Brazzaville Conference
At the Brazzaville Conference from January 30 to February 8, 1944, representatives of Free France met with high colonial officials from the African colonies of France during World War II . In addition to Charles de Gaulle and René Pleven , the colonial minister of the National Liberation Committee , 20 governors took part. The conference venue was the city of Brazzaville , capital of French Equatorial Africa and, from October 26, 1940, for a short time also the capital of Free France.
Charles de Gaulle recognized at the conference the need for political, social and economic reforms in the French-ruled part of Africa and promised a fundamental reorganization of the relations between the “mother country” and its colonies. This reorganization did not include the independence of the colonies, but the transformation of the colonial relationship into a " French Union ". The background to the conference was de Gaulle's attempt to involve the African colonies more closely in the struggle for the liberation of France .
In the years that followed, advocates of greater autonomy for the French colonies in Africa referred to the “ Declaration of Brazzaville ” written there.
This declaration contained the following points:
- France and the areas it ruled should remain united in the future.
- Semi-autonomous assemblies should be established in each colony.
- The citizens of the French colonies were to be given the right to send representatives to the Constituent Assembly to be set up after the war.
- The citizens of the French colonies should have the right to send representatives to the French parliament.
- The public service should be opened to the indigenous people of the colonies.
- Forced labor should be abolished.
- Economic reforms were intended to reduce the exploitative nature of relations between France and its colonies.