De Gaulle

Lambert Wilson,Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu

Paris, June 1940. The country is facing military and political collapse as the Battle of France rages. A married couple, Charles de Gaulle and his wife Yvonne de Gaulle, are trying to cope with the situation at hand. When de Gaulle goes to war as a brigadier general in the battle against the invading German army, his wife Yvonne remains at home and takes care of their three children: Anne, Philippe de Gaulle and little Elisabeth. As the Germans activate Fall Rot, Paul Reynaud appoints de Gaulle as Defence Minister, under the command of Deputy Prime Minister Philippe Pétain whose body was responsible for collaboration with the British. While attending a cabinet meeting, de Gaulle is not met kindly by Philippe Pétain, General Maxime Weygand and Geoffroy Chodron de Courcel, who all feel that de Gaulle is not fit for office. Following his visit to Weygand, who was aiming for a truce between French and the Germans, de Gaulle decides to fly to Britain to meet the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to discuss the evacuation of the French army to French North Africa. It's only after that trip that Reynaud, Pétain, and Weygand change their view about de Gaulle. During the same month, de Gaulle attends a couple of Anglo-French Supreme War Council meetings where he meets Churchill and General Edward Spears on June 11, and two days later meets the first Earl of Halifax, E.F.L. Wood. Following the successful meetings, de Gaulle offers his resignation, but the Interior Minister Georges Mandel urges him to stay. An escape from French North Africa with Edward Spears and Jean Laurent makes the German government suspicious and an arrest warrant is issued in de Gaulle's name. De Gaulle ends up landing in Britain and goes directly to Churchill, who suggests he should work for BBC Radio on June 17. The next day, de Gaulle issues an appeal to the French people not to be demoralized and to continue fighting against the German aggressors. It was during this time that Yvonne and her children left Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, as German forces continue to advance throughout France. By June 25, 1940, de Gaulle becomes the leader of the Free French and eventually becomes the President of the Republic.