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French Community
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For the Community of Belgium, see French Community of Belgium.

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The French Community (French: Communaut franaise) was an association of

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states. During 1958 it replaced the French Union, which had itself succeeded the

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French colonial empire during 1946.

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French Community
Communaut franaise
19581995

Contents [hide]
1 Background

Interaction
Help

2 Members

About Wikipedia

3 Institutions

Community portal

4 Operation

Recent changes

5 Decline and abolition

Contact page

6 Chronology

Flag

Coat of arms

7 See also

Motto
"Libert, galit, fraternit"

What links here

8 References

"Liberty, equality, brotherhood"

Related changes

9 Bibliography

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10 External links

Anthem
La Marseillaise

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Permanent link
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Background

[ edit ]

The constitution of the Fifth Republic, which created the French Community, was a
consequence of the war in Algeria. Under the 1948 French Union there was said to

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be no French colonies, but metropolitan France, the overseas departments, and the

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overseas territories would instead constitute a single French Union, or just one

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France.[1]

On January 31, 1956, an enabling law changed the system, abandoning assimilation

etina

in favor of autonomy, to allow territories to develop their own local government and

Deutsch

eventually gain their independence.[3] This was an attempt to quell the concerns over

Esperanto

Algerian independence.[3] However, this did not stop the demands for independence.

Franais

The 1 million French colonists in Algeria were determined to resist any possible

Italiano

Algerian independence, and they made massive demonstrations in Algiers on 13 May

Bahasa Melayu

1958. The trouble, which threatened to become to a civil war, provoked a political

Nederlands

Norsk bokml
Polski

settlers.[4]

one million

Suomi

provided for the right of the overseas territories to request complete independence.

This attitude was manifest in the new constitution, which

Svenska

On 28 September 1958 a referendum was held throughout the French Union and the

Ting Vit

new constitution was approved, by universal suffrage, in all of the territories except
French Guinea, which voted instead for the option of complete independence. Under
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Gabon
France
Ivory Coast
Malagasy Republic
Mauritania
Niger
Senegal
Mali
Upper Volta

seemed to confirm the Algerian settlers hopes that he would help them, ending a

Simple English

Dahomey

Gaulle was recalled to power and a new constitution was written. Initially De Gaulle

not have any intention of maintaining control of 9 million Algerians for the benefit of

Chad
Republic of the Congo

crisis in France and caused the end of the Fourth Republic. General Charles de

speech to them with the cry Algrie Franaise, but privately he indicated that he did

Portugus

Central African Republic

Parliament.[2]

Espaol

Members:

In reality, the colonies had little power, with all power remaining centralized

in the French

Languages

The French Community in 1959

Capital

Paris

Languages

French

Political structure

Confederation

Historical era
Fifth Republic
Abolished

Cold War
4 October 1958
4 August 1995

Currency

French franc
CFA franc
CFP franc

this new constitution, the French Union was replaced by the French Community and
France was now a federation of states with their own self-government.[5]

The territorial assemblies of the remaining overseas territories were then allowed four months, dating from the promulgation of the
constitution, i.e. until 4 February 1959, to select one of the following options in accordance with articles 76 and 91 of the constitution:
1. Preserve the status of overseas territory.
2. Become a state of the French Community.
3. Become an overseas department (part of the French Republic).
None of the overseas territories opted to become overseas departments. The overseas territories of the Comoro Islands, French
Polynesia, French Somaliland, New Caledonia, and St Pierre and Miquelon opted to maintain their status, while Chad, French
Dahomey, French Sudan, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mauritania, Middle Congo, Niger, Senegal, Ubangi-Shari, and Upper Volta chose
to become states of the French Community, some of them changing their names in the process.[6]

Members

[ edit ]

By early 1959, the members of the French Community were as follows:

The French Republic, which was "one and indivisible". All the inhabitants were French citizens
and participated with the election of the president of the republic and of the French

Parliament. It consisted of:

European France, including Corsica (the metropole).
Algeria and Sahara. These areas, considered an integral part of France, were divided into
departments, 13 in Algeria and 2 in Sahara. All the inhabitants were French citizens, but
the Muslims preserved their own juridical status. All sent representatives to the French
assemblies and elected municipalities.
The overseas departments. Their administration and legislation were in principle those of
the metropole, but each of them could receive an individual constitution.

Standard of the French

Community[7]

French Guiana.
Guadeloupe and dependencies.
Martinique.
Runion.
The overseas territories. They had their own individual organisation with a territorial assembly elected by universal suffrage
the assembly appointed a governing council, its president being the governor appointed by the central power. The French
Southern and Antarctic Territories, with no permanent population, were administered directly from Paris.
Comoro Islands.
French Polynesia.
French Somaliland.
French Southern and Antarctic Territories.
New Caledonia and dependencies.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon.
The member states, which were initially:
Central African Republic.
Chad.
Congo (Brazzaville).
Dahomey.
Gabon.
Ivory Coast.
Malagasy Republic.
Mauritania.
Niger.
Senegal.
Sudanese Republic.
Upper Volta.
Although there was only one citizenship of the Community, the territories that became Community member states did not form part of
the French Republic, and were granted broad autonomy. They had their own constitutions and could create unions among
themselves. The Communitys jurisdiction as a whole was limited to foreign policy, defence, the currency, a common economic and
financial policy and policy on strategic matters and, except for special agreements, control of justice, higher education, external and
public transport and telecommunications.[8] Agreements of Association could also be made by the Community with other states.
Associated with the Community were the United Nations trust territories of French Cameroun and French Togoland, and the AngloFrench condominium of the New Hebrides.

Institutions

[ edit ]

Article 91 of the constitution stipulated that the institutions of the Community were to be established by 4 April 1959.
These were as follows:
The President of the Community was the President of the French Republic. The member states also participated with his election
and he was represented in each state by a High Commissioner. During 1958 President de Gaulle was elected by an absolute majority
in all the states.
The Executive Council of the Community met several times a year, in one or other of the capitals, on the summons of the
President, who assumed direction of the meeting. It was composed of the chiefs of the governments of the different states and the
ministers responsible for common affairs.
The Senate of the Community was composed of members of the local assemblies designated by them in numbers proportional to
the population of the state. This body was functionally powerless,[9] and after holding two sessions it was abolished during March
1961.
A Community Court of Arbitration, composed of seven judges nominated by the President, gave decisions in disputes between
member states.
Because France did not want to become 'a colony of its colonies', African countries did not compose a majority voting bloc and were
required functionally to join with French parties in order to gain voting power.[10]

Operation

[ edit ]

The Communaut initially assumed close cooperation between member states and the French government. The French government
was responsible for security and to some degree policing in all states.[11] A number of African presidents were presentsymbolizing,
for continental anti-colonialists, their complicityat "Gerboise Bleue", France's first nuclear test, which occurred on 4 February 1960

near Reggane in the Sahara Desert of central Algeria.[12]

Decline and abolition

[ edit ]

Among the states, the Community as assumed originally functioned only during 1959 when six
sessions of the executive council were held in various capitals. Immediately after the sixth
session, held in Dakar during December, President de Gaulle agreed to Malis claim for
national sovereignty, thus beginning the process of all of the states being granted
independence during 1960.[13] On 4 June 1960, articles 85 and 86 were amended by
Constitutional Act No. 60-525, allowing the member states to become fully independent, either
still as members of the Community or not. This amendment also allowed for a state that was
already fully independent to join the Community without losing its

independence[14]

French Community, 1961.

this

provision was never adopted by any state.

By 1961, only the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Gabon, the Malagasy Republic and Senegal still belonged to the
Community. The constitutional bodies no longer continued to function and the term president of the community disappeared from
official statements. It seemed that the only remaining differences between those states that were members of the community, and
those that had left it, was the fact that the diplomatic representatives in Paris of the former had the title high commissioner, and those
of the latter ambassador. Moreover the second title tended to be used in all cases without distinction.
Although the French Community had almost ceased to exist as an institution by the early 1960s, the remaining members never
formally withdrew and the relevant articles were not eliminated from the French Constitution until they were finally abrogated by
Constitutional Act number 95-880 of 4 August 1995.[15]

Chronology

[ edit ]

28 September 1958 A referendum on the proposed constitution for the Fifth Republic is held throughout the French Union. It is
approved in every territory except French Guinea, which instead opts, by an overwhelming majority, for complete independence.
The campaign in favour of independence had been promoted by Skou Tour and his Democratic Party of Guinea/ African
Democratic Rally.[16]
2 October 1958 French Guinea gains complete independence, outside of the French Community, and is renamed the Republic
of Guinea.[17]
4 October 1958 The constitution of the Fifth Republic becomes effective.[18]
14 October 1958 Madagascar becomes an autonomous state within the French Community and is renamed the Malagasy
Republic.[19]
24 November 1958 The French Sudan becomes an autonomous state within the French Community and is renamed the
Sudanese Republic.[19]
25 November 1958 Senegal becomes an autonomous state within the French Community.[20]
28 November 1958 Chad becomes an autonomous state within the French Community.[19]
28 November 1958 The Middle Congo becomes an autonomous state within the French Community and is renamed the
Republic of the Congo.[19]
28 November 1958 Gabon becomes an autonomous state within the French Community.[19]
28 November 1958 Mauritania becomes an autonomous state within the French Community and is renamed the Islamic Republic
of Mauritania.[19]
1 December 1958 Ubangi-Shari becomes an autonomous state within the French Community and is renamed the Central African
Republic.[19]
4 December 1958 Dahomey becomes an autonomous state within the French Community.[19]
4 December 1958 Ivory Coast becomes an autonomous state within the French Community.[19]
11 December 1958 Upper Volta becomes an autonomous state within the French Community.[19]
19 December 1958 Niger becomes an autonomous state within the French Community.[19]
4 April 1959 Senegal and the Sudanese Republic form a union as the Mali Federation.[21] Dakar is the federal capital.[22]
1 January 1960 French Cameroun gains complete independence and is renamed the Republic of Cameroun,[23] outside of the
French Community.[19]
27 April 1960 Togo gains complete independence,[24] outside of the French Community.[19]
4 June 1960 Articles 85 and 86 are amended by Constitutional Act No. 60-525, allowing the member states to become fully
independent, either still as a member of the Community or not. This amendment also allows for a state that is already fully
independent to join the Community without losing its independence a provision that will never be chosen by any state.[25]
20 June 1960 The Mali Federation gains independence, within the French Community.[21]
26 June 1960 The Malagasy Republic gains independence, within the French Community.[19]
1 August 1960 Dahomey gains complete independence, outside of the French Community.[19]
3 August 1960 Niger gains complete independence, outside of the French Community.[19]
5 August 1960 Upper Volta gains complete independence, outside of the French Community.[19]
7 August 1960 The Ivory Coast gains complete independence, outside of the French Community.[19]
11 August 1960 Chad gains independence, within the French Community.
13 August 1960 The Central African Republic gains independence, within the French Community.[19]
15 August 1960 The Republic of the Congo gains independence, within the French Community.[19]
17 August 1960 Gabon gains independence, within the French Community.[19]
20 August 1960 Senegal secedes from the Mali Federation and becomes an independent state in its own right, but still within the
French Community.[21]

22 September 1960 The Sudanese Republic is renamed the Republic of Mali,[26] and withdraws from the French Community.[27]
28 November 1960 Mauritania gains complete independence, outside of the French Community.[19]
29 July 1961 The Wallis and Futuna Islands, hitherto administered by the government of New Caledonia,[28] become an
overseas territory in their own right.[29]
22 December 1961 The Comoro Islands are granted full internal autonomy.[25]
3 July 1962 Algeria gains complete independence from France, outside of the French Community.[19]
3 July 1967 Act No. 67-521 grants French Somaliland wider autonomy and changes the name of the territory to the French
Territory of the Afars and Issas.[25]
6 July 1975 Comorian President Ahmed Abdallah declares the whole archipelago independent of France, outside of the French
Community. However, with the people of the island of Mayotte having voted in a referendum during 1974 against independence,
the French refuse to recognise the inclusion of Mayotte in the new state.[30]
19 July 1976 St Pierre and Miquelon becomes an overseas department of France.[31]
24 December 1976 Mayotte becomes a territorial collectivity of France.[32]
27 June 1977 The French Territory of the Afars and Issas gains complete independence, outside of the French Community, and
is renamed the Republic of Djibouti.[33]
11 June 1985 St Pierre and Miquelon becomes a territorial collectivity with special status, the local authorities having
responsibility for taxation, customs arrangements, town planning and shipping registration.[34]
4 August 1995 Constitutional Act number 95-880 repeals the provisions of the French Constitution relating to the French
Community and the association is formally abolished.[35]

See also

[ edit ]

Francophonie
Colonialism
Decolonization
French Union

References

[ edit ]

1. ^ Simpson, Alfred William Brian (2004). Human Rights and the End of Empire: Britain and the Genesis of the European Convention .
Oxford University Press. p. 285. ISBN 0199267898.
2. ^ Simpson, Human Rights, p. 286
3. ^ a

Simpson, Human Rights (2004), p. 286-287

4. ^ Retrieved 9 Jun 2011.

5. ^ Simpson, Human Rights (2004), p. 287
6. ^ pp. 10-11. Retrieved 5 Jun 2011.
7. ^ "France: Colonial Empire" . Flags of the World. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
8. ^ p. 11. Retrieved 5 Jun 2011.
9. ^ De Lusignan, French-Speaking Africa Since Independence (1969), p. 27. "The Senate of the Community lacked any effective power: its
function was merely deliberative and consultative."
10. ^ De Lusignan, French-Speaking Africa Since Independence (1969), p. 6061.
11. ^ De Lusignan, French-Speaking Africa Since Independence (1969), p. 27.
12. ^ De Lusignan, French-Speaking Africa Since Independence (1969), p. 27. "Many African politicians were invited to be present when the
first bomb was exploded on February 13, 1960, at Reggane (in the depths of the Sahara) their presence was intended to demonstrate that
they agreed with the French atomic programme, the keystone of their common defence policy. In many African states outside the
Community, and among opposition elements within the Community states, this attendance, in fact only a formality, was condemned and
reviled."
13. ^ French Community. Encyclopdia Britannica, Volume 9, Page 756B and 756C. William Benton. London, Chicago, Geneva, Sydney,
Toronto. 1963
14. ^ P. 11. Retrieved 5 Jun 2011.
15. ^ Retrieved 10 Jun 2011.
16. ^ "Tour, Skou." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopdia Britannica, 2010.
17. ^ "Guinea." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopdia Britannica, 2010.
18. ^ "France." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopdia Britannica, 2010.
19. ^ a

bc de fghi j k l m nopqr s tuv w

Encyclopdia Britannica World Atlas. William Benton. Chicago, London, Toronto, Geneva, Sydney.

1963 Plates 57-58

20. ^ Retrieved 5 Jun 2011
21. ^ a

bc

"Mali Federation." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopdia

Britannica, 2010.
22. ^ "Dakar." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopdia Britannica, 2010.
23. ^ "Cameroon, history of." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopdia
Britannica, 2010.
24. ^ "Togo." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopdia Britannica, 2010.
25. ^ a

bc

P. 11. Retrieved 5 Jun 2011

26. ^ "Mali." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopdia Britannica, 2010.
27. ^ French Community. Encyclopdia Britannica, Volume 9, Page 756B and 756C. William Benton. London, Chicago, Geneva, Sydney,
Toronto. 1963.
28. ^ Pacific Islands. Encyclopdia Britannica, Volume 17, Page 12. William Benton. London, Chicago, Geneva, Sydney, Toronto. 1963.
29. ^ P. 10. Retrieved 5 Jun 2011
30. ^ "Comoros." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopdia Britannica, 2010.

31. ^ Retrieved 5 Jun 2011

32. ^ P. 14. Retrieved 5 Jun 2011
33. ^ "Djibouti." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopdia Britannica, 2010.
34. ^ P. 13. Retrieved 5 Jun 2011
35. ^ Retrieved 10 Jun 2011

Bibliography

[ edit ]

De Lusignan, Guy, French-Speaking Africa Since Independence, New York: Praeger, 1969.
French Community. Encyclopdia Britannica, Volume 9, Page 756B and 756C. William Benton. London, Chicago, Geneva,
Sydney, Toronto. 1963.
Encyclopdia Britannica World Atlas. William Benton. Chicago, London, Toronto, Geneva, Sydney. 1963 Plates 57-58.

External links

[ edit ]

(French) Communaut franaise

Current text of the Constitution in French

(Constitutional Council) and in English

(National Assembly).

Original text of the Constitution of 4 October 1958 , as published in the Journal Officiel de la Rpublique Franaise on 5 October
1958.
Text of the Constitution just prior to the amendments of 4 August 1995
Authority control

Retrieved 11 June 2011.

NDL: 00563738

Categories: Former international organizations

French West Africa

1995 disestablishments in the French Community

1958 establishments in the French Community
Organizations disestablished in 1995

French Equatorial Africa

1958 establishments in the French colonial empire

20th-century disestablishments in the French colonial empire

French Community

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