 After a diplomatic defeat in the Oriental Crisis of 1840 France shifted its focus to the Rhine, and the French government, led by Adolphe Thiers, restated its claim to areas on the left bank, to re-establish the Rhine as a natural border.These claims reinforced ressentiment among the Germans against the French, and increased nationalism on both sides.New nationalist songs were written in France and Germany and achieved huge popularity, most famously the German songs "Die Wacht am Rhein", "Der Deutsche Rhein" and the "Lied der Deutschen", the national anthem of Germany since 1922.