Companions of Liberation

The circumstances, the difficulties of the time in knowing the real action of the resistance, the criteria of General de Gaulle and his rapid departure from power in 1946, probably explain this fact.

[a] The Resistance is likewise under-represented compared to Free France, which represents three-quarters of the decorated.

[12] General de Gaulle indeed began by decorating combatants and agents that he or those close to him knew; its contacts with the other components of the French Resistance were not really established until around 1942, a period which saw the unification of the latter under the aegis of London by Jean Moulin.

[13] Moreover, in the opacity of the clandestine struggle, the leaders of the movements had more difficulty in identifying the most deserving patriots to propose them for decorations.

It can also be noticed that the Companions were chosen from among those who, at one time or another, took the risk of opposing the Vichy regime as the Free French had done.