De Gaulle's white flag symbolized peace, not surrender. [fact]
It was, according to his close associate, Bernard Tricot, the white flag of truce, not of capitulation, that de Gaulle had in mind—a subtle difference not appreciated by the F.L.N. any more than it had been by the Écho d’Alger.
Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Alge…, loc. 959