Free France continent. Approximately 58,000 men were killed fighting in the Free French forces between 1940 and 1945. A point of strong disagreement between de Gaulle and the Big Three (Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill), was that the President of the Provisional Government of the French Republic (GPRF), established on 3 June 1944, was not recognized as the legitimate representative of France. Even though de Gaulle had been recognized as the leader of Free France by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill back in 28 June 1940, his GPRF presidency had not resulted from democratic elections. However, two months after the liberation of Paris
Free France French individual or unit that fought against Axis forces after the June 1940 armistice. Postwar, to settle disputes over the Free French heritage, the French government issued an official definition of the term. Under this "ministerial instruction of July 1953" ("instruction ministérielle du 29 juillet 1953"), only those who served with the Allies after the Franco-German armistice in 1940 and before 1 August 1943 may correctly be called "Free French". On 10 May 1940, Nazi Germany invaded France and the Low Countries, rapidly defeating the French, Belgian, Dutch and British armies. During the six-week Battle of France, German armoured units