The indomitable de Gaulle

Why is France swooning over its old president?....

A specially spray-painted Eurostar train,carrying ex-fighters of the French resistance from Paris to London on June 18th to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Charles de Gaulles BBC radio appeal to the French,is part of a wave of de Gaullemania in France. President Nicolas Sarkozy was due in London that day to mark the anniversary of the speech,which de Gaulle gave just four days after the Nazis rolled into Paris. There are films,exhibitions,books see accompanying review,conferences and talks in the honour of the resistance leader and founder of the fifth republic. The French mint has issued a 2-euro coin with an image of de Gaulle at the BBC microphone. His portrait is all over the weeklies; Le Figaro magazines cover story runs to 33 pages.

De Gaulle already towers over France. Pariss main airport,an aircraft-carrier and a Paris landmark are named after the former president. Not to mention 3,633 roads in France,according to the Fondation Charles-de-Gaulle: more than Louis Pasteur 3,001 and Victor Hugo 2,258. Television viewers voted him the greatest Frenchman of all time.

Why this revival of the memory of a proud,touchy man who became a national myth? One reason is that surviving resistance fighters are getting old,and there will be few around to celebrate the next big anniversary of the 1940 appeal.

Another factor is that political leaders still define themselves in relation to Gaullism. Dominique de Villepin,a former prime minister,is launching a new party to keep the Gaullist spirit alive. He hopes to rival Mr Sarkozy,who also claims to be de Gaulles heir. Even some left-leaning figures find ways to identify with the heroic figure who refused defeat,decline and national submission. De Gaulle himself was a master at mythmaking,so perhaps it is not surprising that todays leaders pick what suits them from Gaullism.

In troubled economic times,and with politicians enjoying handsome perks at taxpayers expense,reaching for de Gaulle may also be a way for the French to invoke a model of integrity and modesty. Even as president,de Gaulle paid his gas and electricity bills himself. In 1958,unveiling an austerity programme,he announced: Without an effort to regain control,without the sacrifice it requires and the hope it entails,we will remain a country that lags behind,swinging continually between drama and mediocrity. It is difficult to imagine such sentiments coming from Mr Sarkozy.

The Economist Newspaper Limited 2010