Editing Free France (section)

===De Gaulle rallies the Free French===
{{Main|Appeal of 18 June}}
[[File:De Gaulle - à tous les Français.jpg|thumb|In [[Occupied France]] during the war, reproductions of the [[Appeal of 18 June|18 June appeal]] were distributed through [[Clandestine press of the French Resistance|underground means]] as pamphlets and plastered on walls as posters by supporters of the [[Résistance]]. This could be a dangerous activity.]]
[[File:4 carlton gardens.jpg|thumb|230px|right|4 Carlton gardens, London. During WWII the building served as provisional headquarters of the Free French Resistance movement.]]

On 18 June 1940, General {{nowrap|de Gaulle}} spoke to the [[French people]] via [[BBC radio]], urging French soldiers, sailors and airmen to join in the fight against the [[Nazism|Nazi]]s:
:"France is not alone! She is not alone! She has a great empire behind her! Together with the [[British Empire]], she can form a bloc that controls the seas and continue the struggle. She may, like England, draw upon the limitless industrial resources of the United States".{{sfn|Munholland|2007|p=10}}

Some members of the [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|British Cabinet]] had reservations about {{nowrap|de Gaulle}}'s speech, fearing that such a broadcast could provoke the Pétain government into handing the French fleet over to the Nazis,<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/greatspeeches/story/0,,2059384,00.html "A Mesmerising Oratory"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 29 April 2007.</ref> but British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]], despite his own concerns, agreed to the broadcast.

In France, {{nowrap|de Gaulle}}'s "Appeal of 18 June" ({{lang|fr|Appel du 18 juin}}) was not widely heard that day but, together with his BBC broadcasts<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2007/apr/29/greatspeeches1 | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=The flame of French resistance | date=28 April 2007 | access-date=27 March 2010 | first=Charles | last=de Gaulle | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130831052026/http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2007/apr/29/greatspeeches1 | archive-date=31 August 2013 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all }}</ref> in subsequent days and his later communications, came to be widely remembered throughout France and its colonial empire as the voice of national honour and freedom.