35:T445,This week the French president Emmanuel Macron travelled thousands of kilometres across Europe in a diplomatic effort to avert an escalation of the war in Ukraine. He met Presidents Putin and Zelensky in Moscow and Kyiv, as well as German and Polish leaders in Berlin. Diplomats say Mr Macron has made himself a key interlocutor between the EU and the US on one side and Russia on the other. The crisis in Ukraine has galvanised France's alliance with the United States which was at a low point just months ago when Paris lost a lucrative Australian submarine contract to Washington and London. But at home - where the president is facing re-election, there’s scepticism over France’s close alliance with America. So what are President Macron's foreign policy goals? As the EU’s only nuclear-armed state, what role should France play in representing Europe’s broader interests on the world stage? And will Mr Macron’s diplomatic achievements improve his chances of winning a second term in April?Ritula Shah is joined by a panel of experts. Producers: Junaid Ahmed and Paul Schuster.36:T42b,

When France capitulated in 1940 and the Vichy government came to power many of the French colonial possessions remained loyal to the new regime. The same was true for the Island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.

In this episode I'm joined by Russell Phillips.

Russell's book A Strange Campaign narrates the story of the battle for Madagascar, where British troops would fight the French for possession of the island.

If you want to hear more from Russell, spool back through the WW2 Podcast feed to episode 27. We discussed Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich and the destruction of the Czech village of Lidice as a reprisal by the Germans. Not only was the village physically destroyed all the visible remains were removed.

To find the podcast on patreon go to:
https://www.patreon.com/ww2podcast

Season 4 Episode 26: The Malagasy Take M...