ridicule those who attempted to promote national customs. The programme also encompassed fine arts. Fiercely nationalistic plays and films were sponsored by the government. Often these depicted a glorious past when Thai warriors fearlessly gained freedom for the country, defended their honour, or sacrificed themselves. Patriotism was taught in schools and was a recurrent theme in songs and dances. At the same time, Phibun worked rigorously to rid society of its royalist influences. Traditional royal holidays were replaced with new national events and royal and aristocratic titles were abandoned. Ironically, he retained his aristocratic surname. Even the Sangha was affected when the status of the royally sponsored Thammayuth sect was downgraded. Meanwhile, all cinemas were instructed to display Phibun's picture at the end of every performance as if it were the king's portrait, and the audience were expected to rise and bow. Another aspect of Phibun's growing personality cult was becoming apparent in official décor. He was born in the year of the cock, and this symbol began to replace the wheel. Similarly, Phibun's auspicious birth-colour, green, was used in official decorations. Franco-Thai War In 1940, most of France was occupied by Nazi Germany, and Phibun immediately set out to avenge Siam's humiliations by France in 1893 and 1904, when the French had used force to redraw the borders of Siam with Laos and Cambodia, requiring the Thais to sign a series of unequal treaties. To accomplish that, the Thai government needed Japanese assistance against France, which was secured through the Treaty between Thailand and Japan Concerning the Continuance of Friendly Relations and the Mutual Respect of Each Other's Territorial Integrity, concluded in June 1940. Also concluded in 1940 was the British-Thai Non-Aggression Pact between the governments of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Thailand. On 18 July 1940, the British government accepted Japanese demands to close the Burma Road for three months to prevent war supplies from reaching China. As the government of Thailand was now becoming aligned with the Japanese, the British government concluded the pact with Bangkok so as not to antagonize Tokyo. Luang Wichit wrote a number of popular dramas that glorified the idea of many ethnic groups belonging to a greater "Thai" empire and condemned the evils of European colonial rule. Irredentist and anti-French demonstrations were incessantly held around Bangkok, and in late 1940 border skirmishes erupted along the Mekong frontier. In 1941 the skirmishes