FRENCH EMPIRE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 196, 20 August 1938, Page 18

FRENCH EMPIRE.

FAR-FLUNG COLONIES.

THEIR PROTECTION AND USE.

VALUABLE HELP Df FUTURE WAR.

France has recently witnessed the y.-p.ir.ition of a small segment from her immense Empire. The Sanjak of Alexandre! ta. in the corner of the mandated territory of Syria, passed from the i m o! of 1 ranee to the League of 1 lions and from the League it seems <> - * itied to fall uiuler the control of

! .11 key. with what effect upon the # iiii M*ily balanced power* in the Eastern Mediterranean it is not yet easy to

M'e. Ihe move lias had one result, however, in directing attention of observers to the Empire that France now rules, writes Lansing Warren in the "New York Times.".

An active and enterprising Minister of Colonies, Georges Mandel, is now engaged in «trcmioiM efforts to rcorgani :• that Empire with a twofold purpose: 111 lo put the Kiiipl'e a* a whole and i ■ r-Ii colony in a position to resist ontf • r.' f;ii , roi:<Mii;: , nts: cJi 4o organise the J hi to Fiance the muxiruini nssXancp in men and materials in rase of a new European conflict.

Tlif Kitncli Umpire i< i>v no means ;i negligible quantity. During the A\ crld ar tlie colonics i*piit to France 300.000 lighting men and 200,000 work tloops. They contributed 1.000,000,000 francs toward the cost of the war, and supplied goods and raw materials to tlie extent of 2,500,000 tons. Their possibilities in the case of a new conflict are thought to be very much greater both in wealth and manpower. Around the World. The French Empire, like the British, encircles the globe. It constitutes onesixteenth of the world's land, with an Area of close to 5,000,00 square miles. Only the British 'Empire and Russia surpass it in extent. The colonial popu- <! ition is more than 67,000,000, making with France's almost stationary 42,000,000 inhabitants a grand total of more than 109,000,000. In population, therefore, France ranks fifth—after the British Empire, China, Russia and the United-States.

It is true that the French EmpirejiaM its limitatons. It is widely scattered' and distant from the homeland, making, it extremely difficult to, defend. Nearly all the principal'colonies lie within thetropics, making the climatic conditions unsuitable .. to . Europeans and only Algeria', Tunis and' New Caledonia-have any considerate proportion of white residents. This prevents the French Empire,- with its extraordinary mixture of racial, religious and cultural , elements, from aspiring ever to become such;- a- natural, adjunct' as the British Dominions. ~

But the French colonies are neverthe- i Ims ~a , valuable source of human material, and they are capable of producing: in quantity practically every product that the nation would require, with the possible exception of«.petroleum. " J

This is IVance's' third colonial empire. The great imperial domain she built up in the Mediterranean during the crusades in the Middle Ages crumbled during the Continental wars, but almost immediately French explorers and traders began building the-second colonial empire, which included India, Canada, Louisiana, Egypt ami much more. The wars of the eighteenth cetttiiry arid the Napoleonic wars cost the French most of these possessions and aggrandised others. Source of Aeqnisitiens. After the defeat of|lßl6 and that of 1870 France again began building up colonial domains, chiefly as a- means of restoring national prestige. The French Empire as it stands to-day was largely acquired after 1830. 'It T was obtained mostly by discovery, by generalship and by diplomatic successes in inducing native governments and leaders to throw in their lot with France. The World War gaye France only that part of the Congo ceded by her to Germany in '1911, ' the mandate' over part of the Cameroon* and Togq and tne mandate over Syria and Lebanon. ivl'fiv

While Germany is seeking to gain strength by theories of racial superiority, France in her colonial propaganda i» stressing humanitarian policies. I "Our country," wrote M. Mandel in the preface to a recent decree, "has never practiced * racial -policy and has never made any distinction between the peoples of her empire. Regardless of their colour, they are treated as equals. Thus the colonial populations have come to understand that their future is linked with that, of Amice And that anythre& to the" mother country piiti their liberties • and their self-respect in ■ danger." In another decree M. Mandel spoke of the solidarity of France wiA the -colonies and - the homeland's duty of defence.-' I '' '*& ' 'i&*y | "The time has .passed," he said, 'when , colonies are loet and won in' wars on the European continent. National defence no longer means only the defence of the homeland, but the defence of the entire empire.") • f I Trench on Guard. I That ■is wijr the country has Just empowered colonial Governments in North Africa and Indo-China to issue national defence loans up to 800,000,000 francs. Steps are being taken to strengthen French colonial seaports, such as Bizerte in Tunis, and to put the country tea state of preparedness. With Italy maintaining 100,000 troops in Libya, the French feel that Tunis is definitely menaced. French, interest in the railway from Jibuti to Addis Ababa has occasioned s {fecial measures and increases of native : forces in French Somaliland. The French are also Watching closely Italian operations in Sardinia, the Dodecanese Islands,. Majorca and the. Island of Doumoira on the Somali coast. A grave concern is for the protection of dense populations of 'Algerian'; and Moroccan ! Clt r jf 1 8 CM ® of bombardments* The French ate establishing a strong air base in Corsica, and most of the 1 supplementary building programme and increased activity of the French Navy may be explained by the new watchful empire policy. . ; :