Free France
Exiled wartime leadership
Free France was the government-in-exile and resistance movement led by Charles de Gaulle after Nazi Germany occupied France in 1940.
Operating from London and later Algiers, Free French forces fought alongside the Allies while maintaining that Vichy France—the collaborationist regime—was illegitimate.
The movement represented French continuity and honor during occupation: My grandfather escaped to join Free France.
French wartime leader, president
- Charles de GaulleFrench general and president
- provisional governmentTemporary authority pending transition
- GaullistFrench political traditionalist
- BBCBritish public broadcaster
London · Algiers · Brazzaville · Chad · Dakar · colonies · Casablanca
Mediterranean coastal scrub
- undergroundBelow ground or countercultural
- sabotageDeliberate disruption of operations
- clandestineConcealed from authorities
- espionageCovert intelligence gathering
guerrilla · partisan · infiltration · covert · cell · network · subversion · defiance
Joint intellectual work
- occupationOne's regular paid work
- armisticeAgreement to cease hostilities
- LavalQuebec municipality
- North AfricaContinent's Mediterranean coastal region
Three-hued emblem
- MarseillaiseFrance's official anthem
- MarianneFrench national allegory
- liberationRelease from constraint
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
honor · rally · exile · defiance · homeland · republic · unity · resistance
Atlantic archipelago nation
- United StatesNorth American federal republic
- Soviet UnionFormer communist superstate
- PolandCentral European republic
- BelgiumWestern European constitutional monarchy
Netherlands · Norway · Czechoslovakia · Canada · Australia · New Zealand · South Africa · Greece
de Gaulle
French wartime leader, president
- Charles de GaulleFrench general and president
- provisional governmentTemporary authority pending transition
- GaullistFrench political traditionalist
BBC · London · Algiers · Brazzaville · Chad · Dakar · colonies · Casablanca
maquis
Mediterranean coastal scrub
- undergroundBelow ground or countercultural
- sabotageDeliberate disruption of operations
- clandestineConcealed from authorities
espionage · guerrilla · partisan · infiltration · covert · cell · network · subversion · defiance · coded messages
collaboration
Joint intellectual work
- occupationOne's regular paid work
- armisticeAgreement to cease hostilities
- LavalQuebec municipality
tricolor
Three-hued emblem
- MarseillaiseFrance's official anthem
- MarianneFrench national allegory
- liberationRelease from constraint
sovereignty · honor · rally · exile · defiance · homeland · republic · unity · resistance · legitimacy
United Kingdom
Atlantic archipelago nation
- United StatesNorth American federal republic
- Soviet UnionFormer communist superstate
- PolandCentral European republic
Belgium · Netherlands · Norway · Czechoslovakia · Canada · Australia · New Zealand · South Africa · Greece · Yugoslavia