De Gaulle and "Vive le Québec Libre"

On July 24, 1967, during a state visit to Expo ’67, General Charles De Gaulle, President of France, and a hero of the twentieth century, proclaimed from the balcony of Montreal’s City Hall, a sentence that would change the history of Canada – “Vive le Quebec Libre." By repeating the slogan of a Québec separatist party, De Gaulle provoked a diplomatic incident that resulted in the cancellation of his visit, initiated an incredible campaign of French interference in the domestic affairs of Canada and, above all, lent his worldwide prestige to the Québec independence movement. A year after De Gaulle’s visit, René Lévesque founded the Parti Québécois and Canada would never be the same again.

Very rarely in the history of a country can we say that a single individual was instrumental to its preservation: Joan of Arc, Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln are examples of such heroism. Charles De Gaulle saved his country, not once, but twice. On June 18, 1940, with France collapsing before the Wehrmacht, De Gaulle, then a little known General, refused to accept France’s defeat and broadcast a “Call to Honor" from the BBC: “France," De Gaulle declared, “has lost a battle, but it has not lost the war." Organizing the Free France resistance, De Gaulle’s walk down the Champs d’Elysse on the day Paris was liberated is one of the most famous scenes in French history. In 1958, this triumph was repeated when France again called on De Gaulle, then in retirement, to end the war in Algeria and to create the Fifth Republic.

When De Gaulle arrived in London in June 1940, he was befriended by Colonel and Mme. Georges Vanier, probably the first Canadians he had ever met. George Vanier, later a Governor-General of Canada, was appointed by Prime Minister Mackenzie King to be the official Canadian representative with the French National Committee in London. In 1944, Vanier accompanied De Gaulle to Ottawa, where the Free French leader addressed a large and enthusiastic crowd outside of Parliament, and in 1945, the French leader visited Canada again to obtain Canada’s assistance for the reconstruction of France. Vanier and De Gaulle were so close that during a subsequent crisis in the formation of France’s post war government, De Gaulle told the Canadian ambassador that if the assembly vote went against him, he would want to go to Canada for a “rest." Vanier got the Canadian government to quickly reply that it would facilitate any arrangements.

These happy Canadian memories, however, did not deter General De Gaulle in 1967. Since his return to power in France, he had settled the Algerian war, passed a constitution, built the French nuclear bomb, vetoed Britain’s entry into the Common Market and withdrawn France’s active participation in NATO. Canada was next on the agenda. Arriving by the cruiser Colbert in Québec City on July 23, 1967, De Gaulle was mobbed by enthusiastic crowds as his motorcade made its way to Montreal. The President noticed that some in the throng waved placards with the separatist slogan “Vive le Québec Libre."

De Gaulle was not even scheduled to speak that evening of the 24th but as the people chanted, “we want De Gaulle," the President told Mayor Drapeau “I have to speak to those people who are calling for me." No one knows to this day if his message was premeditated or whether he was overtaken by the emotion of the day. “Vive le Québec," he concluded, and then after a long pause, “libre." The crowd was silent for an instant, not believing that the General had uttered the fateful phrase. Then they burst into frenzied applause and De Gaulle strode away, confident once again he had made history.

Prime Minister Pearson went on television to tell De Gaulle that his statements were “unacceptable to the Canadian people." The newly appointed Minister of Justice, Pierre Trudeau, asked what the French reaction would be if a Canadian Prime Minister shouted “Brittany to the Bretons?" After these rebukes, De Gaulle cut short his trip and went home. He was a great man, but no friend of Canada. Madame Vanier realized to her distress that her old friend felt no gratitude for past help. Prior to De Gaulle’s celebrated trip, she had sent him a single message: “1940." Thomas Axworthy was the executive director of Historica Foundation.