Statue Charles et Yvonne De Gaulle
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Statue Charles et Yvonne De Gaulle
Place d'Armes - 62100 CALAIS
A tribute to the presidential couple
At the foot of the Watchtower, a bronze statue pays tribute to the presidential couple Charles and Yvonne de Gaulle. Then a captain in the French army, Charles de Gaulle married Yvonne Vendroux in 1921 in the hometown of the First Lady of France: a civil marriage on April 6 at the town hall, and a religious ceremony the following day at Notre-Dame church.
A marriage already important on a local scale, the Vendroux family being a family of entrepreneurs and notables from Calais, before taking on a whole new dimension with the destiny of Charles de Gaulle.
Discover the Place d'Armes
©Nohcab Sidelong glance
On the statue, Yvonne de Gaulle-Vendroux is looking in a specific direction, towards the house of her childhood at the beginning of the 20th century. This house was destroyed during the bombings of the Second World War, in this part of the old medieval Calais, which was nearly 70% destroyed.
Places in the footsteps of Charles de Gaulle
©Nohcab A statue inspired by a 1959 photograph
This bronze statue dates from 2013. It is the work of Élisabeth Cibot, a Parisian sculptor who has notably depicted Marshal Murat, President François Mitterrand, Chancellor Willy Brandt, and Pope John Paul II in Lyon. The artist drew inspiration from a photograph of the presidential couple taken during their official visit to Calais in 1959.
An amusing detail is hidden there: de Gaulle wears his wedding ring on his right hand, a habit he adopted after a World War I injury that forced him to alternate hands. Photos and documents of the presidential couple are on display in the room dedicated to them at the Calais 39-45 Memorial Museum.
Visit the 39-45 Memorial Museum
©Nohcab 
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