on the system of the Fourth Republic, constantly noting his right to power in the country due to the fact that he and only he led it to liberation, devoted a significant part of his speeches to sharp criticism of the communists, etc. A large number of careerists joined de Gaulle , people who did not perform well during the Vichy regime. Within the walls of the National Assembly, they joined the parliamentary “mouse race”, giving their votes to the extreme right. Finally, the complete collapse of the RPF came - in the same municipal elections as those from which the story of its rise began. On May 6, 1953, the general dissolved his party.
The least open period of de Gaulle's life began - the so-called “crossing the desert.” He spent five years in seclusion in Colombey, working on the famous “War Memoirs” in three volumes (“Conscription”, “Unity” and “Salvation”). The general not only outlined the events that had become history, but also sought to find in them the answer to the question: what led him, an unknown brigadier general, to the role of a national leader? Only the deep conviction that “our country, in the face of other countries, must strive for great goals and not bow to anything, because otherwise it may find itself in mortal danger.”
1957-1958 became the years of deep political crisis of the IV Republic. A protracted war in Algeria, unsuccessful attempts to form a Council of Ministers, and finally an economic crisis. According to de Gaulle’s later assessment, “many leaders of the regime realized that the problem required a radical solution. But to take the tough decisions that this problem required, to remove all obstacles to their implementation... was beyond the strength of unstable governments... The regime limited itself to supporting the struggle that raged throughout Algeria and along the borders with the help of soldiers, weapons and money. Financially, it was very expensive, because it was necessary to maintain armed forces there with a total number of 500 thousand people; this was also costly from a foreign policy point of view, because the whole world condemned the hopeless drama. As for, finally, the authority of the state, it was literally destructive.”
The so-called “far-right” military groups putting strong pressure on the Algerian military leadership. On May 10, 1958, four Algerian generals addressed President Rene Coty with an essentially ultimatum to prevent the abandonment of Algeria. On May 13, armed ultra forces seize the colonial administration building in the city of Algiers; the generals telegraphed to Paris with a demand addressed to Charles de Gaulle to “break the silence” and make an appeal to the citizens of the country with the aim of creating a “government of public trust.”
“For 12 years now, France has been trying to solve problems beyond the power of the party regime, and is heading towards disaster. Once, in a difficult hour, the country trusted me to lead it to salvation. Today, when the country faces new trials, let it know that I am ready to assume all the powers of the Republic."
If this statement had been made a year ago, at the height of the economic crisis, it would have been perceived as a call for a coup d'etat. Now, in the face of the serious danger of a coup, the centrists of Pflimlin, the moderate socialists of Guy Mollet, and - above all - the Algerian rebels, whom he did not directly condemn, are pinning their hopes on de Gaulle. The scales tip towards de Gaulle after the putschists capture the island of Corsica in a matter of hours. Rumors are circulating about a parachute regiment landing in Paris. At this time, the general confidently turns to the rebels demanding that they obey their command. On May 27, the “ghost government” of Pierre Pflimlen resigns. President Rene Coty, addressing the National Assembly, demands the election of de Gaulle as prime minister and the transfer of emergency powers to him to form a government and revise the Constitution. On June 1, with 329 votes, de Gaulle was confirmed as Chairman of the Council of Ministers.
Decisive opponents of de Gaulle's coming to power were: radicals led by Mendes-France, left-wing socialists (including future President Francois Mitterrand) and communists led by Thorez and Duclos. They insisted on unconditional compliance with the democratic foundations of the state, which de Gaulle wanted to revise in the very near future.
Already in August, a draft of a new Constitution, according to which France has lived to this day, was placed on the Prime Minister’s desk. The powers of parliament were significantly limited. The government's fundamental responsibility to the National Assembly remained (it can declare a vote of no confidence in the government, but the president, when appointing the prime minister, should not submit his candidacy to parliament for approval). The President, according to Article 16, in the case when “the independence of the Republic, the integrity of its territory or the fulfillment of its international obligations is under serious and immediate threat, and the normal functioning of state institutions has been terminated” (what is meant by this concept is not specified), may temporarily take completely unlimited power into your own hands.
The principle of electing the president also changed fundamentally. From now on, the head of state was elected not at a meeting of Parliament, but by an electoral college consisting of 80 thousand people's representatives (since 1962, after the adoption of constitutional amendments in a referendum, by direct and universal vote of the French people).
On September 28, 1958, the twelve-year history of the IV Republic ended. The French people supported the Constitution with more than 79% of the votes. It was a direct vote of confidence in the general. If before this all his claims, starting from 1940, for the post of “head of the free French” were dictated by some subjective “calling”, then the results of the referendum eloquently confirmed: yes, the people recognized de Gaulle as their leader, and it is in him that they see a way out of the current situation.
On December 21, 1958, less than three months later, 76 thousand electors in all cities of France elect a president. 75.5% of the electors cast their votes for the prime minister. On January 8, 1959, de Gaulle was solemnly inaugurated.
The post of Prime Minister of France during the presidency of de Gaulle was held by such figures of the Gaullist movement as the “knight of Gaullistism” Michel Debreu (1959-1962), the “Dauphine” Georges Pompidou (1962-1968) and his permanent Minister of Foreign Affairs (1958-1968) Maurice Couve de Murville (1968-1969).
De Gaulle puts the problem of decolonization first. Indeed, in the wake of the Algerian crisis, he came to power; he must now reaffirm his role as a national leader by finding a way out. In trying to accomplish this task, the president encountered desperate opposition not only from the Algerian commanders, but also from the right-wing lobby in the government. Only on September 16, 1959, the head of state proposed three options for resolving the Algerian issue: a break with France, “integration” with France (to completely equate Algeria with the metropolis and extend the same rights and responsibilities to the population) and “association” (an Algerian government by national composition , which relied on the help of France and had a close economic and foreign policy alliance with the metropolis). The general clearly preferred the latter option, which was supported by the National Assembly. However, this further consolidated the ultra-right, which was fueled by the never-replaced Algerian military authorities.
On September 8, 1961, an attempt was made on de Gaulle's life - the first of fifteen organized by the right-wing "Organisation of the Secret Army" (Organisation de l'Armée Secrète) - abbreviated as OAS. The story of the assassination attempts on de Gaulle formed the basis of the famous book “The Day of the Jackal” by Frederick Forsythe. Throughout his life, there were 32 attempts on de Gaulle's life.
The war in Algeria ended after the signing of the bilateral agreements in Evian (March 18, 1962), which led to a referendum and the formation of an independent Algerian state. Significant de Gaulle's statement: "The era of organized continents is replacing the colonial era".
De Gaulle became the founder of France's new policy in the post-colonial space: the policy of cultural relations between francophone (that is, French-speaking) states and territories. Algeria was not the only country to abandon the French Empire that de Gaulle fought for in the forties. Behind 1960 (“Year of Africa”) More than two dozen African states gained independence. Vietnam and Cambodia also became independent. In all these countries, thousands of French remained who did not want to lose ties with the mother country. The main goal was to ensure French influence in the world, the two poles of which - the USA and the USSR - had already been determined.
In 1959, the president transferred air defense, missile forces and troops withdrawn from Algeria to French command. The decision, taken unilaterally, could not but cause friction with, and then with his successor Kennedy. De Gaulle repeatedly asserts the right of France to do everything “as the mistress of its policy and on its own initiative.” The first nuclear weapons test, carried out in February 1960 in the Sahara Desert, marked the beginning of a series of French nuclear explosions, stopped under Mitterrand and briefly resumed by Chirac. De Gaulle personally visited nuclear facilities several times, paying great attention to both the peaceful and military development of the latest technologies.
1965 - the year of de Gaulle's re-election to a second presidential term - was the year of two blows to the policy of the NATO bloc. February 4 the general announces the refusal to use the dollar in international payments and the transition to a single gold standard. In the spring of 1965, a French ship delivered 750 million US dollars to the United States - the first tranche of 1.5 billion that France intended to exchange for gold.
On September 9, 1965, the President reports that France does not consider itself bound by obligations to the North Atlantic bloc.
On February 21, 1966, France withdrew from the NATO military organization, and the headquarters of the organization was urgently transferred from Paris to Brussels. In an official note, the Pompidou government announced the evacuation of 29 bases with 33 thousand personnel from the country.
Since that time, France's official position in international politics has become sharply anti-American. The general, during his visits to the USSR and Cambodia in 1966, condemns US actions towards the countries of Indochina, and later Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967.
In 1967, during a visit to Quebec (a French-speaking province of Canada), De Gaulle, concluding a speech in front of a huge crowd of people, exclaimed: "Long live Quebec!", and then added the instantly famous words: "Long live free Quebec!" (French: Vive le Québec libre!). A scandal broke out. De Gaulle and his official advisers subsequently proposed a number of versions that made it possible to deflect the charge of separatism, among them that they meant the freedom of Quebec and Canada as a whole from foreign military blocs (that is, again, NATO). According to another version, based on the entire context of de Gaulle’s speech, he meant Quebec comrades in the Resistance who fought for the freedom of the whole world from Nazism. One way or another, supporters of Quebec independence referred to this incident for a very long time.
At the beginning of his reign, On November 23, 1959, de Gaulle gave his famous speech on “Europe from the Atlantic to the Urals”. In the upcoming political union of European countries (the integration of the EEC was then associated mainly with the economic side of the issue), the president saw an alternative to the “Anglo-Saxon” NATO (the UK was not included in his concept of Europe). In his activities to create European unity, he made a number of compromises that determined the further uniqueness of French foreign policy to the present day.
De Gaulle's first compromise concerned the Federal Republic of Germany formed in 1949. It quickly restored its economic and military potential, nevertheless in dire need of political legalization of its fortune through an agreement with the USSR. De Gaulle made Chancellor Adenauer undertake to oppose the British plan for a “European free trade area,” which was seizing the initiative from de Gaulle, in exchange for mediation services in relations with the USSR. De Gaulle's visit to Germany on September 4-9, 1962 shocked the world community with open support for Germany from a man who fought against it in two wars; but this was the first step in the reconciliation of countries and the creation of European unity.
The second compromise was due to the fact that in the fight against NATO, it was natural for the general to enlist the support of the USSR - a country that he viewed not so much as a “communist totalitarian empire”, but as “eternal Russia” (cf. the establishment of diplomatic relations between the “Free France” and the leadership of the USSR in 1941-1942, a visit in 1944, pursuing one goal - to prevent the usurpation of power in post-war France by the Americans). De Gaulle's personal hostility to communism faded into the background for the sake of the country's national interests.
In 1964, the two countries entered into a trade agreement, then an agreement on scientific and technical cooperation. In 1966, at the invitation of the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR N.V. Podgorny, de Gaulle paid an official visit to the USSR (June 20 - July 1, 1966). The President visited, in addition to the capital, Leningrad, Kyiv, Volgograd and Novosibirsk, where he visited the newly created Siberian Scientific Center - Novosibirsk Akademgorodok. The political successes of the visit included the conclusion of an agreement to expand political, economic and cultural ties. Both sides condemned American interference in the internal affairs of Vietnam and founded a special political Franco-Russian commission. An agreement was even concluded to create a direct line of communication between the Kremlin and the Elysee Palace.
De Gaulle's seven-year presidential term expired at the end of 1965. According to the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, new elections were to be held by an expanded electoral college. But the president, who was planning to run for a second term, insisted on the popular election of the head of state, and the corresponding amendments were adopted in a referendum on October 28, 1962, for which de Gaulle had to use his powers and dissolve the National Assembly.
The 1965 election was the second direct election of a French president: the first took place more than a century ago, in 1848, and was won by Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, the future Napoleon III. The victory in the first round (December 5, 1965), which the general was counting on, did not happen. Second place was taken, receiving 31%, by socialist François Mitterrand, representing a broad opposition bloc, who consistently criticized the Fifth Republic as a “permanent coup d’etat.” Although de Gaulle prevailed over Mitterrand in the second round on December 19, 1965 (54% to 45%), this election was the first warning signal.
The government monopoly on television and radio was unpopular (only print media were free). An important reason for the loss of confidence in de Gaulle was his socio-economic policy. The growing influence of domestic monopolies, the agrarian reform, which was expressed in the liquidation of a large number of peasant farms, and finally, the arms race led to the fact that the standard of living in the country not only did not increase, but in many ways became lower (the government had been calling for self-restraint since 1963). Finally, the personality of de Gaulle himself gradually caused more and more irritation - he is beginning to seem to many, especially young people, to be an inadequately authoritarian and out-of-date politician. The May 1968 events in France led to the fall of the de Gaulle administration.
On May 2, 1968, a student revolt broke out in the Latin Quarter - a Parisian area where many institutes, faculties of the University of Paris, and student dormitories are located. Students are demanding the opening of the Faculty of Sociology in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre, which was closed after similar unrest caused by ancient, “mechanical” methods of education and a number of domestic conflicts with the administration. Cars are set on fire. Barricades are erected around the Sorbonne. Police units are urgently called in, and in the fight against them, several hundred students are injured. The rebels' demands include the release of their arrested colleagues and the withdrawal of police from the neighborhoods. The government does not dare to satisfy these demands. Trade unions declare a daily strike. De Gaulle's position is tough: there can be no negotiations with the rebels. Prime Minister Georges Pompidou proposes to open the Sorbonne and satisfy the demands of the students. But the moment is already lost.
On May 13, trade unions staged a grand demonstration throughout Paris. Ten years have passed since the day when, in the wake of the Algerian rebellion, de Gaulle announced his readiness to take power. Now slogans flutter over the columns of demonstrators: “De Gaulle - to the archives!”, “Farewell, de Gaulle!”, “05/13/58-05/13/68 - it’s time to leave, Charles!” Anarchist students fill the Sorbonne.
The strike not only does not stop, but develops into an indefinite one. 10 million people are on strike across the country. The country's economy is paralyzed. Everyone has already forgotten about the students with whom it all started. The workers demand a forty-hour work week and an increase in the minimum wage to 1,000 francs. On May 24, the President speaks on television. He says that “the country is on the brink of civil war” and that the president should be given, through a referendum, broad powers for “renewal” (French rennouveau), although the latter concept was not specified. De Gaulle had no self-confidence. On May 29, Pompidou holds a meeting of his cabinet. De Gaulle is expected at the meeting, but the shocked prime minister learns that the president, having taken the archives from the Elysee Palace, left for Colombey. In the evening, the ministers learn that the helicopter carrying the general did not land in Colombey. The President went to the French occupation forces in Germany, in Baden-Baden, and almost immediately returned to Paris. The absurdity of the situation is evidenced by the fact that Pompidou was forced to look for the boss with the help of air defense.
On May 30, de Gaulle reads another radio speech at the Elysee Palace. He declares that he will not leave his post, dissolves the National Assembly and calls early elections. For the last time in his life, de Gaulle takes the chance to put an end to the “rebellion” with a firm hand. He views parliamentary elections as a vote of confidence. The elections of June 23-30, 1968 brought the Gaullists (UNR, “Union for the Republic”) 73.8% of the seats in the National Assembly. This meant that for the first time one party had an absolute majority in the lower house, and the vast majority of the French expressed confidence in General de Gaulle.
The general's fate was sealed. The short “respite” did not bear any fruit, except for the replacement of Pompidou by Maurice Couve de Murville and the announced plans to reorganize the Senate - the upper house of parliament - into an economic and social body representing the interests of entrepreneurs and trade unions. In February 1969, the general put this reform to a referendum, announcing in advance that if he lost, he would leave. On the eve of the referendum, de Gaulle with all the documents moved from Paris to Colombey and waited for the results of the vote, about which he probably had no illusions. After defeat became apparent at 10 pm on April 27, 1969, after midnight on April 28, the President telephoned Couve de Murville with the following document: “I cease to serve as President of the Republic. This decision comes into effect at noon today."
After his resignation, de Gaulle and his wife went to Ireland, then rested in Spain, worked in Colombey on “Memoirs of Hope” (not completed, until 1962). He criticized the new authorities as having “done away” with the greatness of France.
On November 9, 1970, at seven o'clock in the evening, Charles de Gaulle died suddenly in Colombey-les-deux-Eglises from a ruptured aorta. At the funeral on November 12 (at the village cemetery in Colombe next to his daughter Anna), according to the general’s will drawn up back in 1952, only immediate relatives and comrades in the Resistance were present.
After the resignation and death of de Gaulle, his temporary unpopularity remained a thing of the past; he is recognized primarily as a major historical figure, a national leader, on a par with such figures as Napoleon I. More often than during the years of his presidency, the French associate his name with his activities during World War II, usually calling him "General de Gaulle" rather than simply by his first and last name. Rejection of the figure of de Gaulle in our time is characteristic mainly of the extreme left.
The Rally for the Republic party, created by de Gaulle, after a series of reorganizations and renamings, continues to remain an influential force in France. The party, now called the Union for a Presidential Majority, or, with the same acronym, the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), is represented by former President Nicolas Sarkozy, who in his inaugural speech in 2007 said: “Assuming the functions of President of the Republic “, I think about General de Gaulle, who saved the Republic twice, returned independence to France, and its prestige to the state.” Even during the life of the general, the supporters of this center-right course were given the name Gaullists. Deviations from the principles of Gaullism (in particular, towards the restoration of relations with NATO) were characteristic of the Socialist government under Francois Mitterrand (1981-1995); Critics often accused Sarkozy of a similar “Atlanticization” of the course.
Announcing de Gaulle's death on television, his successor Pompidou said: "General de Gaulle is dead, France is widowed." The Parisian airport (French Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle, Charles de Gaulle International Airport), the Parisian Place des Stars and a number of other memorable places, as well as the nuclear aircraft carrier of the French Navy, are named in his honor. A monument to the general was erected near the Champs Elysees in Paris. In 1990, the square in front of the Cosmos Hotel in Moscow was named after him, and in 2005, a monument to de Gaulle was erected there in the presence of Jacques Chirac.
In 2014, a monument to the general was erected in Astana. The city also has Rue Charles de Gaulle, where the French Quarter is concentrated.
General de Gaulle's awards:
Grand Master of the Legion of Honor (as President of France)
Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (France)
Grand Master of the Order of Liberation (as founder of the order)
Military Cross 1939-1945 (France)
Order of the Elephant (Denmark)
Order of the Seraphim (Sweden)
Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (UK)
Grand Cross decorated with the ribbon of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Grand Cross of the Order of Military Merit (Poland)
Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (Norway)
Order of the Royal House of Chakri (Thailand)
Grand Cross of the Order of the White Rose of Finland
Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (Republic of the Congo, 01/20/1962).