Show Notes
In 1940, Charles de Gaulle saved France. He called for resistance to the Nazi occupation from London. In 1958, with the French republic crumbling, he stepped forward to save France again.
In English language history, it is de Gaulle’s defiance in WW2 and his role in the rise of the Free French that dominates discussion. In post war study, he is sometimes portrayed as an aloof figure and a man out of time, obsessed with restoring French glory over all else.
This is an unfair portrait. Post war, de Gaulle was both loved and loathed. Churchill planned the route of his own funeral to include Waterloo station, precisely because he knew it would annoy de Gaulle who would be forced to attend.
But during the late 1950s the French fourth Republic teetered on the edge of collapse. With the French military already moving to launch a coup d’etat, de Gaulle’s intervention would prove critical to the restoration of stability, and the birth of the Fifth Republic. He would go on, as president, to oversee many of the pillars of cultural, structural and international relations that still form the basis of France today.
In this episode, we’re going to look at France’s near-coup and collapse, and the role of de Gaulle in its salvation.
Guest Charles Devellennes is senior lecturer in political and social thought at the university of Kent.
He’s a historian of political thought, having written his thesis on atheism in the radical enlightenment, as well as a political theorist and scholar of French politics.
He has written three books, including ´The Macron regime’ in 2022, and is currently finishing his fourth book which deals with the institutional decline of the Fifth Republic: ‘The 18 Brumaire of Emmanuel Macron’.
Cats present Cecilia
Useful links Charles on substack: https://charlesdevellennes.substack.com
A Certain Idea of France - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/a-certain-idea-of-france-the-life-of-charles-de-gaulle-julian-jackson/e4feca363fe8c17a?ean=9780141049533&bkshp-astro=t
The Macron Regime - https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-macron-regime-the-ideology-of-the-new-right-in-france-charles-devellennes/d6c07a27454ebc7c?ean=9781529227093&bkshp-astro=t
Do you like our podcast? Then please leave us a review, it helps us a lot!
Host: Gareth Edwards More about Gareth Edwards: https://battleguide.co.uk/untitled-history#host
To comment and ask questions, please join our community: https://untitled-history.com/supporters Use our code: Rabbit and get one month free as a Captain, or join as a free member.
Support via Paypal: http://battleguide.co.uk/untitled-paypal Merchandise and Shop: https://untitled-history.com/collections/all
Our WW1 Podcast: @NSQPod Our WW2 Podcast: @BSOWPod Battle Guide YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@BattleGuideVT
If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of what the team at Battle Guide have been getting up to, why not sign up to our monthly newsletter: https://battleguide.co.uk/newsletter
Gareth socials BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/garius.bsky.social Mastodon: https://mastodon.me.uk/@garius
Battle Guide Twitter: https://x.com/BattleguideVT General Enquiries: [email protected]
Credits: - Host: Gareth Edwards - Editing: Sander van Kammen - Production: Linus Klaßen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from The Untitled History Podcast
In post-war Britain, the drive to build new housing and a better world led to a number of plans focused on creating modern towns. The boldest and most visionary of these was to be Milton Keynes, a city from nothing.
The Roman Army was powered by cheese. It fuelled its soldiers through war and occupation and, as Rome’s armies swept through western Europe, altered how an entire continent produced and consumed cheese.
In September 1926, art expert Paul Arndt was shown a newly-unearthed Ancient Greek statue by an Italian dealer. It was an extraordinary piece. Its sale for a vast sum of money to an American museum, along with other pieces unearthed, would create excitement across America.
On the 8th of 1940, a lone British destroyer encountered part of the German invasion force bound for Norway. The heroic last stand of HMS Glowworm against overwhelming odds earned her captain the first Victoria Cross of the war. Incredibly, this award was granted based on the recommendation of the German Admiral he had fought.
In 1458, the Kingdom of Cyprus was the last of the Crusader States. Over the next 30 years, two remarkable women would fight to rule it as queen. Their rivalry would see each experience periods of power and exile.