Branca, the author who writes extensively on De Gaulle, said the movie resonated strongly with the country’s current political situation, marked by instability and a deep fragmentation, including because it highlighted the importance of legitimacy in politics. There are currently more than 30 already declared or likely candidates in next year’s election, a number inversely proportional to the French population’s declining trust in their politicians.
“[Collaborationist regime] Vichy was legal,[but] De Gaulle was legitimate,” he said.
That legitimacy was rooted in his refusal to stop fighting and accept the humiliating defeat inflicted by the German army, which swept over the country and brought it to its knees in the Battle
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