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Philippe de Gaulle, only son of former French leader Charles de Gaulle, dies at age 102

Charles de Gaulle’s younger daughter, Anne, died in 1948 at age 20

PARIS, March 13. /TASS/. French navy admiral and senator Philippe de Gaulle, who was the eldest child and only son of former French President Charles de Gaulle, has died at the age of 102, Agence France-Presse reports.

According to the AFP, Philippe de Gaulle "died in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday at the [old soldiers’ home at Paris’ iconic] Hotel des Invalides, where he had resided for the past two years."

General Charles de Gaulle and his wife Yvonne had three children, with the couple’s two daughters, Elisabeth and Anne, both dying earlier than their only son, Philippe. Charles de Gaulle’s younger daughter, Anne, died in 1948 at age 20.

Philippe de Gaulle was born on December 28, 1921. During World War II, he was close to his famous father, who led the Free French Forces and later served as president of France (1959-1969). As an officer in the Free French Naval Forces, Philippe de Gaulle was injured six times in battles for the liberation of France from Nazi Germany.

In 1966, Philippe accompanied his father on an official visit to Moscow, during which a number of agreements reinforcing the bilateral cooperation between France and the Soviet Union were signed.

On his 100th birthday in 2021, Philippe de Gaulle received a congratulatory letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin. In one of his last media interviews, he expressed the view that "France should not move away from Russia."

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