The foreign policy of Théophile Delcassé and the construction of a French alliance network

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In the beginning of the 20th century, France appeared to be a great and a powerful nation in Europe. She had two main preoccupations concerning her foreign policy: on one hand France wanted to reinforce and expand her colonial Empire; on the other hand she had the will to maintain and strengthen security in Europe. That is how France created a new diplomatic “system” which tried to reach those two goals. Théophile Delcassé embodies this new French system. Théophile Delcassé became the Foreign Minister at the age of 46 in June 1898 and he left this post in 1905. At the beginning, Delcassé was considered as a “pro colonial” and nationalist politician, he wanted - for example – France to occupy extra-European territories. However, the rivalry between France and Great Britain on the colonial level and the fear of Germany did not allow Delcassé to apply a strict expansionism policy. His foreign policy had to consist of building an alliance network in order to secure France. Delcassé wanted to build a synthesis out of overseas expansionism and security for France in Europe: This foreign policy is called Delcassé's “Grande politique”.

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[...] Nevertheless, we can say that this link-up entering France and Italy is one success more for the "Grande politique" of Théophile Delcassé, because there is another important element of the bismarckien system, the strong alliance between Germany and Italy, which is at least shaken. On the other hand, with this new link-up, the new diplomatic configuration conceived by Delcassé continues successfully. Conclusion Finally in 1905, France appears to have completely returned against Germany its strategy of diplomatic isolation that Bismarck had imposed on it 25 years earlier. [...]

[...] The link-up with Italy Indeed, the third stage of the "Grande politique" of Théophile Delcassé is to complete the French network of alliances by turning to the Italian neighbour Nevertheless, in the arrival of Delcassé to the Quai d'Orsay in 1895, several factors seem complicate appreciably the possibility of a link-up between these two countries First of all, we should not forget that since 1882, Italy is a part of the network of alliances of the German enemy which was weaved by Bismarck, the Triplice, alliance also strengthened by the renewal of Triplice in 1887. Moreover, the heart of the rivalry between France and Italy concerns the colonial question in North Africa. Indeed, since 1881, France imposed its protectorate in Tunisia without taking into account the interest of Italian (reason for which Italy turned away from France and was bound with Germany). [...]

[...] France commited itself to assist Russia in its Balkan policy, in particular if Austria Hungary tried to undermine the statu quo, and Russia promised to support France regarding the Alsace Lorraine issue. The year that followed, a general staff protocol anticipated the case of a war against England. In such a case, France commited itself to deploy men alongside the English Channel. This clause would then disappear in 1904, as an effect of the rapprochement with England. Russia, as for her, was expected to launch from Turkestan a diversion operation towards India. [...]

[...] Several factors seem to complicate the possibility of a link-up with this country B. From 1895, both countries are going to realize the necessity of retying good relations C. The direct consequences of the link-up between France and Italy I The Franco Russian alliance reinforcement 1. The signature of the 1892 agreement Franco Russian alliance was the centerpiece of the french diplomatic plan after the defeat of 1871. It had been concluded in the aftermath of a long and hard negociation. [...]

[...] The two major powers involved in this scramble were the United Kingdom and France. The United Kingdom had sought to extend its East African empire contiguously from Cairo to the Cape of Good Hope, while France had sought to extend its own holdings from Dakar to the Sudan. These two lines intersect somewhere in eastern Sudan near Fashoda (present-day Kodok), explaining its strategic importance The Fashoda incident and its resolution A French force of 150 tirailleurs set out from Brazzaville under Major Jean- Baptiste Marchand with orders to secure the area around Fashoda as a French protectorate. [...]