CHARLES DE GAULLE, UN ITINERARIU MILITAR ÎN ROMÂNIA

Abstract

On 14 May 1968, Romania was in front of a historic event, the visit of the first French president to our country, General Charles de Gaulle. The itinerary of the trip, which began in Bucharest, at Băneasa Airport, continued in the capital and in the cities of Craiova, Slatina, Pitești, Târgoviște and Ploiești, with an apotheotic conclusion at the French Embassy in Bucharest. From the early years of his presidency, de Gaulle dealt with the issue of East-West relations that dominated the whole of Europe, and in Bucharest, Nicolae Ceausescu knew how to make the most of the unhoped-for opportunity to strengthen his foreign image. In addition to the foreign and domestic policy objectives set out in advance, which were to be discussed by the two sides, the visit also had a sentimental military aspect, with meetings with former Romanian colleagues from the prestigious Saint-Cyr Military School. Thus, on 16 May 1968, Charles de Gaulle met General Polihron Dumitrescu in the Băniei Citadel, and a day later, he spoke in Targoviste with General Ioan Heruvim and his friend, General Victor Isăceanu. On 18 May, at the reception offered by the President at the French Embassy in Bucharest, he had private talks with General Paul (Pavel) Teodorescu, Colonel Radu Miclescu and Commander Dan Vizanty.