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The French National Committee (, CNF) was the coordinating body created by General Charles de Gaulle which acted as the
government in exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovereign state or semi-sovereign state, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usu ...
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 ...
from 1941 to 1943. The committee was the successor of the smaller Empire Defense Council. It was
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
who suggested that de Gaulle create a committee, in order to lend an appearance of more constitutionally based and less dictatorial authority. According to historian , De Gaulle went on to accept his proposal, but took care to exclude all his adversaries within the Free France movement, such as Émile Muselier, André Labarthe and others, retaining only "yes men" in the group. The CNF was founded 24 September 1941 by an edict signed by General de Gaulle in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. The committee remained active until 3 June 1943, when it merged with the French Civil and Military High Command headed by Henri Giraud, becoming the new
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) ...
.


Composition

The French National Committee comprised six civilian and six military personnel: * Brigadier General Charles de Gaulle, President; *
René Pleven René Jean Pleven (; 15 April 190113 January 1993) was a notable political figure of the French Resistance and Fourth Republic. An early associate of Jean Monnet then member of the Free French led by Charles de Gaulle, he took a leading role i ...
, Commissioner of Economy, Finance and the Colonies. In charge of the coordination of civilian administrative departments ; * Major General Paul Legentilhomme, Commissioner of War; * , Commissioner of Foreign Affairs until October 18, 1942 (dismissal), interim replacement by Pleven and then by René Massigli; * René Cassin, Commissioner of Justice and Public Instruction; * André Diethelm, Commissioner for Action in the Metropolis, Work, and Information; * André Philip, Commissioner of the Interior from 27; * Jacques Soustelle, Commissioner of Information from July 27, 1942; * Air Brigade General Martial Valin, Commissioner of the Air Force; * Vice-Admiral Émile Muselier, Commissioner of the Navy and the Merchant Navy, until March 3, 1942 (resignation); replaced by Rear Admiral Philippe Auboyneau from 4; * Lieutenant General
Georges Catroux Georges Albert Julien Catroux (; 29 January 1877 – 21 December 1969) was a French Army general and diplomat who served in both World War I and World War II, and served as Grand Chancellor of the LĂ©gion d'honneur from 1954 to 1969. Life C ...
, commissioner at large from March 4, 1942; * Rear Admiral
Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu (), in religion Father Louis of the Trinity, OCD (7 August 1889 – 7 September 1964), was a Discalced Carmelite friar and priest, who was also a diplomat and French Navy officer and admiral; he became a major pe ...
, commissioner at large from March 4, 1942. On 20 March 1943, the committee secretly appointed
Jean Moulin Jean Pierre Moulin (; 20 June 1899 – 8 July 1943) was a French civil servant and hero of the French Resistance who succeeded in unifying the main networks of the Resistance in World War II, a unique act in Europe. He served as the first Presid ...
, then in London, as representative of the French National Committee in Metropolitan France and "national commissioner on active duty" and put him in charge of creating a single coordinating body for the
French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...
. According to
Daniel Cordier Daniel Cordier (10 August 1920 – 20 November 2020) was a French Resistance fighter, historian and art dealer. As a member of the Camelots du Roi, he engaged with Free France in June 1940. He was secretary to Jean Moulin from 1942 to 1943, an ...
, "Jean Moulin was then becoming one of the main characters of the French internal Resistance.


See also

*
Brazzaville Conference The Brazzaville Conference () was a meeting of prominent Free French leaders held in January 1944 in Brazzaville, the capital of French Equatorial Africa, during World War II. After the Fall of France to Nazi Germany, the collaborationist ...
*
Allies of World War II The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international Coalition#Military, military coalition formed during World War II (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers. Its principal members were the "Four Policeme ...
*
Collaboration with the Axis Powers during World War II Collaboration with the Axis powers may refer to: *Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy In World War II, many governments, organizations and individuals Collaborationism, collaborated with the Axis powers, "out of conviction, despe ...
* Foreign policy of Charles de Gaulle * Foreign relations of Vichy France * Free French Africa *
French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...
*
French Colonial Empire The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas Colony, colonies, protectorates, and League of Nations mandate, mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "Firs ...
*
French Fourth Republic The French Fourth Republic () was the republican government of France from 27 October 1946 to 4 October 1958, governed by the fourth republican constitution of 13 October 1946. Essentially a reestablishment and continuation of the French Third R ...
*
French Third Republic The French Third Republic (, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 1940, after the Fall of France durin ...
*
Liberation of France The liberation of France () in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance. Nazi Germany in ...
*
Liberation of Paris The liberation of Paris () was a battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Armisti ...
*
List of French possessions and colonies From the 16th to the 17th centuries, the First French colonial empire existed mainly in the Americas and Asia. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the second French colonial empire existed mainly in Africa and Asia. France had about 80 colonie ...
* List of governors-general of French Equatorial Africa *
Military history of France during World War II From 1939 to 1940, the French Third Republic was at war with Nazi Germany. In 1940, the German forces defeated the French in the Battle of France. The Germans occupied the north and west of French territory and a collaborationist régime under P ...
*
Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain (; 24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), better known as Marshal Pétain (, ), was a French marshal who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the Collaboration with Nazi Ger ...
*
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 ...
*
Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...
*
Vichy French Air Force The Air Force (), usually referred to as the Air Force of Vichy (''Armée de l'air de Vichy'') or Armistice Air Force (''Armée de l'Air de l'armistice'') for clarity, was the aerial branch of the Armistice Army of Vichy France established in th ...
*
Zone libre The ''zone libre'' (, ''free zone'') was a partition of the French metropolitan territory during World War II, established at the Second Armistice at Compiègne on 22 June 1940. It lay to the south of the demarcation line and was administered b ...


References

;Notes ;Citations


Works cited

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External links


Free France Foundation
1941 in France 1942 in France 1943 in France French people of World War II Free France World War II political leaders {{France-poli-stub