Free France only about 7,000 soldiers had joined the Free French Army in England. Three-quarters of French servicemen in Britain requested repatriation. France was bitterly divided by the conflict. Frenchmen everywhere were forced to choose sides, and often deeply resented those who had made a different choice. One French admiral, René-Émile Godfroy, voiced the opinion of many of those who decided not to join the Free French forces, when in June 1940, he explained to the exasperated British why he would not order his ships from their Alexandria harbour to join de Gaulle: Equally, few Frenchmen believed that England could stand alone.
Free French Air Forces Free French Air Forces The Free French Air Forces (, FAFL) were the air arm of the Free French Forces during the Second World War from 1940. They officially ceased to hold this title from 1943, with the merger of Free French Forces with General Giraud's anti-German forces, but were still commonly known by the title until the liberation of France in 1944, when they became the regular French Air Army. They were commanded by Martial Henri Valin from 1941 to 1944, who subsequently became commander of the Air Army. On 17 June 1940, five days before the signing of