Yvonne de Gaulle
(1900-1979)

Died aged 79

Yvonne Charlotte Anne-Marie de Gaulle (née Vendroux; 22 May 1900 – 8 November 1979) was the wife of Charles de Gaulle. The couple had three children: Philippe (b. 1921), Élisabeth (1924–2013), and Anne (1928–1948), who was born with Down syndrome. Yvonne de Gaulle set up a charity, La fondation Anne-de-Gaulle, to help children with disabilities. Yvonne and Charles were married on 6 April 1921. She is known for the quote, "The presidency is temporary—but the family is permanent." She and her husband narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on 22 August 1962, when their Citroën DS was targeted by machine gun fire arranged by Jean Bastien-Thiry at the Petit-Clamart. Like her husband, Yvonne de Gaulle was a conservative Catholic, and campaigned against prostitution, the sale of pornography in newsstands, and the televised display of nudity and sex, for which she earned the nickname Tante (Auntie) Yvonne. Later, she unsuccessfully tried to persuade de Gaulle to outlaw miniskirts in France. Yvonne was reputed to be very discreet; as such, despite numerous appearances, she never gave any radio or televised interviews, and the broader public never learned the sound of her voice.

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