Charles and Yvonne de Gaulle Statue

At first glance, you might not notice them among the passersby, but this sculpture in Place d’Armes is actually the first official statue of a presidential couple in France. Since 2013, Charles and Yvonne de Gaulle have appeared to be walking peacefully through the square, hand in hand. The statue was inspired by a photograph taken during a 1959 visit to Calais. While General de Gaulle was from Lille, his wife Yvonne was born here in Calais. The two were married in 1921 in the city’s Notre-Dame church. Here’s a fun detail: on this statue, de Gaulle wears his wedding ring on his right hand. That’s no mistake. After being wounded during World War I, he suffered chronic pain in his left hand, so he often switched his ring from one hand to the other. On the statue of de Gaulle and Churchill, however, the ring is on his left hand—as tradition would expect. It’s a small but touching anecdote that adds humanity to this towering figure of French history.