Gavin Stamp

---

Four French resistance fighters Are volunteers. awarded MBEs for their role in the second World War , as Boris Johnson welcomed Emmanuel Macron to Downing Street

The French President visits London on Thursday to commemorate the 80 anniversary of the war leader Charles De Gaulle in The Bbc broadcast to occupied France after 1940, the Nazi invasion.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall meet Mr Macron.

Mr Johnson paid tribute to the "courage and sacrifice" of The Fighters .

The Four Men - Edgard Tupet-Thome, 100, Daniel Bouyjou-Cordier, 99, Hubert Germain , 99, and Pierre Simonet , 98 - Are the surviving members of The Order of the liberation, an honor given by France for those who played a prominent role in setting France free.

their MBEs will be presented at a ceremony in France in The Coming months.

In Downing Street, Mr Johnson and Mr Macron is to the artifacts and letters of General De Gaulle ' s Time In London, and of his cooperation with the British war Prime Minister , Sir Winston Churchill .

After The Fall of France, Known as the "Appel", or in the appeal, it is the country gathered in support of The Resistance .

the Prime Minister and The President will also have talks on the pandemic and other issues, Mr Johnson said he would travel between the United Kingdom and France to The Meeting .

Mr Macron was exempted from the UK 14-day quarantine regulations, as a "representative of a foreign country on a business trip".

A key date in the UK-French history

By Gavin Stamp , BBC News

It was 80 years since General Charles De Gaulle broadcast a historical message from London, begging his countrymen not to give in, The Fight against Hitler.

France was on its knees at The Time That the German soldiers, That we have confirmed in Paris four days earlier, and on The Verge of agreement on a ceasefire in his formal military surrender.

In The Message , broadcast in the French language, De Gaulle said in French, "Whatever Happens , The Flame of French resistance must not be extinguished and will not extinguish".

Transferred to The Bbc , the French service, the shipment was not recorded, and relatively few people in France heard.

But a similar broadcast four days later on the same network to a wider audience and went a long way to the establishment of De Gaulle as his country's leading companies in-exile.

18. June 1940 remains one of The Most important dates in the UK-French history and still has tremendous resonance on both sides of the channel.

The Anniversary of the Appel will be marked with a flypast of the Red Arrows and their French counterparts, La Patrouille de France.

Mr Johnson said General De Gaulle arrived in Britain 80 years ago, know That Britain and France were threatening the common values of freedom, tolerance and democracy" and promised to defend them.

The Resistance fighters will be honored "to symbolize the long-lasting depth and the power of friendship" between the countries, He Said .

Mr Johnson called them "heroes" and praised their "courage and sacrifice in the defence of us and the whole world from fascism".

"The struggles we face now Are different to those we faced 80 years. But I have No Doubt That page will rise to the Side of Britain and France to take on any new challenge and an opportunity That is in front of us," He Said .

At the Clarence House , the home of The Duke and the Duchess of Cornwall, Mr Macron welcomed with a Ceremonial Guard of honour by the Coldstream Guards , along with music by The Band of the Coldstream Guards .

boris johnson, emmanuel macron, france, prince charles, prince of wales, world war two

Source of news: bbc.com