Question 1

True or false: De Gaulle's name is the most common name for French aircraft carriers, with the flagship being Charles de Gaulle.

Accepted Answer

True. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle, launched in 1994, is named after him, reflecting his iconic status.

Question 2

True or false: De Gaulle was a professional soccer player before entering politics.

Accepted Answer

False. De Gaulle was a career soldier and politician, not an athlete. This myth may stem from his tall, athletic build.

Question 3

True or false: Charles de Gaulle was a key figure in the French Resistance and later became president of the Fifth Republic.

Accepted Answer

True. De Gaulle led the Free French Forces during WWII and founded the Fifth Republic in 1958, serving as its first president.

Question 4

True or false: De Gaulle vetoed the United Kingdom's entry into the European Economic Community twice.

Accepted Answer

True. He vetoed UK membership in 1963 and 1967, fearing American influence and British ties to the US.

Question 5

True or false: During WWII, de Gaulle was briefly held prisoner by the Vichy regime but escaped to London.

Accepted Answer

False. De Gaulle fled to London in 1940 after the fall of France; he was never captured by Vichy or Nazi forces.

Question 6

True or false: De Gaulle survived an assassination attempt that involved a bomb hidden in a flowerpot.

Accepted Answer

True. In 1962, the OAS attempted to kill de Gaulle with a bomb in a roadside flowerpot; he escaped unscathed.

Question 7

True or false: De Gaulle famously said, 'I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.'

Accepted Answer

False. This quote is often misattributed to de Gaulle; it actually originated with French diplomat Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand.

Question 8

True or false: Charles de Gaulle once wrote a science fiction novel about a future war with aliens.

Accepted Answer

False. De Gaulle wrote military and political texts, but no sci-fi novel. This is a myth born from his imaginative strategic thinking.

Charles de Gaulle Trivia Questions