General Charles de Gaulle's son, Philippe, dies aged 102

Admiral Philippe de Gaulle, the eldest son of General Charles de Gaulle, has died in Paris at the age of 102, his family has said.

Former senator and son of the late General de Gaulle, French Admiral Philippe de Gaulle, at the National Assembly in Paris on 27 November, 2019. AFP - CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT

According to Philippe de Gaulle's son, Yves: "He died on Tuesday night at the Institution Nationale des Invalides, where he had been a resident for two years."

"We salute the memory of a formidable father and a great Frenchman, whose sense of duty was equalled only by his elegance and modesty.

"Vision, honour and simplicity – that is what Gaullism is all about", wrote Pierre de Gaulle, another of the admiral's sons, on social media.

L'Amiral de Gaulle, mon père, est parti cette nuit. Saluons la mémoire d'un père formidable et d'un grand Français, dont le sens du devoir n'avait d'égal que l'élégance et la modestie. Vision, honneur et simplicité, c'est cela finalement le gaullisme. Merci mon Cher Papa!

— Pierre de Gaulle (@PierredeGaulle) March 13, 2024

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Illustrious career

Born on 28 December 1921 in Paris, Philippe de Gaulle – a former student of the Ecole Navale – joined the Free French Naval Forces in 1940.

As an ensign, he took part in campaigns in the North Atlantic until 1944, then in the liberation of France from 1944 to 1945 as part of the Leclerc division.

De Gaulle was promoted to lieutenant in 1948, corvette captain in 1956 and finally admiral in 1980. He ended his military career two years later. 

The eldest of Charles de Gaulle's three children, Philippe went on to become a senator for Paris between 1986 and 2004, for the centre-right RPR and UMP parties.

He devoted himself to preserving the memory of his father, publishing several works on the General, including the best-selling De Gaulle, mon père. 

For a "dazzled son", as he put it, the aim his best-seller was to humanise his illustrious father – an icon during his lifetime, leader of Free France and former President of the Republic – who died in 1970.