Philippe Soupault was commissioned in 1938 by Léon Blum, the first socialist Prime Minister of France, to establish a radio station in Tunis, Radio Tunis, in order to counter the propaganda of the Italian fascists that reached North Africa via Radio Bari. At that time, Tunisia was a French protectorate. Hitler's invasion of France in 1940 and the occupation of France, along with the associated Vichy regime under Marshal Pétain, also had repercussions for Tunisia. The anti-fascist Soupault was immediately removed from his position as director of Radio Tunis. In 1942, he was denounced, arrested in March for treason, and taken to the prison in Tunis. In September 1942, he was released on provisional terms and was able to flee from Tunis to Algiers with his wife Ré on November 13, 1942, just before the city was occupied by the Nazis the following day.