If I live, I will fight, wherever I must, as long as I must, until the enemy is defeated and the national stain washed clean.

The line expresses an uncompromising vow of resistance: survival is framed not as an end in itself but as a condition for continued struggle. The repeated clauses (“wherever,” “as long as”) emphasize total commitment—geographical and temporal—until a clear political-moral objective is achieved: defeating the enemy and erasing a “national stain,” i.e., the humiliation of defeat, occupation, or collaboration. In de Gaulle’s idiom, such language typically serves to reassert national honor and legitimacy, casting perseverance as a cleansing act that restores France’s standing. The quote’s force lies in its absolutism: it rejects negotiated resignation and makes endurance synonymous with national redemption.