In Lille, the childhood part of De Gaulle

View of the glass roof in the garden of De Gaulle's birthplace, in Lille • PHOTOS:MNCDG / CD59 / SERVICE DE PRESSE

We do not necessarily remember Charles de Gaulle that he was born at 9, rue Princesse in Lille… Except in the capital of Flanders! Classified as a “Historic Monument” in 1990, his birthplace, transformed into a museum, has just been completely renovated. After the Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises memorial and the Charles-de-Gaulle historial at the Army Museum in Paris, was there still a need for a place that celebrates the founder of the V ^th > Republic ?

Industrial bourgeoisie

The birthplace has chosen to occupy a different memorial space and recreates the atmosphere of an interior characteristic of the industrial bourgeoisie of the North at the end of the 19 ^th century. Throughout the rooms, the museum immerses the visitor in the environment where Charles de Gaulle grew up and sheds light on his action.

Third child of five siblings, Charles de Gaulle was born on November 22, 1890 in a bedroom in the house of his grandparents, prosperous textile manufacturers. Her christening gown is still visible in the closet of her birthplace. Each room has a crucifix, and a small lounge was reserved for welcoming foreign visitors. The father, Henri de Gaulle, veteran of the Franco-Prussian war, received the Legion of Honor, displayed in the large living room. The children played in the winter garden decorated with a superb glass roof and rebuilt identically; according to the recollections of Marie-Agnès, Charles's sister, during the toy soldier games, "Charles was still the King of France. He always had the French army under his command. There was no way it was otherwise. »

The renovation, of high quality, restores a moving family atmosphere. De Gaulle called himself "the little Lillois of Paris" and declared in his Mémoires “With age, it is always childhood that predominates. And if I could be myself, it would probably be rue Princesse, where I was born. »