| Cabinet Name: | French National Committee |
| Cabinet Type: | committee |
| Jurisdiction: | Free France |
| Flag Border: | true |
| Deputy Government Head: | René Pleven |
| State Head: | Charles de Gaulle |
| State Head Title: | CNFL President |
| Political Parties: | --> |
| Legislature Status: | none |
| Opposition Party: | French State |
| Opposition Leader: | Philippe Pétain |
| Predecessor: | Empire Defense Council |
| Successor: | French Committee of National Liberation |
The French National Committee (French: Comité national français, CNF) was the coordinating body created by General Charles de Gaulle which acted as the government in exile of Free France from 1941 to 1943. The committee was the successor of the smaller Empire Defense Council.
It was Winston Churchill who suggested that de Gaulle create a committee, in order to lend an appearance of more constitutionally based and less dictatorial authority. According to historian, De Gaulle went on to accept his proposal, but took care to exclude all his adversaries within the Free France movement, such as Émile Muselier, André Labarthe and others, retaining only "yes men" in the group.
The CNF was founded 24 September 1941 by an edict signed by General de Gaulle in London. The committee remained active until 3 June 1943, when it merged with the French Civil and Military High Command headed by Henri Giraud, becoming the new French Committee of National Liberation.
The French National Committee comprised six civilian and six military personnel:
On 20 March 1943, the committee secretly appointed Jean Moulin, then in London, as representative of the French National Committee in Metropolitan France and "national commissioner on active duty" and put him in charge of creating a single coordinating body for the French Resistance. According to Daniel Cordier, "Jean Moulin was then becoming one of the main characters of the French internal Resistance.
fr:Henri Bernard
. 1984 . 62 . 2 . book review . 1st pub: Collins (1981) . 23 July 2020 .fr:Daniel_Cordier
. 2014-05-27 . 1st pub: Gallimard (1999) . Jean Moulin - La République des catacombes . Editions Gallimard . Jean Moulin - The Republic of the Catacombs . 978-2-07-255962-4 . 751486421 . .