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The French Union () was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial empire system, colloquially known as the " French Empire" (). It was ''de jure'' the end of the "indigenous" () status of French subjects in colonial areas. It was dissolved in 1958, after the downfall of the Fourth Republic.


Composition

The French Union had five components: # Metropolitan France, which included the French mainland,
Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
, and the four departments of
French Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...
. # 'Old' colonies, notably those of the French West Indies in the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
, that became overseas departments in 1946:
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...
, Guiana,
Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
, and
Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
. # 'New' colonies, renamed overseas territories:
Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
, Comoros, Congo,
Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history, kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in ...
, French India,
French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...
, French Somaliland,
Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...
,
Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...
,
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...
,
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,
Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...
,
New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
,
Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
, Saint Pierre and Miquelon,
Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
, French Sudan,
Ubangi-Shari Ubangi-Shari () was a French colonial empire, French colony in central Africa, a part of French Equatorial Africa. It was named after the Ubangi River, Ubangi and Chari River, Chari rivers of the Central African Republic, rivers along which it w ...
, and Upper Volta. # Associated states: three members of French Indochina: Kingdom of Cambodia, Kingdom of Laos, State of Vietnam; and two
protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...
s of
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and
Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
. # United Nations Trust Territories, such as French Cameroons and French Togoland, but not the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, which was ''De Facto'' dissolved in April of 1946. These Trust Territories are the successors of the League of Nations mandates.


History

The first official use of the term ''Union française'' appeared in the ''Declaration on Indochina'' on 24 March 1945. The French Union was established by the French constitution of 27 October 1946 (Fourth Republic). Under it, it was said that there were no French colonies, but that metropolitan France, the overseas departments, and the overseas territories combined to create a single French Union, or just one France. The goal of this union was "assimilation of the overseas territories into a greater France, inhabited by French citizens, and blessed by French culture".Simpson, ''Human Rights'' (2004), p. 286 Whereas the British colonial system had local colonial governments which would eventually evolve into separate national governments, France wanted to create a single government under a single French state. This French Union had a President, a High Council, and an Assembly. The President was the President of the Republic. The Assembly of the Union had membership from the Council of the Republic, from the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
and from regional assemblies of the overseas territories and departments but ultimately had no power. The High Council ultimately met only three times, first in 1951. The Assembly was the only actually functioning institution that could manage legislation within the overseas territories. In reality, the colonial areas had representation but all power remained in the French Parliament and thus was centralized. The colonies had local assemblies but these had only limited local power. Instead, various natives of the overseas territories in metropolitan France grew into a group of elites, known as . The Associated States of Indochina underwent a process toward independence between 1949 and 1954. The State of Vietnam was founded in 1949 following the Élysée Accords, but it remained partially dependent on France. The Kingdoms of Laos and Cambodia became equal members with France in late 1953. Vietnam became an equal member on 4 June 1954, a month before the communists took power in the North. On 31 January 1956, in response to the
Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...
, the system changed, abandoning assimilation in favour of autonomy, allowing territories to develop their own local government and eventually gain their independence. This adjustment would not succeed, however, and in 1958 the French Union was replaced by the
French Community The French Community () was the constitutional organization set up in October 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which had reorganized the colonial em ...
by
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
's Fifth Republic wherein France was now a federation of states with their own self-government.


Contemporary views on the French Union

The limited democratic reforms and increased investment in the French colonies brought about by the formation of the French Union did receive some support from African leaders at the time. For instance, Félix Houphouet-Boigny, at the time a member of the
French National Assembly The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral French Parliament under the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (France), Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known ...
, was very supportive of France's investment in Côte d'Ivoire through the Central Fund for France Overseas, which disbursed over 600Bn Francs to French colonies. He was also supportive of the greater democratic freedoms that were granted to Africans within the Union, such as new elected territorial assemblies. Leopold Senghor was similarly supportive of the French Union, and after visiting
Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...
in 1952, believed that cooperation between France and its colony was mutually beneficial and that such French assistance should be "extended...to all the territories of the Federation". Yet more support for the French Union came from French Togoland, now
Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...
, where in June 1955 the locally elected Territorial Assembly voted unanimously on a motion to remain within France's sphere of influence. On the other hand, there did exist popular resistance to the French Union. According to Louisa Rice, the increase in the number of African students being educated in France following the Union's formation resulted in a realisation among them of the contradiction between the colonial narrative of equality and reality, thus heightening resistance to its supposedly egalitarian institutions. A concrete example of this resistance occurred on
Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. It is referred to, both legally and commonly, as () in French, though ''la fête nationale'' is also u ...
1952, when a group of West African students returning home by ship were excluded from celebrations due to them travelling in third class. The students argued that they were discriminated against because of their race, yet the ship's captain viewed these allegations with surprise, thinking that their exclusion was merely due to the ship's "interior order which had nothing to do with racist theories". This example is a microcosm of differing contemporary opinions of the French Union. On the one hand there is a view that all citizens of the Union, be they French or African, are equal and are treated as such. On the other, that it was institutionally exclusionary towards Africans, and that despite ostensible changes, the French Union was merely a continuation of colonialism under a new guise. Furthermore, there was a view among French officials that the French Union constituted an important part of a wider European economic and political project, that is, the
European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
(EEC). Indeed, according to Peo Hansen and Stefan Jonsson, at the genesis of the
EEC The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
, the integration of Africa into the economic bloc was an important strategic goal for its architects and supporters. One of these supporters, French Foreign Minister
Christian Pineau Christian Pineau (; 14 October 1904 – 5 April 1995) was a noted French Resistance fighter, who later served an important term as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1956 through 1958. Life and career Pineau was born in 1904 in Chaumont-en-Bass ...
, said in 1957 that the continued development of Africa by Europe would turn the continent into "an essential factor in world politics", and the alleviation of poverty would help to ward off communist influence. Here we can see that the French Union was viewed by the French government as a useful tool to both consolidate European economic integration and fight the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. The model of the
EEC The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
was also used by African leaders to justify their countries' continued membership of the French Union. For instance, Houphouet-Boigny wrote in 1957 that by "relinquish nga part of their sovereignty", European countries would bring about "a more fully elaborated form of civilization which is more advantageous for their peoples" that goes beyond backward nationalism. Senghor echoes this view, arguing that "it would be pointless to cultivate particularism in Africa", and that instead there should be a goal to remove borders entirely, forming a large economic/political bloc. Here we can see a view that greater integration into economic and political blocs, such as the French Union and the
EEC The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...
, was viewed by both French officials and some African leaders as progressive, forward thinking, and within their interests to do so.


Withdrawals from the French Union

All three associated states of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos withdrew from the French Union in 1954. Over the next two years, they severed the remaining military, monetary and financial ties with France. * Vietnam withdrew on 20 July 1954. In December 1955, Vietnam terminated its existing economic and financial agreements with France and withdrew its representatives from the French Union Assembly. * Cambodia withdrew on 25 September 1955. * Laos withdrew on 11 May 1957 by amending its constitution.


Youth Council

The Youth Council of the French Union (, abbreviated CJUF) was a coordinating body of youth organizations in the French Union. CJUF was founded in 1950.
L'Année politique, économique, sociale et diplomatique en France
'. Presses Universitaires de France, 1954. p. 199
The organization had its headquarters in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and held annual congresses.


Aftermath of the French Union and the French Community

In 1958, the French Fourth Republic was replaced by a new Fifth Republic, characterised by a stronger presidential system, led by President
Charles De Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...
. A constitutional referendum was held on 28 September 1958 to replace the French Union, as part of a wider referendum across the French Union (including the Metropole) on whether to adopt the new French Constitution; if accepted, colonies would become part of the new
French Community The French Community () was the constitutional organization set up in October 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which had reorganized the colonial em ...
; if rejected, the territory would be granted independence. All major political parties in each respective country, except two in
Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...
and
Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
, supported a yes vote in the 1958 constitutional referendum, seeking a looser form of autonomy rather than the system of close relations dominated by French influence. The referendum proposal was overwhelmingly approved by upward of 90% of the population in most but not all of the territories. Even in Niger, where the main organised political force opposed the replacing of the French Union with the French Community, the new constitution was supported by a clear majority. However, in Guinea, where the leading political activists preferred immediate and complete independence, the results showed that more than 95% of voters voted against the constitution, with a turnout of 85.5%. In response to the result in Guinea, French officials destroyed furniture, lightbulbs and windows. Any crockery, medical equipment or documents that could not be carried were also destroyed and over 3,000 French civil servants and army health officials left the country. This only reinforced anti colonial sentiment inside of Guinea, and Ahmed Sékou Touré would continue to urge other African nations to declare independence. The former west and central African colonies after the passage of the referendum formed a short-lived organisation in 1959 called the Union of Central African Republics, replacing the bloc of French Equatorial Africa that existed as a subsection of the French Union and became part of the new French Community. Within metropolitan France, most political parties supported the proposed changes to the constitution, most significantly those of ascendant Charles De Gaulle as well as the majority of the
French Section of the Workers' International The French Section of the Workers' International (, SFIO) was a major socialist political party in France which was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the present Socialist Party. The SFIO was founded in 1905 as the French representativ ...
(SFIO, or Socialist Party). Notable opposing forces were the French Communist Party as well as a smaller section of socialists that included the future President of France, François Mitterrand. Opposition to the changes were split between those who wanted complete independence for the African former colonies, mainly those on the French left and then those who opposed any change to the existing system of the French union at all, mostly positioned on the right. De Gaulle successfully argued that his position on creating a French Community as opposed to the continuance of the French Union, as a sensible and moderate compromise. However, the new French Community did not last long, with most African states leaving the organisation by 1962, preferring complete independence.  The French Constitution was changed to remove any mention of the French Community in the 1990s. The Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie is based on promotion of the French language, and includes states and parts of states which were not part of the French Union in 1946 or 1958, or in some cases never French colonies or protectorates.


See also

* CEFEO * Decolonization * First Indochina War * Françafrique *
French colonial empire The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas Colony, colonies, protectorates, and League of Nations mandate, mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "Firs ...
*
French Community The French Community () was the constitutional organization set up in October 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which had reorganized the colonial em ...


References


Further reading

* Cooper, Frederick. "French Africa, 1947–48: Reform, Violence, and Uncertainty in a Colonial Situation." ''Critical Inquiry'' (2014) 40#4 pp: 466–478
in JSTOR
* Horne, Alistair. (1977). '' A Savage War of Peace: Algeria, 1954-1962''. Viking Press. * McDougall, James. (2017). '' A History of Algeria''. Cambridge University Press. * McDougall, James. (2006). '' History and the culture of nationalism in Algeria''. Cambridge University Press. * Simpson, Alfred William Brian. ''Human Rights and the End of Empire: Britain and the Genesis of the European Convention'' (Oxford University Press, 2004). * Smith, Tony. "A comparative study of French and British decolonization." ''Comparative Studies in Society and History'' (1978) 20#1 pp: 70–102
online
* Smith, Tony. "The French Colonial Consensus and People's War, 1946–58." ''Journal of Contemporary History'' (1974): 217–247
in JSTOR
{{DEFAULTSORT:French Union (1946-1958) French colonial empire Overseas France Defunct organizations based in France Former international organizations French West Africa French Equatorial Africa French Indochina French India French Togoland * * States and territories established in 1946 States and territories disestablished in 1958 1946 establishments in France 1958 disestablishments in France 1946 establishments in the French colonial empire 1958 disestablishments in the French colonial empire