The first day of the Occupation, mention is made of it being unwise to listen to de Gaulle on the BBC.
This would have been in late June 1940, long before anything much of a Resistance movement began or was organized in France and before de Gaulle became well known.
How de Gaulle speech changed fate of Francehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8747121.stm
On 18 June 1940 a little known general from the French army made a speech, broadcast by the BBC, urging the people of France not to capitulate to the Nazis, but to resist.
Charles de Gaulle: The flame of French resistancehttp://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2007/apr/29/greatspeeches1 share
These speeches were broadcast by the BBC on June 18, 19 and 22, 1940
On 18 June 1940 a little known general from the French army
The BBC article says that even people who didn't hear his speech at that time, later claimed that they did, so maybe that's the point of his mention in the film since his speech became so iconic?
In France almost no-one heard it, though many later claimed they had.share
Who knows why they included it in the movie. Most likely because modern audiences wouldn't know any better is my take.
I would think that in keeping with the dates, and trying to preserve some sort of historical accuracy, the name everyone would have had on their lips in France at that time would have been Marshall Pétain ... the population thought he would be able to pull some kind of rabbit out of his hat, him being a Great War hero and all.
In any case, it was a wonderfully made movie and the de Gaulle mention just a small point.
You are right--99.99% of the French in June 1940 never heard of DeGaulle, not until at least early 1943, when it became obvious after the Stalingrad that the tide of war had definitely turned against the Germans.
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