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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, July 09, 2003

De Gaulle Exhibit Opened in Moscow

Huddled under umbrellas in a heavy downpour, the French and Russian foreign and defense ministers opened a historic exhibit Tuesday dedicated to French leader Charles de Gaulle that celebrates six decades of close ties between Paris and Moscow.


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Huddled under umbrellas in a heavy downpour, the French and Russian foreign and defense ministers opened a historic exhibit Tuesday dedicated to French leader Charles de Gaulle that celebrates six decades of close ties between Paris and Moscow.

The Soviet Union recognized General de Gaulle as the leader of France in September 1941, three years before the United States and many other countries. De Gaulle showed his gratitude the next year by sending Josef Stalin a squadron of 100 French pilots to fight alongside Soviet troops against the Nazis.

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said at the opening ceremony on Red Square that the exhibit was a sign of the "profound and long-lasting relationship" between Paris and Moscow.

"Charles de Gaulle is once again in Moscow, and this is a good sign of the relationship between our two countries," Historical Museum director Alexander Shkurko said.

De Gaulle visited the Soviet Union twice, in 1944 and in 1966. The second trip was for the signing of a cooperation agreement in aerospace aimed at preventing the United States from dominating the field.

The exhibit starts with a photograph of de Gaulle as a boy and follows him through his years in military school, his career as a soldier and through to his presidency. On display are his baptismal shirt and saber, as well as the BBC receiver and microphone he used in 1940 to make the speech that gave birth to the Free France movement. Nearby is the original copy of the constitution of the Fifth Republic.

The exhibit was put together by Russian and French historians and financed by French businesses. It runs until Oct. 15.

Source: Agencies




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