RENNES, France (AFP) — The last surviving member of the French resistance force that withstood a German advance in a key battle in the north African desert in World War II has died aged 103, authorities announced.

Paul Leterrier fought in the 1942 battle of Bir-Hakeim in Libya with the Free French Forces who had evaded the German occupation of the country.

Leterrier, who joined up with the Free French in 1941 following the Nazi occupation of France, had in 2024 participated alongside President Emmanuel Macron in the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy that marked the start of the German retreat from Europe.

“At 103 years old, Paul Leterrier… has joined his comrades who fell for France on the battlefield where together they fought to save our homeland,” said Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau on X.

The performance of the Free French Forces at Bir-Hakeim, where they succeeded in defending their position, slowed the advance of the Nazi forces under General Erwin Rommel and won the admiration of British premier Winston Churchill.

“It wasn’t fun, but we were in great spirits,” Leterrier recalled.

Leterrier had joined the Free French Forces after deserting his naval ship on a stop in Beirut in 1941 and joining English forces.

After Bir-Hakeim, he continued fighting in Africa, then fought with Allied forces in Italy and took part in Operation Dragoon, the 1944 Allied landings in southern France.

After the war, he worked in France’s internal security service.

France has, over the last years, gradually bade farewell to the final survivors of World War II.

Hubert Germain, the last surviving French Resistance fighter awarded the highest bravery order by Charles de Gaulle for his World War II exploits, died in 2021 aged 101.