Charles de Gaulle was in despair over the communist victory in 1946.

Charles de Gaulle (1890.1970)

Autographed letter signed to Yvonne Salmon.

Two octavo pages on his letterhead. Autograph envelope.

[Colombey] November 24, 1946.

"If they had followed me, they would be the victors today [...] common sense would have triumphed! Now there is only darkness! "

A very interesting letter concerning the political upheaval in France in 1946. A few months earlier, in January, the General had submitted his resignation as President of the Provisional Government to the President of the National Assembly, Félix Gouin. The promulgation of the new constitution of the Fourth ^Republic on October 27, 1946, as well as the legislative elections of November 10, marked by the resounding victory of the Communist Party, took place, much to Charles de Gaulle's dismay.

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"Dear Mademoiselle, rest assured that I have no objection to your current activities. I only believe that your friends have made a grave error in the constitutional affair. Had they followed me, they would be victorious today, and, even better, common sense would have prevailed! Now, all is darkness!"

This letter is for you alone. May it bring you, Mademoiselle, with my respectful regards, the warmest regards of my wife! C. de Gaulle.

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We are attaching the draft of Yvonne Salmon's letter sent to General de Gaulle on November 8, 1946, to which the latter replies here.

"My General, Further to my letter of October 31st and following the publication of the letter you addressed to Mr. Vendroux, I feel I must write to you before Sunday's vote. For the past two months, I have participated in the political struggle with great difficulty, and I have often considered withdrawing from the political arena and abstaining. I did not feel entitled to do so; therefore, I considered what to do. I studied the available options and found that only the MRP offered any possibilities. This, while still retaining my right to vote against the constitution, the flaws of which you so clearly demonstrated ."

The vast majority of MRP voters remain loyal to you; they still cherish liberty and will demand a more democratic approach at the next party congress. It is to encourage and support them in this endeavor that I have stayed among them. Having no other avenue to pursue, and no longer able to do anything in propaganda abroad, since I was ousted from the Alliance Française Council for the same subterfuges that are commonplace today, I believe I can still be of service by nurturing hope in certain humble voters who are unsure how to act. But naturally, I am not satisfied with the current situation.

I hope you will excuse this explanation, which I felt necessary; and above all, allow me to say that if you would be so kind as to assign me a task where I can be useful and where I can gain a clear understanding of the distress gripping our poor country, I am entirely at your disposal. Please believe, General, in my complete devotion. Yvonne Salmon.

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Yvonne Salmon (1885-1965), an army nurse during the Great War and later a professor of French civilization at the University of Reading, offered her services to General de Gaulle in the wake of his appeal of June 18th. An active propagandist for Free France through the Alliance Française, she gave countless lectures and published in 1943, in London, the first biography of the leader of Free France entitled "Le général de Gaulle," which was republished in Algiers in 1945 and in Paris in 2010. After the war, she remained a staunch Gaullist.