France 19191939

1
France 1919-1939
2
French Economy 1919-1939

• Rebuilding during Interwar

3
Economy after the War

• Most of the war was fought on French soil, the
  losses in areas devastated by war greatly
  impacted the economy
• Mass borrowing to rebuild caused bankruptcy of
  the treasury
• Shortage of labor due to loss of man power from
  the war (1,300,000 deaths, and more than 3
  million men with disabilities). The Spanish
  Influenza of 1919 also took 166,000 lives.
• Dependent on the reparation payments from Germany
  to rebuild
• Insufficient leaves for soldiers resulted in low
  birth rate
• Movement toward the left allowed for regulation
  of workplace

4
The 1920s

• Emphasized on Agriculture, repaired areas
  devastated by war
• Obtained lots of resource rich territory from
  Germany (the coal rich Sarre, until 1935)
• The occupation of the Ruhr in 1922-24 by France
  caused losses of reparation payments and draft of
  the Dawes Plan
• The franc was undervalued in 1928 (Gold Standard,
  monetary standard under which the basic unit of
  currency is defined by a stated quantity of gold
  was set 20of the prewar level) and helped export
• Suffered from the shrinking of World Trade
• Inflation (Prices doubled between 1922 and 1926)
• The French occupation of the Rhineland in 1923 to
  demand payment on part of the Germans, the
  campaign of nonviolent resistance resulted in
  negotiations reduced the reparation payments
• When the left wing won the election in
  1924,capital transferred from French Banks to
  Swiss banks in fear of socialist policies
  (Capital Flight)
• France had the greatest growth in Europe in the
  20s
• The losses France suffered from the war called
  for rebuilding, which attracted Migrant Labor,
  France also needed these labor forces due to her
  shortage of labor
• The late 1920s the French state revenue exceeded
  state expenses considerably

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1930s

• 1931 Britain devaluation of the pound sterling
  effected French exports
• Popular Front was a coalition formed of various
  leftist political groups, French Communist Party
  (PCF), the Socialist SFIO and the Radical and
  Socialist party
• The Popular Front, led by Leon Blum won the
  election in 1936
• The arms industry was nationalized and state
  control over the national bank strengthened
• 40hr work weeks and paid vacations, wages rose
• Capital flight was set, as right winged
  industrialists feared changes in policies by the
  Popular Front
• Reduction of salaries in civil services, since
  Civil Service control lay in the hands of right
  wingers who were opposed to reform
• Strikes were formed as works wished to carry out
  the policies offered by the Popular Front and
  caused economic standstill, with the right wings
  fear revolutions
• Though the Popular Front controlled the politics,
  a large part of industries were owned by the
  Right winged groups, and entrepreneurs. The lack
  of finance made Blum back out of supporting the
  Spanish Republican, making the communist unhappy

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• 1936 Matignon Agreement was forged between the
  right and leftist groups after the election
• Rights were given to the workers , helped
  collective bargaining, and increased wages
  (7-12increase)
• Government control over the Bank of France
• Devalued the Franc
• Emphasis on agriculture, production of French
  industries declined, and armament manufacturing
  increased substantially which aided the economy
• 1934 Stavisky Affair was a scandal involving
  political figures
• 1935 Saargebiet, rich in coal, became German
  through a plebiscite
• The Great Depression was not greatly felt by
  France as the rest of Europe
• caused 500,000 official unemployment
• Increased taxes on consumer goods
• Agriculture and industrial output was on the
  decline by the end of the 1930s
• Unemployment stood at 3.6 , the limited work
  hours prevented mass unemployment

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Social / Cultural, Domestic 1919-1939
9
Lots of Losses for a Winner

• Lost 1.5 million men, 3.5 million wounded
• Increased death rate, declining birth rate?
  workforce declining
• Steel production cut in half
• Agriculture and industry fell into serious
  decline
• Value of the frac fell about 50
• To pay off bondholders, France had to borrow at
  extremely high short term rates

10
1919

• April 23rd- gov. passed a law that made 8-hour
  workdays obligatory
• April- two remunerative bills were passed, one on
  the damages caused by the war and the other on
  veterans' pensions
• July 12th- A new electoral law introduced the
  scrutin de liste and a measure of proportional
  representation.
• Nov. 16th- The coalition that had governed under
  Clemenceau split into a Right Bloc National
  (Clemenceau, Millerand, Poincaré, Briand) and a
  Cartel des Gauches, led by Herriot. These
  elections registered a great victory of the
  Right, but on the whole they remained unable to
  work efficiently in the realm of mass politics.

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Government

• 1920-Raymond Poincaré was president and Georges
  Clemenceau was prime minister
• Senate elections were on Jan. 11th- The elections
  proved to be an overwhelming victory for the
  various Liberal and Republican groups, who
  secured 218 seats
• On January 14, Léon Bourgeois was elected
  president of the Senate
• Presidential candidates Paul Deschanel and
  Clemenceau
• Out of 888 legislators votes, Deschanel secured
  no fewer than 734 votes
• The center and right parties set up the Bloc
  national, whose aims were the strict
  implementation of the treaty of Versailles
  (Germany shall pay), the compensation of war
  victims, and the defense of "civilization against
  Bolshevism".

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• "We shall accomplish our formidable task if we
  keep in our souls that sacred flame which
  rendered France the Republic Invincible, and
  saved the world."
• - Deschanel

13
More Government

• Deschanel had a serious accident followed by a
  nervous breakdown and could no longer serve as
  president- Millerand took his place
• Millerands presidency did not work out he was
  quickly replaced
• In 1932 Albert Lebrun was elected president
• His mandate was characterized by great political
  instability and the increase of international
  threats.
• Despite the instability- Lebrun was reelected in
  April of 1939
• This reelection did not last very long because in
  July 1940 the Third Republic and Lebruns mandate
  were abandoned

14
Problems

• A serious dispute arose on the Paris, Lyon, and
  Mediterranean Railway system because of
  disciplinary measures taken against one man
• Feb. 25th Strike broke out
• In May, another railway strike broke out- this
  one supported by the General Confederation of
  Labour (CGT)
• The strike was extremely unpopular in the country
  at large, and the government took legal
  proceedings against the revolutionary
  ring-leaders. Within a week it was clear that the
  strike would fail, but it was not until May 21
  that the leaders of the General Confederation
  declared the strike at an end.

15
The French Revolution has Begun

• Feb. 6th, 1934- France saw the bloodiest night it
  had seen since the crushing of the commune in
  1871
• Fascist leagues formed over the past few years of
  economic depression and anti-parliament
  demonstrations.
• There was a common understanding that the
  demonstrations could have easily become a coup.
• There were two groups the Stalinist Communists
  (PCF) and the reformist Socialists (SFIO)
• Despite their differences the two groups finally
  signed a united front pact which led the working
  class movement into stagnation.- July 1934
• Between the official launch of the Popular Front
  in Jan. 1936 and the PCFs election victory in
  May 1936- 2 events sparked anti-fascist feelings
• The assault on SFIO leader Leon Blum by fascist
  thugs
• Nazi Germanys reoccupation of the Rhineland

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It continues

• A massive protest march through Paris
  demonstrated the potential of the mass movement
• The popular front wanted to control this
  potential
• This directed workers into class collaboration
• By the time Blums government (Popular front) was
  put into place- France had been brought to a
  complete stand-still by an almost general strike
• Thousands of factories were occupied
• Nearly two million workers in almost every
  industry stopped working

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• June 9th- The French revolution has begun- this
  colossal mass cannot be stopped by words. The
  struggle must be consummated either in the
  greatest of victories or the most ghastly of
  defeats.
• Trotsky recognizes the need for a plan and worker
  compensation.

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It gets better

• The bourgeoisie ended the strike with substantial
  concessions
• 40-hour week
• Wage increases
• 2-week paid annual leave
• Blum was considered a savior for ending the
  largest strike in French History
• The popular front also nationalized the Bank of
  France and the armaments industry
• Up till this point the Communist Party supported
  the left-wing Popular Front, but they were
  opposed to the non-intervention policy put forth
  by Blum
• Blum resigned in June 1937 and returned to power
  in March 1938
• Because of pressure from right-wingers- Blums
  gov. was replaced by Edouard Daladier as prime
  minister

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1938 - 1939

• Paul Reynaud was in the cabinet in 1938 as
  Minister of Justice under Édouard Daladier
• Reynaud endorsed radically liberal economic
  policies in order to draw France's economy out of
  stagnation, centered on a massive program of
  deregulation, including the elimination of the
  forty-hour work week
• Reynaud's reforms proved remarkably successful a
  massive austerity program was implemented
  (although armament measures were not cut)
  France's industrial productivity jumped from 76
  to 100 (base1929) from October 1938 to May 1939.
  Reynaud felt that the massive increase in
  spending that a war would mean would stamp out
  France's recovery.

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Foreign Relations 1919-1939
21
Postwar Treaties

• Treaty of Sevres, 1920
• a peace treaty between the Allies and the Ottoman
  Empire, but was never realized
• France was promised controls over Lebanon and
  Syria from partitioning of Ottoman Empire
• Treaty of Locarno, 1925
• Seven post-war territorial settlement at Locarno,
  Switzerland
• Germany, France, Belgium, Britain and Italy
  agreed on non-aggression.
• Germany accepted her frontiers with France and
  Belgium
• Franco-German relations improved as France felt
  more secure
• It was regarded as the keystone of improved
  western European
• diplomatic climate of the period 1924-1930,
  though tension persisted in eastern Europe.
• Kellogg-Briand Pact (Pact of Paris) 1928
• an international treaty "providing for the
  renunciation of war as an instrument of national
  policy
• The French were worried by Germanys treaty of
  neutrality with the USSR in 1926.
• 65 nations signed the pact that outlawed war
  unless a nation acted in self-defense
• USs and Germanys signatures allayed French
  suspicions of German aggression
• This Pact was later viewed as a good intent, but
  having no practical means of preventing war.

22
Occupation of Rhineland, 1923

• According to Treaty of Versailles of 1919, Allied
  troops would control Rhineland as demilitarized
  buffer zone between Germany and France until
  1935.
• In 1923, Germany fell behind in reparation
  shipments. French and Belgian troops invaded the
  Rhineland.
• The French promoted separatism in the area from
  Germany.
• To defuse this situation and help Germany resume
  reparation payments, the Allied countries adopted
  the Dawes Plan however, French troops remained.
• The occupation of Rhineland was a fiasco costs
  were high, and the international press took the
  side of the Germans against France.
• Franco-German negotiations Germany accepted the
  French demand for reparations, while France
  agreed to gradually withdraw troops from the
  Rhineland from 1925 to 1930.
• In 1929, Hague Conference introduced Young Plan
  to alleviate Germany financial burdens Rhineland
  crisis was resolved.
• French Occupation of Rhineland was a humiliating
  event to the German public it would ultimately
  contribute to Hitlers remilitarization in 1936.

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Syria

• According to Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916,
  France was allocated control of South-eastern
  Turkey, Northern Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
• In 1918 Arab revolution took over Damascus,
  ending Ottoman control
• On July 25, 1920, French troops occupied Damascus
  
• The population with strong nationalist sentiment
  opposed French administration a number of
  brutally repressed revolts ensued.
• In 1936, the Republic of Turkey founded after the
  Turkey National Movement began to pressure France
  to yield the Sanjak of Alexandretta (Iskenderun).
  
• France was at the time preoccupied with the
  deteriorating situation in Europe
• When turkey sent in its troops in 1938, France
  yield and evacuated from Syria and Lebanon

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Pact of the Balkan Entente

• Also known as Little Entente
• An alliance formed in 1920 and 1921 by
  Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Yugoslavia with the
  purpose of defending against the Hungarian
  resurgence and Habsburg restoration.
• Guaranteed the mutual assistance in the event of
  an unprovoked attack launched by Hungary against
  any of the three countries.
• After WWI, France wanted to contain a possible
  German aggression by forming an arrangement with
  German neighbours. The Little Entente was seen as
  a potential to create a two-front war against
  Germany in the interests of French Security.
  Therefore France supported this alliance.
• From 1924 to 1927, France signed treaties with
  each of the three countries, which obliged the
  parties to discuss their foreign policies and
  security matters.

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Naval Conferences

• London Naval Conference, 1930
• UK, the USA, France, Italy and Japan
• Major change in battleship tonnage, altering the
  ratio between Britain, the USA and Japan from
  553 to 10107 France and Italy excluded
  themselves from the new ratio agreement
• All five agreed to a five-year halt on capital
  ship construction, tighter controls on submarine
  warfare, and the continuation of limits on
  aircraft carriers.
• Geneva Disarmament Conference, 1932 34
• League of Nations, plus US and the Soviet Union
• Quote President F.D. Roosevelt
• If all nations will agree wholly to eliminate
  from possession and use the weapons which make
  possible a successful attack, defenses
  automatically will become impregnable and the
  frontiers and independence of every nation will
  become secure."
• Difficulties due to disagreements over what
  constituted offensive and defensive weapons,
  and the polarization of France and Germany.
• The talk broke down with Hitler withdrew Germany
  from both the Conference and the League of
  Nations in Oct. 1933.

Gascogne Class Battleship
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Stresa Front, 1935

• Origin
• A coalition of France, Britain, and Italy formed
  at Stresa, Italy
• triggered by Germanys declaration of rearmament
  in March 1935, to build air force, increase army
  size, and introduce conscription.
• Aims
• reaffirm the Locarno Treaties
• Resist Germanys rearmament and any attempt to
  breach Treaty of Versailles
• Effects
• Success omitted any references to Germany as not
  to antagonize Hitler, since Britain kept the
  door open with Germany to obtain agreements
• Failure vague terms on how they should be
  upheld.
• Neither France, Britain or Italy wanted to invade
  Germany, which would have been the only way to
  cease German rearmament, thus the treaty was
  infeasible.
• Countries were pulling in different directions.
  Within two months Britain signed the Anglo-German
  Naval Agreement, which allowed Germany to
  increase its navy by 35 and to build submarines.
  This seriously undermined the front.
• It collapse completely with Italys invasion of
  Ethiopia.

Stresa as an internationally renowned Italian
resort
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Soviet-French Non-aggression Pact

• A bilateral pact between France and Soviet Union
  with the aim of containing German aggression in
  1935
• After Germany invaded parts of Czechoslovakia,
  France was in need of a way to support collective
  security with the Soviet Union in fear of future
  invasion.
• A pact of mutual assistance compatible with the
  provisions of the League of Nations Covenant.
• military assistance could be rendered by one
  signatory to the other only after an allegation
  of unprovoked aggression had been submitted to
  the League and only after prior approval of the
  other signatories of the Locarno pact
• It was no more than a diplomatic threat of
  two-front war on Germany.
• Hitler later used it as an excuse to remilitarize
  the Rhineland.

French Foreign Minister Louis Barthou, and Stalin
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Rhineland Crisis, 1936

• In early 1935 Hitler began plans to reoccupy the
  Rhineland
• By fall of 1935 France decided to state her
  official position concerning the defense of
  Rhineland. However, France was not disposed to
  take action without the assistance of Britain.
• French military chiefs advised against military
  action and public opinion showed no enthusiasm
  for war
• On March 7, 1936, 20, 000 German troops marched
  into the Rhineland demilitarized zone. Hitler's
  excuse was the Franco-Russian pact which he
  regarded as directed against Germany.
• the reoccupation of Rhineland directly violated
  both the Treaty of Versailles and Locarno Pact.
• In Feb. 1936, French FM Flandin suggested that a
  formal complaint to the League of Nations, which
  later declared a breach of Articles 42 43 of
  Treaty of Versailles.
• Disagreements in the French Gov caused much
  tension
• France failed to agree on a plan, and continued
  the policy of "no action".
• Hitlers gamble allowed him to reoccupy the
  Rhineland without conflict.
• The Rhineland crisis was seen as yet another
  German infringement of the Treaty of Versailles
  that went unchecked by the Allies.

German armored cars reoccupying the Rhineland at
night in 1936.
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The Maginot Mentality

• Between 1929 and 1934, the "Great Wall" of
  Francethe Maginot Linewas built along the
  border with Germany.
• Purpose
• protect France from Germany, provide time for
  mobilization
• provide nation with a sense of security, "Maginot
  Mentality.
• Structure
• a 400-mile line of defense from Switzerland to
  the Ardennes in the north and from the Alps to
  the Mediterranean in the south.
• concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, machine
  gun posts
• Inside tunnels, underground railroads, and
  thousands of men who "slept, trained, watched,
  and waited for a war that never came."
• the most massive defense line in the world at the
  time.
• Problems
• France was wrong to assume future warfare would
  be fought like WWI and a big defense line would
  be sufficient in all battles.
• France did not attempt to modernize its defense
  systems.
• This was one reason why France fell so quickly
  "Maginot Line" was no match for Hitlers bombers
  and tanks in mobile battles.

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