On the occasion of the 84th anniversary of the Appeal of June 18, 1940, former soldiers, Christian Estrosi and Hughes Moutouh, gathered in Nice, at the Place Charles de Gaulle for a commemorative ceremony.
June 18, 1940. From London, the appeal of General de Gaulle stirred France. It unified a Resistance against the Nazi occupier. This strength – this undefeated spirit – was celebrated during the commemorative ceremony.
As the General courageously did 84 years earlier on the BBC airwaves, a middle school student takes the floor. Behind the podium, she reads those 400 words with emotion.
Appeal of June 18, 1940: Hope Must Not Disappear
An opportunity to remember this poignant speech, which calls on the French not to be defeated by the enemy. “No”, hope must not disappear, he exclaimed to restore confidence.
“The war is not limited to our country”, he was convinced. On June 18, 1940, while the day before, Marshal Pétain signed the Armistice with Nazi Germany, de Gaulle called for an uprising.
The officers, French soldiers, engineers, and workers specialized in armament located in British territory are invited to get in touch with him. Thus, he ignites the Flame of the French Resistance.
“We Celebrate the Voice of an Almost Alone Man”
When Christian Estrosi speaks, he pays tribute to this General who, from London, sought support from the French, convinced that the war was not over. “We celebrate the voice of an almost alone man”, who wishes to unite the Resistance fighters. They do not want defeat.
The mayor of Nice lists names that also marked the history of the French Resistance. He salutes the courage of Charles Tillon, a figure of the communist Resistance. But also that of Edmond Michelet, who denounced Marshal Pétain’s capitulation. He also mentions Jean Moulin who “saved the honor of the Republic” by refusing to deliver crucial information.
Then the prefect of Alpes-Maritimes, Hughes Moutouh, takes the microphone to read the declaration of Patricia Mirallès (Secretary of State in charge of Veterans and Memory). He explains: the essential, after the appeal of June 18, was the “unshakable confidence of the French.”
This appeal launched by General de Gaulle is synonymous with refusal: the war is not over, France is not alone. An appeal barely heard on the radio, but “many will repeat it”, as a “spark” was born. In London, where “the BBC has never been so French,” the French “were redeeming the honor of a country“ by taking part in the Resistance.
