On 18 June 1940, Charles de Gaulle called on the French to resist the Nazis On June 18, 1940, as the shadow of defeat settled over France, a lone voice rose from exile in London. General Charles de Gaulle, unknown to most of his compatriots, stepped up to a BBC microphone and delivered a speech that would echo through history. The day before, Marshal Pétain had accepted surrender. But de Gaulle, with calm urgency, refused to let France fall silent.