french territories joining De Gaulle

[ljadw]

The 'Quid ' gives the list of French terrotories joining de Gaulle ,among others on june 23 1940:French personnel of the Suez Canal(jointly governed by the Uk and France) and:DOMAINES FRANCAISES DE STE-HELENE :I never heard of it ,has some one information ? Thank you .

[Loïc]

Napoleonic sites in Saint Helena like Longwood House and the first tumb were given by Great Britain to France in 1857, a gift of Victoria to Napoléon III, so this exotic French enclave had (and still has) a French Administrator who joined Free France in 1940.

[ljadw]

Napoleonic sites in Saint Helena like Longwood House and the first tumb were given by Great Britain to France in 1857, a gift of Victoria to Napoléon III, so this exotic French enclave had (and still has) a French Administrator who joined Free France in 1940.

Loic :thank you very much ,one is never to old to learn .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; taking advantage ofthis old post.................

French West Africa 1940.

Why French West Africa did not join De Gaulle? Why General de Gaulle arranged the expedition against Dakar? Fear of the Axis Control? Uk interest? All of them?

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Helloto all ; I've found this...................................

Attack on Dakar. DE GAULLE'S REASONS. Fear of Axis Control.

LONDON, Wednesday (A.A.P.). Reasons why General de Gaulle arranged the expedition against Dakar (French West Africa) are set out In a statement issued by his headquarters in London last night. The statement reads: "Ever since the signing of the armistice between France and the Axis Powers there have been manifestations in French West Africa favouring a continuance of the war. "These reached such proportions, the communique adds, "that the Vichy Government appointed M. Boisson Governor General of the territory in place of M. Cayla.

"German and Italian officers who have been going to Dakar since July have assumed control of air bases there. New German infiltrations have occurred since August. "The Germans have intended to establish the airline through Dakar to South America. From an air point of view Dakar is a keypoint. It has an ultra-modern aerodrome at Ouakam and an aerodrome at Hanne. There is also an inland military aerodrome at Thyes, and two military aerodromes at St. Louis. "Moreover, Dakar is a railhead for the railway to Nigeria, and It is most important from the viewpoint of telephone communications with other parts of French West Africa.

Commerce has been paralysed since the armistice and has resulted in great suffering, particularly with respect to food. It therefore became necessary to assist the population by freeing the port of merchandise lying there and feeding the European and native populations. "General de Gaulle, therefore, with forces of every military, naval, and aerial kind, sailed with French ships under the French ensign, escorted by battle-ships of the Free French Navy. "British naval forces attended him merely to assure supplementary protection against any attack that Germany might have inspired, and in which she might have taken part. "Notwithstanding the desire of the population, the local authorities rejected General de Gaulle's ultimatum, opened hostilities and fired on three Free French ships-the Savorgran Debrazza, Commandant Duboc, and Commandant Domine."

Another statement issued by General de Gaulle's headquarters last night declared that gunners at Dakar had not ceased firing on the Free French forces and the British squadron since the operations had begun. Followers of General de Gaulle were confident, however, that the action would eventually produce a rally to his standard throughout French Equatorial Africa.

Source: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11301050

Any thoughts. Cheers. Raúl M .

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi Tigre,

The administrations of all French overseas were initially reluctant to join de Gaulle because he had absolutely no constitutional legitimacy, whereas Petain did. However, the administrations did not necessarily reflect the majority opinions of the bulk of the French populations of these overseas territories and one by one they gradually began to declare for de Gaulle as the Allies began to put increasing pressure on them. I think French Polynesia may have been the first to do so.

Cheers,

Sid.

[tigre]

Thanks for your opinion Sid . So in the end (at least in Dakar) De Gaulle had his plebiscite in a rather crude way eh? Cheers. Raúl M .

[Carl Schwamberger]

Hi Tigre,

The administrations of all French overseas were initially reluctant to join de Gaulle because he had absolutely no constitutional legitimacy, whereas Petain did. However, the administrations did not necessarily reflect the majority opinions of the bulk of the French populations of these overseas territories and one by one they gradually began to declare for de Gaulle as the Allies began to put increasing pressure on them. I think French Polynesia may have been the first to do so.

Cheers,

Sid.

There was also a residual belief France and Germany would negotiate a peace treaty, the occupation would end, and either or both the French Republic and French empire be restored to independence. That belief was weak in 1941, and weaker in 1942 but it still was one of several factors in French thinking for 12 to 18 months after the 1940 Armistice. Why split off to the tiny British sponsored group when the war would end next year and France regain its independence?

[tigre]

Thanks for your point of view Carl . Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; a little more.................

Rallying the Empire to Free France 1940.

Key dates:

26 August 1940: Chad rallies to Free France.
27 August 1940: Cameroon rallies to Free France.
29 August 1940: Middle Congo rallies to Free France.
30 August 1940: Ubangi-Shari rallies to Free France.

Source: https://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/en ... ree-france
The Sphere, Nov 9, 1940.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi Tigre,

The French residents in both New Caledonia and the New Hebrides were overwhelmingly pro-Free French and well disposed towards the British. Indeed, the French Resident Commissioner in the New Hebrides, Henri Sautot, had got the agreement of the French residents to support de Gaulle as early as 24 June. However, he did not announce this until 20 July, when it became apparent that his senior in New Caledonia, Pélicier, was being less decisive. Despite the delay, this still made the New Hebrides the first French colony anywhere to declare for Free France.

Cheers,

Sid.

[tigre]

Many thanks Sid . Cheers. Raúl M .