(18 Jun 2020) French President Emmanuel Macron kicked off June 18 commemorations marking former president Charles De Gaulle's defiant World War II broadcast, with a visit to the Order of Liberation museum in Paris.
Thursday marks 80 years of De Gaulle's speech via BBC broadcast from London to his countrymen on June 18, 1940, urging them to fight on.
The speech is widely considered to be the moment that gave birth to the French Resistance.
Macron toured the museum with one of France's last living Resistance figures, 99-year old Hubert Germain.
After a ceremony at Mont Valerien, the memorial to the French Resistance, Macron is travelling to London to mark De Gaulle's appeal to resist the Nazis in a special ceremony intended to invoke the deep friendship between the longtime allies.
The moment has huge significance for Macron, as he is eager to associate his presidency with the wartime leader.
In a reflection of the importance of the event, this will be Macron's first international trip since France's lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prince Charles and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, will receive Macron at their Clarence House home with a Guard of Honor formed by the Number 7 Company of the Coldstream Guards and their band.
The year 2020 also marks the 130th anniversary of De Gaulle's birth and 50 years after his death.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/b3f00ec9108442379457c1f4fce26a73