The First Bayeux Speech was a speech delivered by General

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

of France in the context of liberation after the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

in June 1944.

Background

A few days after the

, General Charles de Gaulle sought to symbolically meet the French people in one of the first towns liberated. He also aimed to counter the American intentions to establish their own administration in France in the form of the

Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories The Allied Military Government of Occupied Territories (originally abbreviated AMGOT, later AMG) was the form of military rule administered by Allied forces during and after World War II within former Axis-held territories they occupied. The fir ...

(AMGOT), a branch of which had been specifically prepared to govern France and had started circulating a currency based on the dollar in liberated France. After

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

, De Gaulle was anxious to get to French soil. Churchill agreed, allowing De Gaulle to visit

Bayeux Bayeux (, ; ) is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It is also known as the fir ...

, with a population of 15,000 the biggest French town liberated so far. This was seen as the first big test of De Gaulle's popularity in France, with the anti-Gaullist President Roosevelt speculating that De Gaulle would "crumble" and the British would be forced to withdraw support. De Gaulle came to Normandy on the Free French destroyer La Combattante in a delegation that included François Coulet, who had been appointed Commissioner of the Republic for Normandy. The delegation also carried a 250-million franc treasure to counter introduction of the US occupation franc. One of the most famous photographs of De Gaulle was taken aboard during the journey, before he landed between Courseulles and Graye-sur-Mer. After landing on the coast part of the party went ahead to Bayeux while De Gaulle went to the headquarters of General Montgomery before going to Bayeux and meeting local dignitaries, many of whom had been Petainists.

Speech

De Gaulle was not supposed to have any meetings in Bayeux but he would be allowed to be seen, but De Gaulle decided to make a speech in the town in which he proclaimed Bayeux the capital of

Free France Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...

. He also appointed his Chef de Cabinet, François Coulet as a Commissioner of the Republic, who through being an efficient administrator who was useful to the allies. This set a precedent for the

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

run by De Gaulle to appoint French administrators loyal to De Gaulle in French territory liberated by the allies. After the speech, he traveled to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

for the first time. His visit included meetings with French scientists working on the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

as well as

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

Aftermath

The enthusiastic reception from the population confirmed his popularity in France, which discouraged the United States from placing France under their administration. The

Provisional Government of the French Republic The Provisional Government of the French Republic (PGFR; , GPRF) was the provisional government of Free France between 3 June 1944 and 27 October 1946, following the liberation of continental France after Operations ''Overlord'' and ''Drago ...

, officially formed on June 3, 1944 in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, the capital of

French Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...

, under De Gaulle’s leadership as the successor to the

French Committee of National Liberation French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band) ...

, was thus able to establish itself in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

after the liberation of the capital and assume effective leadership of the country.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayeux Speech, 1 France in World War II Speeches by Charles de Gaulle 1944 speeches Bayeux Military history of Calvados (department) World War II speeches Anti-American sentiment in Europe Provisional government of the French Republic