French Union (Twilight of a New Era)

The French Union (Union française) is the association of France with its noneuropean territories. Its origins are in the French Colonial Union (Union coloniale française) a pressure and lobby group founded in 1893. Its main leader and President of the Union was Joseph Chailley-Bert. In a short time it became the colonial party in the French National Assembly. The main purpose was to ensure that French colonialism had the support and investment of national industry and capital. The economic importance of the colonies was overlooked by many and the mission of the Union was to correct this misconception. Therefore it favored all measures that would facilitate the administration and integration to the homeland of the colonies. In other groups there was also the idea of the civilizing mission (Mission civilisatrice) of France upon its colonial possessions. It became the rationale for intervention or colonization, proposing to contribute to spread the civilization (mainly the French one), or Westernization of indigenous peoples.

Until them no great importance was given to the colonial question. After the Moroccan Crisis of 1911 it seemed clear that the Franco-German tensions, could break in a full war and the colonies could give a military advantage. In 1915 the Minister of Colonies Gaston Doumergue asked Chailley-Bert to propose a governmental plan for the better administration of the French colonies, protectorates and overseas territories. Until his death in 1928, Chailley-Bert became the chief architect and adviser for the various administrations on the colonial system.

Development after World War I
After World War I a series of event would lead to the French Union. The first one would be the granting of French Citizenship to all persons and soldiers that participated in the defense of Metropolitan France. This measure benefited not only the Colonial Force but also habitants and native administrators in the colonies that helped in the defense of the Republic. The law on Overseas Departments that changed the status of the Caribbean colonies (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon) into full French departments integrated to the mainland with full rights and political representation, it also gave full French citizenship to its habitants. Territorial and administrative reorganization of Indochina, West Africa, Equatorial Africa, Pacific and India.

École coloniale ("Colonial School" 1889), revamped into the École Nationale de la France d'Outre-Mer (ENFOM; French for "National School of Overseas France") in 1922 has one of the French grande école, providing training for future colonial administrators. It is situated in Paris.

The monetary reform of 1925 established a monetary union of the territories and colonies of the French Union by the creation of the Franc de d'outre-mer (FOM). The licenses of the private banks to emit the colonial or regional francs is revoked. All the functions are transfered to the caisse centrale de la France d'outre-mer (CCFOM) and regional branches. The monetary reform distinguished the French Franc legal tender in the Metropolitan France and the Overseas Departments and the Franc d'outre-mer (FOM, Overseas Franc) of legal tender in colonies and protectorates. The exchange rate of the FOM and French Franc is established by a joint committee of the Banque de France and CCFOM. It also marked the withdraw of France from the Latin Monetary Union.

In the 1926 the French Parliament voted the reform of the French armed forces and a new law of conscription. The armed forces of the French Union were divided into:
 * Armée de Terre
 * Armée de l'Air
 * Marine nationale
 * Forces d'outre-mer françaises (former Troupes Coloniales) divided in Troupes de marine (army) and Service aéronautique d'outre-mer (air force). Created to serve has auxiliary forces in the colonies and protectorates.
 * Gendarmerie Nationale, only in Metropolitan France and DOM)
 * Gendarmerie de d'outre-mer, only in overseas territories)
 * and the French Foreign Legion (Légion étrangère)

Territories of the French Union
The French Union, compromises the
 * France.flag.png French departments of Metropolitan France and the Overseas Departments of Algeria, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon.

The protectorates and colonies of Africa:
 * Flag of the Minister of Overseas France.svg French Magreb Compact (Protectorates of Ma cibvilensign1919-1956.PNG Morocco and French_Tunisia.png Tunisia)
 * French West Africa (Afrique occidentale française, AOF) with its capital in Dakar. Compromises the colonies of Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Dahomey (now Benin) and Niger.
 * French Equatorial Africa (Afrique équatoriale française, AEF) with its capital in Brazaville. Compromises the colonies of Gabon, Middle Congo, Oubangui-Chari and Chad.
 * Alternative flag French Somaliland.png French Somaliland
 * Madagascar
 * Flag of the Minister of Overseas France.svg French Indian Ocean (Océan indien francais OIF) with its capital in Saint-Dennis. Compromises the Réunion, Comoros, and Mayotte

The protectorates and colonies of Asia:
 * French India (Établissements français de l'Inde) with its capital in Pondichéry. Organized in Pondichéry (18 communes), Karikal (6 communes), Yanaon on the Coromandel Coast (1 commune), Mahé on the Malabar coast (1 commune), and Chandannagar in Bengal (1 commune).
 * Indochina.png Union of Indochina with its capital in Hanoi. It unites the protectorates of Cambodia and Laos and the colony of Vietnam (Annam, Cochinchina and Tonkin)

The territories of Oceania:
 * Flag of the Society Islands Protectorate.svg French Polynesia
 * Flag of Wallis and Futuna.svg Wallis and Futuna
 * Flag of the Minister of Overseas France.svg New Caledonia
 * New Hebrides or Vanuatu (Anglo-French condominium)


 * Flag of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.svg The French Southern and Antarctic Lands (Territoire des Terres australes et antarctiques françaises, TAAF)

Also see: Imperial Commonwealth Federation