Memorial of Félix Éboué and the Rallying of the Colonial Empire - 25 franc

The historical focus of the stamp is the commemoration of colonial administrator Félix Éboué (1884–1944) and his pivotal role as the "Premier Résistant de l'Empire" (First Resistant of the Empire) during World War II. In August 1940, while serving as the Governor of Chad, Éboué became the first high-ranking colonial official to officially refuse the authority of the Vichy regime, rallying Chad and subsequently the rest of French Equatorial Africa (AEF) to General Charles de Gaulle’s Free French forces. This monumental event provided the Free French movement with its first sovereign territory, a legal administrative base, and a critical strategic launchpad for Allied military campaigns across North Africa.

Issued posthumously across the French colonial postal networks following his death in 1944, this memorial issue registers the French Empire's official recognition of Éboué's wartime leadership, celebrating his defiance as a foundational act that structurally preserved the sovereign continuity of France during its darkest geopolitical crisis.