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.
Insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793 of the people. They were all Frenchmen and they were all Parisians and not novices in revolution. On 30 May the department gave its support to the movement. The insurrection started on 31 May and directed by the committee at the "Évêché" (the Bishop's Palace Committee), developed according to the methods already tested on 10 August. At six o'clock in the morning the delegates of the 33 sections, led by Dobsen, presented themselves at "Hôtel de Ville", showed the full powers with which the members had invested them, and suppressed the Commune, whose members had retired to the adjourning room.