Editing Decolonization (section)

===French Empire===
{{Further|French colonial empire}}

[[File:LaGuerreAMadagascar.jpg|thumb|upright|left|French poster about the "[[Franco-Hova Wars|Madagascar War]]"]]

After World War I, the colonized people were frustrated at France's failure to recognize the effort provided by the French colonies (resources, but more importantly colonial troops – the famous ''[[tirailleurs]]''). Although in [[Paris]] the [[Great Mosque of Paris]] was constructed as recognition of these efforts, the French state had no intention to allow [[self-rule]], let alone grant [[independence]] to the colonized people. Thus, [[nationalism]] in the colonies became stronger in between the two wars, leading to [[Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi|Abd el-Krim]]'s [[Rif War (1920)|Rif War]] (1921–1925) in [[History of Morocco|Morocco]] and to the creation of [[Messali Hadj]]'s [[Star of North Africa]] in [[Nationalism and resistance in Algeria|Algeria]] in 1925. However, these movements would gain full potential only after World War II.

After World War I, France administered the former Ottoman territories of [[Syria]] and [[Lebanon]], and the former German colonies of [[French Togoland|Togoland]] and [[French Cameroons|Cameroon]], as League of Nations mandates. Lebanon declared its independence in 1943, and Syria in 1945.

In some instances, decolonization efforts ran counter to other concerns, such as the rapid increase of [[antisemitism]] in Algeria in the course of the nation's resistance to French rule.<ref>Heuman, J. (2023). The silent disappearance of Jews from Algeria: French anti-racism in the face of antisemitism in Algeria during the decolonization. Journal of Modern Jewish Studies, 22(2), 149-168.</ref>

Although France was ultimately a victor of World War II, Nazi Germany's occupation of France and its North African colonies during the war had disrupted colonial rule. On 27 October 1946, France adopted a new constitution creating the [[French Fourth Republic|Fourth Republic]], and substituted the [[French Union]] for the colonial empire. However power over the colonies remained concentrated in France, and the power of local assemblies outside France was extremely limited. On the night of 29 March 1947, a [[Madagascar]] [[Madagascar revolt|nationalist uprising]] led the French government headed by [[Paul Ramadier]] ([[Section Française de l'Internationale Ouvrière|Socialist]]) to violent repression: one year of bitter fighting, 11,000–40,000 Malagasy died.<ref>{{Citation |last=Randrianja |first=Solofo |title=Colonialism, Nationalism, and Decolonization in Madagascar |date=2022-11-22 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History |url=https://oxfordre.com/asianhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277727-e-675 |access-date=2024-11-30 |language=en |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.675 |isbn=978-0-19-027772-7}}</ref>
[[File:Dien Bien Phu 1954 French prisoners.jpg|thumb|Captured [[French Union]] soldiers from [[Battle of Dien Bien Phu|Điện Biên Phủ]], escorted by Vietnamese communist troops, 1954]]
In late 1946, the Viet Minh [[Battle of Hanoi (1946)|attacked]] France in Hanoi, leading to the [[First Indochina War|Indochina War]] (1946–54). France later recognized independence of [[State of Vietnam|Vietnam]], [[Laos]], and [[Cambodia]] in 1949. France also [[Élysée Accords|recognized]] the unity of Vietnam and supported the anti-communist faction in this country against the [[Communist Party of Vietnam|communists]] who fought in the name of anti-colonialism, the war thus became part of the world-wide [[Cold War]]. Cambodia and Laos became fully independent in late 1953, Vietnam became fully independent on 4 June 1954, and the [[Geneva Conference (1954)|Geneva Accords]] of 21 July 1954 left Vietnam divided into the [[North Vietnam|North]] and [[South Vietnam|South]] with the fact that France recognized communists gaining the North. After North Vietnamese [[Fall of Saigon|military victory]], Vietnam would be united under communism on 2 July 1976.

In 1956, [[History of Morocco|Morocco]] and [[History of Tunisia|Tunisia]] gained their independence from France. In 1960, eight independent countries emerged from [[French West Africa]], and five from [[French Equatorial Africa]]. The [[Algerian War of Independence]] raged from 1954 to 1962. To this day, the Algerian war – officially called a "public order operation" until the 1990s – remains a trauma for both France and Algeria. Philosopher [[Paul Ricœur]] has spoken of the necessity of a "decolonisation of memory", starting with the recognition of the [[1961 Paris massacre]] during the Algerian war, and the decisive role of African and especially North African immigrant manpower in the ''[[Trente Glorieuses]]'' post–World War II economic growth period. In the 1960s, due to economic needs for post-war reconstruction and rapid economic growth, French employers actively sought to recruit manpower from the colonies, explaining today's [[demographics of France|multiethnic population]].