Grandson of war hero Charles de Gaulle wants Russian citizenship
Grandson of war hero Charles de Gaulle wants Russian citizenship
Pierre de Gaulle, left, and his grandfather Charles, right. Pierre said he would be 'honoured' to receive citizenship from Russia.
Abaca Press / dpa picture alliance / Alamy Stock Photo
A grandson of French war hero General Charles de Gaulle has said that he wants to apply to be Russian, after lamenting the 鈥渧alues that have disappeared from the West鈥�.
Pierre de Gaulle, 60, was attending a cultural forum event in St Petersburg on November 16, when he said: 鈥淚 would be honoured to receive Russian citizenship. I am happy to see that you fight for traditional values; family, spirituality鈥ll these values have disappeared in Western countries.鈥�
He later told the TASS news agency that he intended to apply for Russian citizenship, and said that Russia offers 鈥渂ig possibilities鈥�.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Mr de Gaulle has repeatedly said that he is a supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has since said that he believes that the West has 鈥渓ost鈥� the war.
Also in St Petersburg, he said: 鈥淣either NATO nor the West can continue the war,鈥� suggesting that he espouses Mr Putin鈥檚 rhetoric that the US and NATO are the 鈥榬eal鈥� antagonists in the war, and are using it as a way to weaken Moscow. He then said: 鈥淚t is necessary to stop this tragedy.鈥�
Last January, Mr de Gaulle told Le Figaro: 鈥淚 am struck by this single-minded thought process that systematically presents Putin as the 鈥榖ad guy鈥�, and his Ukrainian counterpart [President Volodymyr Zelensky] as the 鈥榞ood guy鈥�.鈥�
In February, he travelled to Volgograd (previously Stalingrad) to attend the 80-year anniversary commemorations to mark the Soviet victory over the Germans in 1943.
As a grandson of General de Gaulle - who led the fight against the Germans in France during World War Two and later became President of France - Mr de Gaulle comes from a family that is typically considered to represent French pride and values.
He is the fourth son of Philippe de Gaulle, General de Gaulle鈥檚 eldest son.
His pro-Russia stance clearly puts him at odds with his family, who have previously moved to distance themselves from his comments.
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