De Gaulle, the Man of the 18th of June

I write from english speaking America, there is here, ab initio, an enduring, active and stupid anti-gallicanism. In the States, it is primarily, on account of the stubborn, french idée fixe, that the french truly, matter importantly. It is part of the mania that produced, amongst other things, manifest destiny. In Canada, it is a rivalry of the maple leafs and the canadiens.*

In the person, of Charles de Gaulle, there is a person to target these animuses. He loved France, in the deepest and most sentimental manners. He also had an understanding of England and the United States as a single transatlantic anglo-saxon entity, which, he did not love.

Toute ma vie, je me suis fait une certaine idée de la France.
All my life I have had a certain idea of France. — So begins, Mémoires de guerre

La France ne peut être la France sans la grandeur.
France cannot be France without greatness. — Mémoires de guerre

A la base de notre civilisation, il y a la liberté de chacun dans sa pensée, ses croyances, ses opinions, son travail, ses loisirs.
At the base of our civilisation, there is the liberty of each person of thought, of belief, of opinion, of work, of leisure.— 25 Nov. 1941

Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first. — 9 May 1969

You may be sure that the Americans will commit all the stupidities they can think of, plus some that are beyond imagination.

Oui, c'est l'Europe, depuis l'Atlantique jusqu'à l'Oural, c'est toute l'Europe, qui décidera du destin du monde.
Yes, it is Europe, from the Atlantic to the Urals, it is Europe, it is the whole of Europe, that will decide the fate of the world. — 23 Nov. 1959

Charles de Gaulle was the man of the eighteenth of June, 1940. The Germans had overrun France, over 100,000 french soldiers were dead†, the long occupation had begun. In the early evening, over BBC radio, the French resistance began. The Général, and the leader of the free french spoke.‡ On the 22nd, a second, wider, broadcast was made.

Quoi qu'il arrive, la flamme de la résistance française ne doit pas s'éteindre et ne s'éteindra pas.
Whatever happens, the flame of the French resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished. — 18 Jun 1940

Or, beaucoup de Français n'acceptent pas la capitulation ni la servitude, pour des raisons qui s'appellent l'honneur, le bons sens, l'intérêt supérieur de la Patrie.
Now, a great many Frenchmen refuse to accept either capitulation or slavery, for reasons which are called : honour, common sense, and the higher interests of the country. — 22 Jun 1940

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*In 1967, in Montreal, he said, Vive le Québec libre!
†French military dead, world war I : ~ 1,368,000
‡Despite of repeated attempts of, both, the english and the americans of finding a more, accommodating frenchman. This is where the dislike of de Gaulle began. De Gaulle resisted all saxons: german nazis and anglo-saxons.