Bayeux was the first city in France to be liberated after the Battle of Normandy . On 16 June 1944 , General Charles de Gaulle made his first major speech in Bayeux . During the Second World War , Bayeux was the first city of the Battle of Normandy to be liberated , and on 16 June 1944 General Charles de Gaulle made his first major speech in Bayeux in which he made clear that France sided with the Allies .