Paris: The French Defense Ministry says Gen. Marcel Bigeard, who led French forces in colonial wars in Indochina and Algeria, has died at age 94.

Bigeard also served in the French Resistance in World War II. He was one of France's most decorated military officers.

His death comes as France marks the 70th anniversary of Gen. Charles de Gaulle's defiant broadcast on BBC radio to French people to resist the Nazi occupation.

President Nicolas Sarkozy, in London to mark the anniversary, expressed in a statement his "deep sadness" at Bigeard's death, calling him an "ardent patriot."

No details about the cause or time of death were immediately available.