This thesis looks at France through the eyes of the British press in 1939-40 and assesses the press as historical evidence and 'barometer of the times'. The thesis briefly describes the press's treatment of France in the period 1918-38 as background and then concentrates on the nineteen months from January 1939 to July 1940. It analyses the performance of the press according to the amount of space that it devoted to France; the range of French subjects reported on; its commentaries on French affairs; and its general attitudes to France and to Britain's relations with France.