African Studies Thesaurus

French Community       Search catalogue 294912630

STA
Approved

UPD
2012-03-23

DUT
Franse Communauté

IND
3

MIS
In 1958, French President Charles de Gaulle moved to establish the Franco-African Community -- a French version of the Commonwealth, with a common defence programme, shared diplomacy and a common currency, tying African economies to the French franc. Submitted to a referendum, De Gaulle's initiative was endorsed by a number of moderate francophone leaders, but rejected by more radical ones like Guinea's Sekou Touré, and Mali's Modibo Keita, who regarded the Community as thinly-veiled colonial rule. Although short-lived -- it formally fizzled out in 1961 -- the Community provided France with a convenient springboard into African affairs. The Community replaced the French Union, the political entity established by the French constitution of 1946 which comprised metropolitan France (the 90 departments of continental France and Corsica); French overseas departments, territories, settlements, and United Nations trusteeships; French colonies, which became overseas departments of France; and associate states (protectorates), which became autonomous. In 1954, the associate states of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia withdrew from the Union, and in 1956 Morocco and Tunisia, also associate states, became independent. ('French Union (1946 - 1958)', The Columbia Encyclopedia. Accessed on 24 February 2003 at www.xreferplus.com/entry/791891).

PPN
294912630

UDC
(44-44) (44-44)_341.213.4/.5 (44-5)_325.36 (44-5)_342.39 (6:44-44)_341.213.4/.5

SN
Plan proposed by President de Gaulle in 1958 for an integrated Community of francophone territories involving France and its overseas dependencies. The Community, that was to supersede the French Union, the post-World War II organizational structure of French overseas territories under the new constitution of the Fourth Republic, was short-lived, all of the autonomous (but non-sovereign) units achieving full independence in 1960 (Kirchherr, 1987).

MRF
(44-44)

UF
Communauté Française
French Union
Union Française

RT
decolonization
franc zone
France
francophonie
French-speaking Africa

BSO
02.07 WORLD ORGANIZATIONS

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