In the 1950s, anxiety about the decline of France's empire and "great power" status was expressed through concern about its poor athletic performance at international competitions. Lindsay Krasnoff, author of The Making of Les Bleus: Sport in France, 1958-2010, describes how France attempted to catch up on the Cold War playing field.

Episode notes: http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/resource/sport-in-the-cold-war/episode-10-france-s-sport-crisis