The French appeasement policy toward Siam 1937-1939
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14456/arv.2024.8Keywords:
France, Indochina, Siam, Thailand, Japan, AppeasementAbstract
This article deals with the issue of the preparation of French Indochina for the possibility of an armed conflict with Thailand in the late 1930s. It examines the reasons that led the colony to find itself so ill-prepared for the eventuality of war. In this perspective, the article shows that, although aware of its pro-Japanese evolution and the territorial claims of Siam, the French authorities hastened to undertake nothing, an attitude which was in line with the Munich policy that marked French policy in the last month before the outbreak of war in Europe. The article also shows that reasons related to the maintenance of the social status quo in Indochina influenced the policy of equipment – and defence – of the colony.
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