Commemoration: De Gaulle’s 18 June appeal

As every year, the French Embassy organized a ceremony to commemorate the "Appeal to all the French" which General de Gaulle broadcast on the BBC on 18 June 1940. In this historic appeal, General de Gaulle exhorted the French to refuse defeat and continue the fight against the enemy. It perfectly symbolizes the French spirit of resistance and illustrates France’s constantly avowed determination to defend her autonomy.

Led by M. Gérard Errera, French Ambassador to the United Kingdom, the ceremony took place in front of General de Gaulle’s statue in Carlton Gardens, London SW1. A detachment of officer cadets from the Gendarmerie Nationale, representatives of the French veterans’ associations with their standard bearers, representatives and elected members of the organization of French nationals abroad and children from the primary section of the Lycée Français Charles-de- Gaulle attended.