WI/AHC: France integrates all colonies into France proper?

The VP is more for people in France, to give an example of people in power not all being from Corrèze.

Or you could go the way the Vietnamese wanted it in the 20's and go with a heavy protectorate with "shared rule"

Don't have the numbers but seem to remember there were big programs between the wars and especially after, but that was too late
Do you recommend any sources that go more in depth to the Vietnamese demands in the '20s and the interwar program? I don't doubt what you're saying, I'm interested in learning more about the evolution of the French Colonial Empire.
 
Do you recommend any sources that go more in depth to the Vietnamese demands in the '20s and the interwar program? I don't doubt what you're saying, I'm interested in learning more about the evolution of the French Colonial Empire.
Top of my head, the Penguin History by Christopher Goscha is quite interesting
 
Quite unrelated, but could france
Realistically integrate the four communes of Senegal that enjoyed a special status (Dakar and saint Louis in particular) with a post ww2 POD? Is it even possible?
 
I think with the exception of islands or Hong Kong like places is would be very hard to near impossible to integrate colonies in Asia like Indochina. They could be kept as puppets or dominions but probably not fully integrated. Place like that have a long and well established cultural society. Africa is easier due to demographics, location, and history. Many areas of Africa even today lack a strong modern nationality identity unlike many places in Europe or Asia. Many Africans identity themselves with local ethnicities or in some cases the tribe before identifying with the nation state they live in. This would be like Americans being more loyal to their city or county over the whole nation. This is why internal conflicts happen often Africa. But this makes Africa and Africans more easy to assimilate if racial biases are over come. Vietnam has a long well rooted cultural tradition that is harder to wipeout. Africa has a really large number of small to medium size groups of people with different customs. Some didn’t even have a written language before European contact. This can help France become the unifying factor between these people if done correctly. It is easier for everyone to learn French in Africa then learn every individual language to communicate in. If everyone in French Africa is taught French in school it eventually leads to more local languages going extinct. As people we prefer convenience when communicating. If their language disappears so does many local ties and traditions especially if they use oral history to pass on knowledge about their people. Think back to the Romans and how romanization worked. It is easier to wipe out a bunch of smaller and divided people’s cultures then it is to wipe out a large unified one that is written down and known by many. Look at Mexico. Many people who are probably full blood or nearly full blooded Native Americans consider themselves Mexicans not Native American because Mexico worked hard to create a national identity to lower internal conflicts.
 
Quite unrelated, but could france
Realistically integrate the four communes of Senegal that enjoyed a special status (Dakar and saint Louis in particular) with a post ww2 POD? Is it even possible?
It isn't exactly hard.
French decolonisation of the AOF and AEF was pretty much dropping them by the window.
If it had wanted, it could easily have kept and integrated Senegal, Gabon, or other small colonies.
 
It isn't exactly hard.
French decolonisation of the AOF and AEF was pretty much dropping them by the window.
If it had wanted, it could easily have kept and integrated Senegal, Gabon, or other small colonies.

I know that it wasn't, administratively or logisticaly, hard, but can the political will for it appear with a post 1945 pod?
 
Wasn't the French Union an attempt at this? From what I understand it failed because of lack of investment, genuine racism by colonial authorities, US/Soviet undermining, and growing nationalism among the colonies.
 
Quite unrelated, but could france
Realistically integrate the four communes of Senegal that enjoyed a special status (Dakar and saint Louis in particular) with a post ww2 POD? Is it even possible?
It isn't exactly hard.
French decolonisation of the AOF and AEF was pretty much dropping them by the window.
If it had wanted, it could easily have kept and integrated Senegal, Gabon, or other small colonies.
Colonies deemed non-strategic (AKA not-Djibouti) were thrown away and refused integration. Gabon famously requested to be made a département
 
Colonies deemed non-strategic (AKA not-Djibouti) were thrown away and refused integration. Gabon famously requested to be made a département
... I just discovered this and looked at the thread. Fucking idiots. This just reinforces my hatred of de Gaulle’s colonial posture. The man did great things, but this? Fucking idiot.
 
... I just discovered this and looked at the thread. Fucking idiots. This just reinforces my hatred of de Gaulle’s colonial posture. The man did great things, but this? Fucking idiot.
My mom still hasn't digested "Je vous ai compris" and she was 2 at the time.

Now to be fair, it's not like any of those countries became anything else than glorified protectorates, but what a missed opportunity...
 
@Tanc49 ,@DracoLazarus

So what are the regions that can be integrated the most easily?: I see

Easy:

-Gabon, not hard at all, although there may be a lot of illegal immigration, the Jus soli - which was restricted in mayotte IRL last summer - will likely very quickly dissapear on this departement (on a side note, could it be serparated into 2 or 3 departements?)
- 4 Communes of Senegal, there surely was support, although the UN may not like separating the country in two, not that it mattered for mayotte.
-Mers El Kebir, the French had a 15 years lease - Renewable - of it and the surrounding areas (Bousfer, El Ançor), it would be about Ceuta-sized. Although it could end the way of Bizerte (although Pieds noir civilians would live there, contrary to Bizerte, where only the base and port was under french control).

Harder:
-Djibouti, the Somali really didn't like the French, although i guess the animosity could be reduced if they are given more right just after ww2, otherwise the Afar liked the french, but only the northern part of the country had an Afar majority, i guess if they reallywanted to stay they could have cut it in half and rebuilt a military base on the northern side, not economical i guess

-The Rest of the commores, outside of mayotte there wasn't much support, so i guess they would hate the french and would likely have left by 2018, but at least the country would be in a better state than by today.

-Vanuatu, the condominium was a mess, the Ni-Vanuatu would have prefered control under a single country. Now you have to convince the brits... Not that anybody would care, vanuatu doesn't have much ressources, contrary to New Caledonia, nor a large white population, so it would be a larger Wallis & Futuna.

Even harder:

-Rump french algeria, it's a common idea, personally i think it would make more sense to focus it on Algier rather than Oran, the geography was more defensible and there was more industry, while not impossible it would be hard to convince pieds noir from oran and constantine to come, and it would also require a near ASB level of precognition from the french government, and i'm not sure it's defensible without triggering a constant low level war with a POD after 1945.

-Mt Lebannon, A maronite- majority state, it would be tricky to pull off, you'd likely need to increase tensions with muslims to give a reason to separate it, and ofc it's unlikely to be achievable with a post ww2 POD since lebannon was independant after. With the arab sentiment i doubt it could be integrated, but i could see some kind of protectorate, or even an official independance but with very strong diplomatic, economic and military ties. After all it will need a good army to defend itself, and it would tie france to the levant, which could have some interesting consequences

Impossible?

Indochina, no need to explain, even as a rump version there wasn't enough support
Large number of african states, it's impossible to integrate them on an equal footing.
French india (mainly pondichery) They were quite small - closer to daman and diu than Goa - although there was some integration by the upper class IIRC, it will likely end the way of goa, i doubt france would threaten to use nukes for it.

so, what else is possible in your opinion?
 
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