A two-part film project centred on General Charles de Gaulle, directed by Antonin Baudry, has passed five million admissions in French cinemas, according to TF1info, the news division of French broadcaster TF1.
The milestone was the subject of a segment on TF1's morning programme "Bonjour !", where host Candice Mahout examined the film's success as part of her regular slot "Au pays de Candice." Mahout looked at what TF1info described as a wider cinematic phenomenon: the enduring appetite of French audiences for films set during the Second World War.
Baudry's project is structured as a diptych, meaning the story of de Gaulle is told across two linked films rather than one. TF1info credited the combined box-office performance of both instalments for pushing the total past the five million mark, though it did not break down how the figure split between the two parts or say how long they had already been showing in cinemas.
Who is Antonin Baudry
Baudry is a French writer, filmmaker and former diplomat. He previously wrote and produced "Quai d'Orsay," a film drawn from his own experience working inside the French foreign ministry, and created the Netflix animated series "Kid Cosmic." The de Gaulle diptych is among his most ambitious projects, tackling one of modern France's most consequential political figures across two feature films.
De Gaulle's legacy on screen
Charles de Gaulle led the Free French forces from London during the Second World War after France's defeat by Nazi Germany in 1940, and later became the founding president of France's Fifth Republic in 1958. His wartime leadership and postwar political career have long made him a recurring subject for French filmmakers and biographers.
TF1info's segment did not go into the films' plot, cast or full release history. The video, part of the "Bonjour !" morning show, ran 10 minutes and 17 seconds and was published on 4 September 2026.
