Nothing new had been said, not a single concession offered; yet it was as if, after an appallingly long week of perplexity and the nightmare of civil war, or fascism, here was the catharsis, the clear call to duty, that all Frenchmen had unknowingly been waiting for. Once again de Gaulle had got his timing superbly right.

SEED: Explores how delivery and timing outweigh new content in persuasive speech — a strong piece on the mechanics of rhetoric at moments of national crisis. QUESTION: What specific rhetorical techniques made the speech hypnotic when its content was unoriginal? Worth investigating de Gaulle's actual text.

Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Alge…, loc. 1120