Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron today marked the 70th anniversary of Charles de Gaulle's second world war broadcast which rallied the French against Nazi Germany.
The visit to London is the first by a French president to mark De Gaulle's historic broadcast on 18 June 1940. De Gaulle, then a brigadier, had fled France the day before as a new administration, led by French first world war hero Philippe Pétain, sought an armistice with Hitler.
At a formal ceremony at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, a home for former soldiers, Sarkozy presented the Légion d'honneur to six second world war veterans, three British and three French, before an audience of 1,500 people. A Spitfire, a Typhoon and a French air force Rafale made a flypast through cloudy skies, while red-jacketed veterans – Chelsea Pensioners – and guards in plumed helmets mingled with dignitaries. Soldiers from both countries formed a joint guard of honour.
Cameron, accompanied by his wife Samantha, welcomed Sarkozy by highlighting the close ties between Britain and France.
"Britain and France are not just neighbours in the geographical sense but also in an emotional sense forged by two world wars," said Cameron.
Sarkozy expressed appreciation for Britain supporting De Gaulle "when France had been overwhelmed and betrayed by its leaders".
De Gaulle's appeal, which was largely unheard in France when initially broadcast, was read aloud during the event, followed by the French army choir's rendition of the wartime resistance song Le Chant des Partisans.
Earlier, the Prince of Wales greeted Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni, as they arrived at Clarence House during a day of official engagements.
The French first couple began the day with a visit to the B2 studio at BBC Broadcasting House from where De Gaulle's original appeal was made. They were met by the BBC chairman, Sir Michael Lyons, and then visited an exhibition of the BBC's part in the second world war before unveiling a commemorative plaque.
British officials initially refused De Gaulle's request to air his appeal to French soldiers, engineers and armament workers to support him. The broadcast was eventually aired with the backing of Winston Churchill, despite opposition from the cabinet. De Gaulle's subsequent speeches on 19 and 22 June reached a much wider audience.
"Whatever happens, the flame of French resistance must not and will not be extinguished," De Gaulle said in his first speech.
A large chunk of the French empire in French Equatorial Africa responded positively. They gave the Free French a strategic asset that was put to good use later when the Leclerc division crossed the Sahara from Chad to join up with the campaign in the western desert.
For the hundreds of French veterans who had come over this morning on a specially chartered Eurostar emblazoned with images of De Gaulle, the commemoration was a moving and fitting tribute to their wartime battles.
"For those Free French who arrived that June, [the ceremony] comes as no surprise. You had already set a good precedent. You accepted us completely," said Pierre Sylvain Crosnier, who was 18 when he arrived in Britain on 23 June.
Like most members of the resistance, he had not heard the appeal of 18 June. But he was infused with the desire to battle for freedom, he said. "France didn't want to fight any more. So we came to the one country that was still fighting," said Crosnier, now 89.
Serge Borochovitch, also 89, added: "It was a question of carrying on the fight. For us, what was happening in France at that time was a crime. It was a betrayal. By coming to London we were fighting for the survival of European civilisation."
Sarkozy's visit, coming against a backdrop of economic crisis in the eurozone, provides an opportunity for Cameron to follow up discussions at a European Union summit on financial supervision.
"The importance of General De Gaulle's words has not been dimmed by history," Cameron said ahead of the visit. "Today we celebrate the relationship between France and Britain. At a time of enormous international challenges, the president's visit underlines the importance of those bonds."
Sarkozy and Cameron were expected to focus on closer co-operation between Britain and France over defence projects, seen in part as a chance to share costs in the tough economic climate.
Following his trip to London, Sarkozy will lay a wreath at statues of De Gaulle on the Champs Elysées in Paris, and Winston Churchill on the nearby Avenue Winston Churchill.
Other commemorations are planned across the country and include the projection of images from the second world war on to the facade of Les Invalides, the gold-domed complex in Paris where Napoleon is buried, this evening.
Charles de Gaulle during the Second World War

Nicolas Sarkozy visited the UK today to celebrate the 70th anniversary since  made his war broadcast. The French president and the  laid wreaths at the statue of Charles de Gaulle in 

Earlier, Mr Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni visited the BBC radio studio where the famous broadcast was made on BBC France. The broadcast at the time was said to have been listened to by a very small number of listeners. Carla Bruni and Nicolas Sarkozy unveiled a plaque and viewed a tapestry given to the BBC by France as a note of gratitude after World War II.

Nicolas Sarkozy and British PM David Cameron met with 200 veterans during a ceremony at the . Nicolas Sarkozy awarded the  to six World War II veterans, three of whom were British. 

In a short speech, Mr Cameron said the anniversary was a "reminder that Britain and France are not just neighbours in the geographical sense but also in the emotional sense." Mr Cameron held an hour of talks with the French president at Downing Street primarily focusing on economics, Afghanistan, and other foreign policy matters. 
The visit is the first by a French president to mark Gen de Gaulle's broadcast on June 18, 1940. In the stirring radio appeal, Gen de Gaulle declared himself leader of the "Free French", spawning the French Resistance, which went on to play a crucial role in defeating the Germans.

Mr Sarkozy's last official visit to the UK was in March 2008, when he was also accompanied by his wife.