Edouard Daladier

As a Radical Party leader, Daladier supported the formation of the Popular Front coalition with Socialists and Communists, though he did not serve in the first Blum government. This alliance won the 1936 elections, leading to major social reforms in France.

As Prime Minister of France, Daladier signed the Munich Agreement with Hitler, Mussolini, and Chamberlain, ceding the Sudetenland to Germany. This policy of appeasement aimed to avoid war but emboldened Nazi aggression, leading to the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939.

Following the German invasion of Poland, Daladier's government declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939, fulfilling France's treaty obligations. This marked the beginning of France's involvement in World War II, though the Phoney War ensued until 1940.

After the fall of France, the Vichy regime arrested Daladier and other Third Republic leaders, putting them on trial at Riom for alleged responsibility for France's defeat. The trial was suspended in 1943 due to international criticism and lack of evidence, and Daladier was deported to Germany.