REPORTAGE
In the presence of Prince Charles, Emmanuel Macron presents the Legion of Honor in London on Thursday: the President of the French Republic thus pays tribute to the city which was the capital of Free France. The day after his arrival in the capital, on June 18, 1940, it was there that Charles de Gaulle had called the French military, engineers and workers to join him to continue the fight against Nazi Germany, despite the armistice requested by Marshal Pétain. And in the streets of the English capital, today, the general's shadow still hangs over several districts.
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A speech written on the second floor of a pub?
In his deserted pub, confinement obliges, Leslie Lewis thus gladly presents the second floor of his establishment. "It would have happened here, near the window", describes the shopkeeper: it is in this pub, "La Maison Française" ("The French House"), that General de Gaulle would have written his speech the day before the 18th June 1940. "We are not 100% sure, but we like the idea. And I think he would have liked to come here just to speak French," smiles the Londoner.
>> PODCAST - June 18, 1940: the Appeal of General de Gaulle who changed history
"He's also the man who said no to England's entry into the EU"
For purists, like Hubert Roth, French guide expatriated in London, the History is elsewhere. "We are in front of the statue of General de Gaulle, here in the heart of London", explains the French speaker, who makes French tourists and local tourists discover the capital through Charles de Gaulle. "For the English, Charles de Gaulle was the one who said no to Hitler in 1940. But he was also the man who said no to England's entry into the European Union in the 1960s."