Editing Free France (section)

== Liberation of Paris ==
{{Main|Liberation of Paris}}
After the failed [[20 July plot]] against him, Hitler had given orders to have Paris destroyed should it fall to the Allies, similarly to the [[Destruction of Warsaw|planned destruction of Warsaw]].

Mindful of this and other strategic considerations, General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] was planning to by-pass the city. At this time, Parisians started a [[general strike]] on 15 August 1944 that escalated into a full-scale uprising of the FFI a few days later. As the Allied forces waited near Paris, {{nowrap|de Gaulle}} and his Free French government put General Eisenhower under pressure. {{nowrap|De Gaulle}} was furious about the delay and was unwilling to allow the people of Paris to be slaughtered as had happened in the Polish capital of [[Warsaw]] during the [[Warsaw Uprising|Warsaw uprising]]. {{nowrap|De Gaulle}} ordered General Leclerc to attack single-handedly without the aid of Allied forces. Eventually, Eisenhower agreed to detach the [[4th Infantry Division (United States)|4th US Infantry Division]] in support of the French attack.

[[File:Crowds of French patriots line the Champs Elysees-edit2.jpg|thumb|left|Leclerc's [[French 2nd Division (World War II)|2nd Armoured Division]] (2e DB) parading down the [[Champs Elysées]] on 26 August 1944, the day after the [[Liberation of Paris]]]]
The Allied High Command ([[Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force|SHAEF]]) requested the Free French force in question [[Racism against African Americans in the U.S. military|to be all-white]], if possible, but this was very difficult because of the large numbers of black West Africans in their ranks.<ref name="The Independent"/> General Leclerc sent a small advance party to enter Paris, with the message that the 2e DB (composed of 10,500 French, 3,600 Maghrebis<ref>Olivier Forcade, ''Du capitaine de Hauteclocque au Général Leclerc'', Vingtième Siècle, Revue d'histoire, Année 1998, Volume 58, Numéro 58, pp. 144–146</ref><ref>"Aspect méconnu de la composition de la 2e DB: en avril 1944, celle-ci comporte sur un effectif total de 14 490, une proportion de 25% de soldats nord-africains : 3 600", Christine Levisse-Touzé, ''Du capitaine de Hautecloque au général Leclerc?'', Editions Complexe, 2000, p.243</ref> and about 350 Spaniards<ref name="France 1994, p. 590"/> in the 9th company of the 3rd Battalion of the {{lang|fr|Régiment de Marche du Tchad}} made up mainly of Spanish Republican exiles<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mesquida|first1=Evelyn|title=La Nueve, 24 août 1944 : ces Républicains espagnols qui ont libéré Paris|year=2011|publisher=Le Cherche Midi, 2011|isbn=978-2-7491-2046-1}}</ref>) would be there the following day. This party was commanded by Captain [[Raymond Dronne]], and was given the honour to be the first Allied unit to enter Paris ahead of the {{lang|fr|2e Division Blindée}}. The [[1er Bataillon de Fusiliers Marins Commandos]] formed from the Free French Navy Fusiliers-Marins that had landed on [[Sword Beach]] were also amongst the first of the Free French forces to enter Paris.

The military governor of the city, [[Dietrich von Choltitz]], surrendered on 25 August, ignoring Hitler's orders to destroy the city and fight to the last man.<ref>Hastings, Max, 557</ref> Jubilant crowds greeted the [[Liberation of Paris]]. French forces and {{nowrap|de Gaulle}} conducted a now iconic parade through the city.