De Gaulle voted greatest French person of all time

After the mild shock of the Emperor Napoleon failing to make the short list, French TV viewers gave some historical respectability yesterday to their choice of "Greatest French Person of all Time".

Charles de Gaulle, leader of Free France during the war and first President of the Fifth Republic, topped the poll - ahead of two scientists, a priest, two comedians, a singer, two writers and an underwater explorer.

De Gaulle led the internet, telephone and text-message voting from start to finish on the France 2 public TV channel, emulating the success of his wartime ally and sparring partner, Winston Churchill, in the BBC series "Great Britons" two years ago.

Second in the informal and utterly unscientific poll was the scientist Louis Pasteur, followed by Abbe Pierre, 92, a Jesuit priest and campaigner for the homeless who regularly tops the polls of France's favourite people. He was the only living person to make the top 10.