Charles de Gaulle’s historic country home in France put up for sale
State seeks to keep house, known as La Boisserie, open to the public
Published
Charles de Gaulle’s country house in north-east France is for sale, with a valuation of €1.2million according to the economy ministry.
The historic home, known as La Boisserie, is located in Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises (Haute-Marne), where the former president is also buried in the local cemetery.
Part of the property – the entrance hall, dining room, lounge, library and study – has been open to the public since 1980 and welcomes 40,000 visitors per year.
It was first acquired by de Gaulle in 1934 as a holiday home before the family settled there permanently in 1946.
“He was particularly drawn to the seclusion and tranquillity of the place, which were well suited to his activities of reflection and military writing,” according to the Fondation Charles de Gaulle website.
Home of key moments in French history
La Boisserie was where de Gaulle received news of the declaration of war in September 1939; where he hosted post-war reconciliation talks with then-West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in September 1958; where the general wrote the first chapters of Mémoires d’espoir (Memoirs of Hope); and where he died at the age of 79 in November 1970.
“From the corner room, where I spend most of my days, I can see for miles in the direction of the sunset.
“For 15km, not a single building is in sight. Over the plain and the woods, my gaze follows the long slopes leading down to the Aube valley, then the heights of the opposite hillside,” wrote de Gaulle in Mémoires de guerre (Memoirs of War).
He described the view from his desk located in a turret at the far end of the house, built during its restoration after World War Two.
The grounds span 2.5 hectares, and the property still contains several original features, family photos and gifts from various world leaders.
State hopes to keep property in public ownership
La Boisserie was inherited by four of de Gaulle’s grandsons after the death of their father Philippe in March 2024.
The eldest, Charles, decided to sell his share to his brother, Pierre. The two remaining grandsons, Jean and Yves, are keen for the property to be kept in the public domain, despite previous rumours that it could go to Chinese or Russian buyers.
“The president of the Haute-Marne department [Nicolas Lacroix] is in discussions with the de Gaulle family and the state. He would like La Boisserie to be publicly owned, which would enable the site to be managed in a way that is consistent with the rest of the de Gaulle trail, including the memorial and the general’s grave,” a spokesperson from the department told The Connexion.
The government has started a process to have the site listed as a monument historique, to help prevent it being sold to a private buyer.
For the time being, the future of the property remains uncertain.
