On the French Colonial Lobby

This is a short book based on Stuart Persell’s dissertation at Stanford University. In it, he argues that the French Colonial Lobby was a small organization that had an outsized role on the direction of the French colonial empire. While the French Colonial Lobby was a small group of primarily middle-class financiers and entrepreneurs based in port cities, they did have some sway in the French legislature between 1890 and 1914. They sought to direct the French government to give increasing attention to its government, which the French administration and legislature had largely ignored. For instance, 25% of French exports went to Russia and 7% to the Ottoman Empire in 1914, while only 10% went to the entire French colonial empire, which made up the bulk of West and North Africa, as well as Southeast Asia, Madagascar, and many Pacific islands.

Even if it was unsuccessful in redirect the attention of the French government, its use of pressure tactics changed the minds of the French public, who took an increasing interest in empire during and after the First World War. This stood in stark contrast to the early years of the Third Republic, where most pro-imperial statesmen were centrists (perhaps represented above all by Jules Ferry) who were outmaneuvered by French nationalists on the right (who would rather give attention to Alsace-Lorraine) and socialists on the left (who were opposed to empire for humanitarian reasons). Persell argues here that, by the Paris Peace Conference, the Colonial Lobby succeeded into non-existence. Like the UK Independence Party, the success of the Colonial Lobby’s major aims turned empire into a hegemonic issue that interested nearly the entirety of the French political spectrum. While many on the left continued to oppose empire, most socialists—Jean Jaurès being a leading example—came to accept the need for mise en valeur (development) and the expansion of “French civilization.” The right seemed to wholly acquiesce to imperialist impulses, with little opposition.

Overall, this is a good—if simplistic—study of a small group of activists who sought to transform popular opinion in France.