During the Second World War, Portugal managed to get through the conflict without firing a single shot. Caught between the Axis and the Allies, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, the country's strongman, used every trick in the book to get through the war. In this war of nerves where all the blows are allowed, the Portuguese dictator skillfully used the only weapon at his disposal to preserve the independence of his country: neutrality.

December 5, 1933, marked the end of the "Volstead Act", which prohibited Americans from drinking, importing or selling alcohol. During twelve years of prohibition, the hub of trafficking in North America, the small colony of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, experienced incredible growth. French products, champagne in particular, were popular across the Atlantic. This providential windfall benefited the French economy. The successive French governments during this period did everything they could to promote this trade, to the great displeasure of the Americans.