Moving article on the About the BBC's blog about the 70th anniversary on the 18th of June of General de Gaulle's impassioned speech from Broadcasting House calling for the mobilisation of the Free French. The speech at the BBC represents one of the best examples of the power of a free media. The expression "From little acorns, big tress grow" was surely coined to describe the positive and lasting impact of de Gaulle's speech. If you would like to hear the original speech read by de Gaulle together with 72 other key speeches from his career, the French publishers, Frémeaux, have released a wonderful 4-CD audio book, Anthologie des Discours 1940-1969 - Général de Gaulle which you can purchase through our online shop.

Back