In 1945, why did Britain and France nearly go to war?

In 1945, British tanks rolled into Syria knowing that, if they encountered French troops that refused to back down, they would have to fight their former ally. But why? How had relations between these two countries collapsed to this point, and why was this all happening in Syria in the first place?

If you think I've got something incorrect, please leave a (pleasant) comment about it down below, I'll check it out. If you do so, make sure to use some sort of reliable source, in oppose to a generic website/YouTube video/Wikipedia. If I conclude that I was wrong, I'll pin a comment about it, or just pin your comment.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:28 The Channel's Future
0:48 Prelude
4:10 The Allied Invasion
7:18 Lebanese Crisis
11:49 Building Tensions (again)
18:32 The Crisis
22:07 The Aftermath
26:20 Conclusion

PUBLIC SCRIPT:

Music attributions:

Bittersweet by Kevin MacLeod

Morgana Rides by Kevin MacLeod

Dark Times by Kevin MacLeod

Stay The Course by Kevin MacLeod

Thunderbird by Kevin MacLeod

Sources:

Barr, James, A Line in the Sand, (London: Simon and Schuster UK, 2012)

Bell, P. M. H., France and Britain 1940-1994: The Long Separation, (London: Longman, 1997)

Cohen, Michael J., Churchill and the Jews, 2nd edn (London: Frank Cass Publishers, 2003)

Gaunson, A.B., The Anglo-French Clash in Lebanon and Syria, 1940-45, (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1987)

Seeley, J. R., The Expansion of England, 2nd ed., (London: Macmillan and Co., 1909)

Thomas, Martin, The French empire at war, 1940-45, (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998)

Thomas, Martin, ‘France and its colonial civil wars, 1940-1945’ in The Cambridge History of the Second World War: Volume II Politics and Ideology ed. By Richard J. B. Bosworth, Joseph A. Maiolo, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015)

Woodhouse, C.M., Britain and the Middle East, (Genève: E. Droz, 1959)

[dougajames]

Do check out the public script in the description for a fully referenced document that includes a couple of extra fun bits of information I couldn't fit in the video!

[nemilyk]

As with the end of WWI, nothing quite caps off the most devastating conflict of the age like "Hey, how about a little more war?"

[ttuny]

Now I understand why Roosevelt disliked De Gaulle and wanted to shut him out during the war.

[keegandecker]

There’s a lot of little rivalries in this world: Tehran vs Istanbul, Moscow vs Kyiv, Seoul vs Tokyo. But in my opinion there is no rivalry as old or as bitter as the hatred that exists between the French and British peoples.

[MrRobster]

In his memoirs Churchill quipped that of all the crosses he had to bear the Cross of Lorraine was the most heavy. He actually entertained having De Gaulle arrested.

[HenriHattar]

There is a really SIMPLE reason, after the defeat of Vichy Syria, Syria had DEMOCRATIC elections, however France WANTED to RE COLONISE THEM..and the British opposed this in orderto support the democraticly elected Syrian Government. France did not have any ability to fight any way and it is a sign of Gallic arrogance that the British which BOUGHT De Gaulle to power and provided MOST assistance, more than the USA to the French, turned on the British IMMEDIATELY the French, under De Gaul, decided they had won WW2 and were going to take back all their colonies even thought the people of those countries did not want them back, Vietnam for instance!

[jameswebb]

The British attack on the French Fleet in 1940 is well known and documented . Lesser know was the British invasion of French controlled Island of Madagascar in 1942 . The Japanese bombers that sunk the Repulse and the Prince of Wales took off from French airfields in Indo China . It was feared that the Vichy would give the Japanese authority to use the Island as a submarine base .
Another hidden event from WW2 that involved the French was, Marocchinate the name given to the atrocities committed by French Moroccan troops in Italy .
When Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met at Yalta, De Gaulle was not invited . The big three decided that postwar Germany should be divided into three Zones, Russian, American and British ( BAOR ) no French. That infuriated the Grande Charles who insisted that they had a part . Russia agreed providing it came from UK and USA Zones . When the Brits wanted to rekindle German Industry, particularly steel production, it was the French that held it back . Too much emphasis is placed upon the Marshall Plan, whose real aim was to stop communism . Read what the man responsible has to say, George Kennan .

[jonwashburn]

I don't think I'd learned about this before. Thanks.

[ralphraffles]

British army units played a significant role in the liberation of Paris, yet De Gaulle insisted that the first victory parade was American and Free French only.

[Karottenbrot]

You don't need enemies when you're allied with france...

[conveyor]

de Gaulle didn't become President until 1959. In 1945 he was only Chairman of the Provisional governemnt.

[rawschri]

As Churchill once said when asked, " What was the greatest cross you had to bear during WW2 ? ", his answer was " The Cross of St Lorraine " ...

[mharley]

I just think it’s very funny that France wanted to keep Syria so it could continue to look like a major power and not weak when in fact was weak and not a major power. You can try to bet against reality, but reality always wins.

[johnwright]

De Gaulle was infuriatingly arrogant, touchy, haughty and arrogant, endowed with the worst Gallic characteristics. He supported the attempts by France to hold on to its Colonial Empire in the Middle East, Africa and Indochina.

[donsalluste]

The french answer of levantine countries independance could be understand at a larger scale.
In deed, all countries near of French Syria and Leabanon are English or under English influence. So French défend only their own interests. De Gaulle said :" In international relationships, there is no friendship, only common interest"

[alexanderperry]

The French Government was in Vichy (without De Gaulle) through much of WWII. The Vichy Government actively opposed the British (and Allies), whether in Africa, the Middle East, Madagascar or Far East (they even facilitated the Japanese attacks on Malaya and Burma). The French people were badly let down by their leadership, which appears to have learnt nothing (again).

[stevetaylor]

This video makes me appreciate Churchill even more, not only was his country and Commonwealth at war, but he had to keep an eye on some of his 'allies' as well.

[cooltaylor]

The short answer:

France and England have been warring off and on since England and France have been things. Them getting along is a very modern thing, and historically very tenous.

I'm not certain, but I'd imagine we are currently experiencing the longest gap between an English/French war in either country's history.

[ttuny]

The French, we hate being occupied by a foreign power and being treated like less than second class citizens in our own country.
Also French, but we want to keep occupying foreign countries and treating them as less than second class citizens in their own countries.

[anonimosu]

In a random given year, why did France and Britain nearly go to war.