Short videoguide / explainer about the birthplace of french general and president Charles de Gaulle in Lille. The house was owned by his grandfather Jules Maillot, a rich industrial who owned a textile factory. Charles himself stayed here around 1897 when his sister and brothers had scarlet fever. Later, when he studied for his Bac, the french high school diploma, at the Collège du Sacré-Coeur in Antoing (Belgium), he went back to his grandparents for another year.
Hidden in this ordinary street in Lille, France, we find the birthplace of former French army officer and statesman Charles de Gaulle. Let’s go back in time and see if he’s home. We enter the house in le petit salon where above the original sofa we find the portrait of de Gaulle’s Grandfather, Jules Maillot.
He was the owner of this house and as a factory owner he belonged to the wealthier bourgeoisie. In the large salon we find the place for entertainment and where he worked. Although Charles was born here he lived in Paris since he was 3 months old.
Charles father, Henry de Gaulle, worked there as a history and Latin teacher. Before that, he was a soldier and fought in the Franco Prussian War. During the holidays he and his wife Jeanne returned with the children to her parental home in Lille where the table was of course festively laid.
Next to the dining room we find the ‘winter garden’ a glass room that was a sign of luxury in many 19th century Bourgeoise houses. His sister Marie Agnes once said that as a child Charles was already in charge of the French troops here with toy soldiers and sidelined his nephews.
From the dining room we enter the kitchen where Mrs mot employed a cook and a maid. Next to the kitchen we find the original entrance of the house with a luxurious high ceiling and marble appearance. Upstairs we find the private rooms of the house.
In addition to the box bed, grandma had a large and luxurious room with even a separate prayer room. Every day, Julia got ready behind the dresser unfolding screen to attend mass at the St Andre Church before 7:00.
We then enter the guest room where 6-year-old Charles stayed in the winter of 1896 because his brothers and sister in Paris had scarlet fever. And can you imagine that a French president, at the age of 17, studied at this table to pass his High School exam?
The adjacent “Lingerie” was a status symbol in the 19th century and is one of the three rooms that was restored in 2020. And do we see here the cradle of the future French president?
Although the exact location of the baby’s room is still up for debate the last room of the house seems to be the most logical place. And with that we conclude the visit to this perhaps most special 19th Century House in France. Thanks for watching, and see you again in one of our next videos!