ABSTRACT
The state of France in the summer of 1937 was mirrored in the Paris International Exhibition. The dictatorships had made the greatest effort. The huge Soviet and German pavillions faced each other, sharply symbolising the ideological conflict. The policy of Chautemps, like that of Baldwin, was one of drift. Inevitably, therefore, the key decisions were made for him and France was taken in tow by her British partner. The appointment of Georges Bonnet as Minister of Finance, in place of the Socialist Vincent Auriol, was seen as confirmation of the government’s Radical Socialist bias. The chief difference between British and French leaders was that French Ministers lacked the purposive, optimistic outlook which characterised Chamberlain and his collaborators. Professions of determination to defend Czechoslovakia were combined with reservations about France’s ability to maintain herself in central and eastern Europe.
