opinion of Charles de Gaulle

[Barnes]

As any figure of national or international significance, it's rather illogical to judge his entire life and career as one. He was, of course, an enormous figure in the fight for liberty in Europe and fully deserves his laurels. He must also be judged as President, and in that capacity he was a conservative, rather close-minded demagogue who seemed at times to flagrantly and dangerously buck the democratic process.