The speech delivered by General Charles de Gaulle from London on June 18, 1940, is a founding act of the Resistance and a myth, first created by its author.
Today, this date is the national day of commemoration of General de Gaulle’s historic call to refuse defeat and to continue the fight against the enemy.
On June 18, 1940, as the armistice was about to be signed, General de Gaulle made a call for resistance from the BBC studios in London.
The next day, the message was transcribed in the press, and in the weeks that followed, a few thousand men responded, joining England.
This speech, the first in a series in which the general would renew his calls to continue the fight, changed the course of the war.
In Nice, a ceremony presided over by Prefect Bernard Gonzales, in the presence of civil and military authorities, will take place at General De Gaulle Square at 5:30 PM.
