On June 18, 1940, 82 years ago, General de Gaulle delivered his famous appeal from London, broadcast over the BBC.
An appeal to all French military personnel, engineers, or workers specializing in armaments who were located on British soil to get in touch with him; and an appeal to the French to revolt against the Nazi occupation to continue the fight against Germany.
Despite a small audience in mainland France and few newspapers transcribing the words of the general whose face was still unknown to the public, this appeal marks the organization of the resistance for the liberation of France, Free France.ย
On several occasions in June 1940, Charles de Gaulle repeated this appeal, and by the summer of 1940, thousands of volunteers joined the ranks of the Free French Forces, who continued the fight against Nazism alongside the Allies.
This historical event for our countries has been celebrated annually since 1941.ย Today, it has become a symbol of the refusal to accept defeat and the dramatic consequences of the armistice.ย
In Nice, this crucial moment in the history of France will be celebrated in the Libรฉration District, where the statue of General de Gaulle stands.
A ceremony will take place at 6:00 PM in the presence of Bernard Gonzalez (Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes), Christian Estrosi (Mayor of Nice, President of the Mรฉtropole, and Deputy President of the PACA Region), and Colonel Marie-Christine Fix (Municipal Councilor, Metropolitan Councilor, Defense Liaison, and representative of all the Associations of Veterans and War Victims).
