French Community : Ask Biography

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The French Community was an association of states known in French simply as La Communauté. In 1958 it replaced the French Union, which had itself succeeded the French colonial empire in 1946.

The constitution of the Fifth Republic, which created the French Community, was a consequence of the war in Algeria. The 1 million French colonists there were determined to resist any possible moves towards Algerian independence, and to press their point they held massive demonstrations in Algiers on 13 May 1958. The trouble, which threatened to escalate into a civil war, provoked a political crisis in France and precipitated the collapse of the Fourth Republic. General Charles de Gaulle was recalled to power and a new constitution was drawn up. Initially De Gaulle seemed to confirm the Algerian settlers’ hopes that he would support them, ending a speech to them with the cry “Algerie Francaise”, but privately he indicated that he had no intention of maintaining control of 9 million Algerians for the benefit of one million settlers. This attitude was manifest in the new constitution, which provided for the right of the overseas territories to request complete independence.

On 28 September 1958 a referendum was held throughout the French Union and the new constitution was approved, by universal suffrage, in all of the territories except French Guinea, which voted instead to take the option of complete independence. 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 member state of the French Community

3. Become an overseas department

None of the overseas territories opted to become overseas departments. The overseas territories of Comoro Islands, French Polynesia, French Somaliland, New Caledonia, and St Pierre and Miquelon opted to maintain their status, while Chad, Dahomey, French Sudan, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mauritania, Middle Congo, Niger, Senegal, Ubangi-Shari, and Upper Volta chose to become member states of the French Community, some of them changing their names in the process.