French-Armenian Actor Simon Abkarian Will Play Charles De Gaulle
A screengrab from the “De Gaulle” biopic
More than five years in the making, Antonin Baudry’s French-language two-part biopic “De Gaulle” will finally hit the big screen in France next year. French-Armenian actor Simon Abkarian stars in the film as the iconic General himself.
Pathé lifted the lid of the production on Monday, unveiling first images and a teaser, and describing the movie duology as one of its most ambitious undertakings to date.
The two movies titled “De Gaulle: Tilting Iron” and “De Gaulle: The Sovereign Edge” will be released in France on June 10 and July 3, 2026, respectively.
Billed as a “historical saga and geopolitical thriller,” the films revisit decisive episodes of World War II through the eyes of General Charles de Gaulle and the men and women who refused to surrender as the French nation fell apart.
It opens in June 1940, as France collapses and signs the armistice, and De Gaulle, a then little-known general, flees to London with one irrational conviction that the battle for France is neither over nor lost.
The film also explores the complex relationship with Sir Winston Churchill, portrayed by Simon Russell Beale.
Former French diplomat Baudry, who made his directorial debut with submarine thriller “Wolf’s Call,” has tapped into his past profession for the film.
“I often wondered what kind of person it took to refuse to surrender in 1940 — to disobey their own government while devoting their life to France. Few people can do this. I became fascinated by them, so much so that I wanted to make not one film, but two,” he said.
Abkarian, who plays De Gaulle, is joined by an ensemble that includes Benoît Magimel, Mathieu Kassovitz, Niels Schneider and Karim Leklou, Florian Lesieur and Anamaria Vartolomei.
The film is based on the book “De Gaulle: A Certain Idea of France” by Julian Jackson — one of the foremost reference works on de Gaulle and Free France, praised by both French and British critics.
