ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Foreign policy of Charles de Gaulle

Foreign policy is like when you're playing with your toys and you decide which ones you want to share and which ones you want to keep for yourself. Charles de Gaulle was a man who was in charge of a country called France a long time ago. He had to decide how France should share or keep its toys, which in this case meant things like alliances with other countries and how to protect itself from danger.

De Gaulle believed that France should be a strong and independent nation and not rely too much on other countries to help it out. He also didn't want France to be too friendly with other countries, like the United States, because he felt that they would try to control France too much. So he made policies that put France first and foremost.

One of the ways that de Gaulle did this was by pulling France out of an important military organization, called NATO. This organization was made up of several countries, including the United States, and they worked together to protect each other from danger. De Gaulle felt that France should not be part of this organization because it would mean that France had to rely on the United States for help if there was a war. Instead, he wanted France to be able to take care of itself and make its own decisions about things.

De Gaulle also wanted to make sure that France was important on the world stage. He did this by making relationships with other countries, like Germany, stronger. He also increased France's military power by developing nuclear weapons, which are very powerful bombs. This made France a more powerful and important country and showed that France could protect itself against other countries.

In summary, Charles de Gaulle wanted France to be a strong and independent country that didn't rely too much on other countries for help. He made policies that put France first and foremost and pulled France out of NATO. He also made relationships with other countries stronger and increased France's military power.