Albert Sarraut, French Colonial Development, and the Communist Threat, 1919–1930*

There are now few supporters of the idea that, in the twentieth century, France valued its colonies for economic reasons above all. Historians attempting to explain French attachment to empire generally place greater emphasis on differing ideas and practices of colonial governance, cultural imperialism, theories of racial difference, and, increasingly, the impact of imperial connections on French society. Debate over French methods of rule remains vibrant. The meanings behind the “association” or “assimilation” of colonies and indigenous populations to France, and the gulf between imperialist theory and colonial practice, have been fundamentally reassessed in recent scholarship.1 By contrast, since the publication of French historian Jacques Marseille’s landmark 1984 study of French industry and empire, discussion of the economic dimension to colonial policy has elicited less interest.2 In part, this is a testament to the strength of Marseille’s argument that the economic relationship between France and its empire was characterized by unhealthy trade depen-