Charles de Gaulle

(B. 1890)

Charles de Gaulle is the current President of France, and the de facto architect of the Republic's rebirth. Born in Lille in 1890, de Gaulle trained at Saint-Cyr and served with distinction during World War I, being wounded at Verdun and taken prisoner. He emerged from the conflict convinced that France’s survival depended on military innovation and national unity. During the interwar years, his writings on armoured warfare and national defence went largely ignored by the ruling monarchist regime, but not by the neosocialist authorities, who embraced them wholly.

De Gaulle refused to truly commit to the neosocialist cause after the Fourth French Revolution and, despite his influence on the French Red Army's doctrinal reforms, was placed under investigation. In 1935 he was forced into exile, joining the rebelling republican forces in Algeria. By 1936, he had become one of the most prominent military leaders in Free France. Throughout the Second World War, he advocated for an independent French voice among the Allies, resisting German, American and British domination. Following Operation Overlord (the Allied invasion of Normandy) and the Fall of Paris in 1944, de Gaulle marched at the head of Free French troops into the liberated capital. He quickly asserted himself as the indispensable figure in the transitional government. His stature as both soldier and republican patriot allowed him to bridge the deep divides between collaborators, exiles, and resistance fighters.

Though officially elected President in 1952, de Gaulle has been an enormously influential political figure since 1944, and personally presided over the arduous process of de-neosocialisation. He insisted on public trials for leading neosocialist officials, rejecting summary justice and calls for amnesty. Under his tutelage, the Republic purged its institutions, rehabilitated the French military, and restored liberal democratic governance.

De Gaulle’s presidency has been defined by a careful balancing act. He aligned France firmly with the Western Bloc 🦅, securing American, British and German protection, but remains wary of overdependence on any one power. Determined to restore French prestige, he pursues policies aimed at independence within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), most infamously the French nuclear program, with its first successful detonation (Gerboise Bleue) occurring rather recently in 1960, deep within the Sahara Desert. He opposes German imperialism, supports a strong European identity, and invests heavily in rebuilding France’s armed forces.

At home, de Gaulle fosters a strong presidency, believing parliamentary squabbling has weakened France in the past. His government promotes industrial modernisation, infrastructure development, and limited social reforms. Yet his authoritarian style, combined with his suspicion of political parties, often alienates both left and right. Student and worker unrest in the late 1960s, particularly the Global Protests of 1968, have weakened his firm grasp on Paris, and many speak of a possible resignation.