Charles de Gaulle: Death Sentence, Assassination Attempts, Legacy

Few figures in modern history embody a paradox quite like Charles de Gaulle: a French general sentenced to death by his own government, yet later enshrined as the nation’s savior. This guide traces his remarkable journey from a treason conviction in 1940 to founding the Fifth Republic and surviving over 30 assassination attempts, covering why the Vichy regime wanted him dead, what made Churchill groan, and how a 6-foot-5-inch man with a daughter with Down syndrome reshaped France.

Born: 22 November 1890, Lille, France ·
Died: 9 November 1970, Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, France ·
Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) ·
Presidency: 8 January 1959 – 28 April 1969 ·
Known for: Leader of Free French Forces, founder of Fifth Republic ·
Assassination attempts: Over 30 recorded

Six key facts, one pattern: de Gaulle’s public stature and private vulnerability rarely match what history books first suggest.

Why was Charles de Gaulle sentenced to death?

In the summer of 1940, as Nazi forces swept across France, General Charles de Gaulle made a decision that would define his life and nearly end it: he refused to accept the armistice with Nazi Germany negotiated by Marshal Philippe Pétain’s government. From London, de Gaulle broadcast his famous appeal of 18 June, calling on the French people to continue the fight. For Pétain’s Vichy regime, that was treason.

• The Vichy government sentenced de Gaulle to death in absentia on 2 August 1940 (Britannica).
• The formal charge was “desertion” and “treason” for refusing to surrender and for encouraging resistance (Ministère des Armées (French government defense archive)).
• The sentence was never carried out. After the liberation of France in 1944, de Gaulle returned as head of the provisional government, and the verdict was effectively annulled (BBC History).

The implication: de Gaulle’s conviction by a recognized French court created a legal and moral tangle that only his postwar triumph resolved. The Vichy sentence was never formally overturned; it simply became irrelevant.

Why is Charles de Gaulle so famous?

De Gaulle’s fame rests on three distinct phases of action: his wartime leadership, his constitutional overhaul of France, and his assertive foreign policy that defined the country’s postwar identity. Each phase produced lasting institutional change, not just political drama.

• Wartime leader: De Gaulle led the Free French Forces from London, becoming the symbolic head of the French Resistance (BBC History).
• Founder of the Fifth Republic: Called back to power during the 1958 Algerian crisis, de Gaulle drafted a new constitution that strengthened the executive branch and established the presidency as the dominant institution (Britannica).
• Decolonization: Despite being brought to power by French settlers in Algeria, de Gaulle oversaw Algerian independence in 1962 — a move that infuriated the far right and triggered multiple assassination attempts (The New York Times).
• Independent foreign policy: He withdrew France from NATO’s integrated military command in 1966, developed an independent nuclear deterrent, and vetoed Britain’s entry into the European Economic Community (Britannica).

What this means: de Gaulle’s fame isn’t nostalgia — it’s structural. The Fifth Republic’s constitution he authored still governs France. Every French president since has operated within a system de Gaulle designed.

Why did they try to assassinate Charles de Gaulle?

The assassination attempts on de Gaulle were not the work of lone gunmen or foreign agents. They were organized campaigns by far-right French militants — specifically the Organisation armée secrète (OAS) — who saw de Gaulle as a traitor for granting Algeria independence.

• The OAS formed in 1961 by French army officers and settlers who opposed Algerian independence (The New York Times).
• The most famous attempt was the Petit-Clamart ambush on 22 August 1962, where a team of OAS gunmen fired over a hundred rounds at de Gaulle’s car. No one was killed; one person was injured (Wikipedia).
• Another attempt on 9 September 1961 involved a bomb that misfired as de Gaulle’s car passed. French officials attributed it to the OAS (The New York Times).
• A U.S. National Criminal Justice Reference Service abstract reports 31 separate assassination attempts on de Gaulle between 1944 and 1966 (NCJRS / OJP (U.S. justice research service)).

The pattern: every major threat to de Gaulle’s life came from his own countrymen, not from foreign adversaries. The far right saw him as a traitor; the left saw him as an authoritarian. He survived both.

What was Charles de Gaulle’s famous quote?

De Gaulle was a master of the memorable phrase — and a few of his lines have become shorthand for his worldview. Some are well-attributed; others sit in the gray zone of historical retelling, their exact origins less certain than their cultural currency.

• Attributed to de Gaulle: “France cannot be France without greatness.” — from his war memoirs, reflecting his core nationalist philosophy (Britannica).
• Also attributed: “La France, c’est moi” (“France is me”) — though scholars note this may be apocryphal, a condensation of his style rather than a documented remark.
• During a 1967 speech in Montreal, he shouted “Vive le Québec libre!” (“Long live free Quebec!”), causing a diplomatic crisis with Canada (Britannica).
• He once remarked that “Brazil is not a serious country” — a quip often cited but whose original context remains disputed.

Why this matters: de Gaulle’s quotability wasn’t accidental. He wrote and spoke with deliberate grandeur, crafting lines that would outlive the moment. Whether “France is me” was ever uttered, it captures the man’s self-assurance perfectly.

What did Churchill say about de Gaulle?

The relationship between Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle was one of the most consequential — and most difficult — alliances of World War II. Churchill supported de Gaulle financially and politically, but he also found the French general infuriatingly stubborn.

• Churchill’s most famous quip: “The hardest cross I have to bear is the Cross of Lorraine.” The Cross of Lorraine was the symbol of the Free French Forces (Britannica).
• He also called de Gaulle a “great man” while acknowledging he was difficult, describing the relationship as one of “troubled but necessary partnership” (BBC History).
• Despite their clashes — over strategy, over territories, over leadership — Churchill continued to fund and arm the Free French, recognizing that de Gaulle was the only viable symbol of French resistance (Ministère des Armées).

The trade-off: Churchill got a defiant ally against Hitler but also a partner who would vigorously defend French interests — sometimes at the expense of British priorities. For British leaders today examining the Franco-British relationship, the Churchill-de Gaulle dynamic remains a case study in managing alliances with proud partners.

Timeline: Charles de Gaulle’s life in milestones

• 1890 — Born in Lille on 22 November (Élysée)
• 1912 — Graduates from Saint-Cyr military academy
• 1914–1918 — Serves in World War I; wounded and captured at Verdun; makes several unsuccessful escape attempts
• 1940 — Refuses armistice with Nazi Germany; broadcasts appeal of 18 June; sentenced to death by Vichy regime (Britannica)
• 1944 — Returns to France as head of the provisional government after liberation
• 1958 — Returns to power during Algerian crisis; founds the Fifth Republic (Ministère des Armées)
• 1959 — Takes office as President of France on 8 January (Italian Wikipedia reference)
• 1961 — Survives bomb attempt by OAS on 9 September (The New York Times)
• 1962 — Survives Petit-Clamart ambush on 22 August (Wikipedia)
• 1969 — Resigns after losing a referendum on regional reform on 28 April
• 1970 — Dies of a ruptured aneurysm on 9 November in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises (Britannica)

What this means: de Gaulle’s timeline shows a life of constant upheaval and resilience.

What we know — and what remains unclear

This balance of certainty and uncertainty reflects the ongoing historical scrutiny of de Gaulle’s life.

Key quotes from and about de Gaulle

“France cannot be France without greatness.”

Charles de Gaulle, from his war memoirs (Britannica)

“The hardest cross I have to bear is the Cross of Lorraine.”

Winston Churchill, remark on de Gaulle’s difficult personality (Britannica)

“Vive le Québec libre!”

Charles de Gaulle, speech in Montreal, 24 July 1967 (Britannica)

“He was a great man, but he was also a very difficult man. The two things are not entirely unconnected.”

Winston Churchill, as recollected in historical writings on their relationship (BBC History)

These quotes capture the essence of de Gaulle’s self-image and his impact on others.

What de Gaulle’s legacy means for France today

De Gaulle left France a constitutional system that has now operated for over six decades — longer than any other French republic. His model of a strong presidency, directly elected by universal suffrage (established in 1962), remains the anchor of French governance. But the trade-offs are real: the same executive power that allowed de Gaulle to end the Algerian War and pursue an independent foreign policy also concentrates authority in one person. For French voters today, the question is whether de Gaulle’s Fifth Republic still balances power effectively, or whether it needs fresh constitutional reform.

Frequently asked questions

These questions address common curiosities about de Gaulle’s life and legacy.

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