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Charles De Gaulle Research Paper

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Charles De Gaulle was the president of France from 1958- 69. He helped to design the Fifth Republic of France, and created a public ideology of Gaullism which has had a major impact on French Politics (BBC). Some of his major contributions to history include granting Algeria independence, withdrawing from Nato, and building his own nuclear deterrent. In 1940 Germany invaded France and took over Paris. Petain, a Frenchman and Nazi sympathizer, supported the Germans and helped them control France. However, while his country was occupied by Nazis, De Gaulle appealed to his fellow countrymen to continue the fight. (Britannica) One of De Gaulle's most influential contributions to history was fighting against Nazi Germany through the Free French …show more content…

He liberated Algeria which was very controversial. There were many Europeans in Algeria at the time who wanted it to remain under French influence, and they had a lot of supporters in France. (Britannica) However, due to Algerians demanding full independence, he eventually granted it to them. This made many people in France very angry, and they created a secret rebel faction called the OAS, who threatened Paris and took control of Algeria. At this time, De Gaulle now had the support of the French people, and he responded quickly and forcefully. He put down the insurgents who began to threaten his life and claimed 12,000 other lives (Britannica). One of De Gaulles most important and difficult challenges was granting Algeria its independence. However, this was very violent and many were either tortured or lost their …show more content…

This shocked many of the other Nato members because the organization was formed to protect against the Soviet Union. Many considered Nato to be the allies first line of defense if war did every break out. In particular, this led to colder relations with the United States and its former ally, as neither trusted the other as they had previously. John F. Kennedy, the United States president at the time, condemned De Gaulle’s actions (History.State). Many of France’s allies believed that France withdrew so that they could build up their nuclear arms and take an independent approach to building their nuclear arsenal. Another reason that they withdrew was to retain control over their navy. Previously, the United States had been pushing France to accept a proposal which would decrease their autonomy over their navy forces (History.com). One of the main focuses of De Gaulle’s presidency was ensuring that France had and maintained a strong military, in addition to a strong

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