De Gaulle’s ultimatum to Reynaud paid off. On 5 June he was appointed Under Secretary of State for Defence. For the next eleven days, until the resignation of Reynaud on 16 June, de Gaulle was closer to the centre of power than he had ever been – and yet at the same time on the sidelines. As a junior minister he was not entitled to attend full Cabinet meetings, and at several critical moments he was absent on various missions to London, to Brittany and elsewhere.
