The French policy in Central Europe and the USSR (1931–1934)

Политика Франции в Средней Европе и СССР, 1931–1934 гг.

Aliaksandr Piahanau (1)

1 FRAMESPA - France, Amériques, Espagne,Sociétés, Pouvoirs, Acteurs

This paper analyzes the policy of France towards Central and Eastern Europe in 1931–1934. We pay particular attention to the Soviet reaction to the French plans for the political and economic reorganization of Central Europe. This research challenges the conventional historiographic opinion, according to which the Little Entente States and Poland were the main French pillars in Central Europe not only in 1920s, but also in the first half of 1930s. Also, it brings fresh conclusions on how the Soviets perceived the plans to restructure Central Europe. We argue that Paris recognized the weakness of its military alliances with Poland and the Little Entente in the early 1930s. Thus, reacting to the 1931 German-Austrian project of a custom union, the French decided to strengthen their influence in Central Europe with the help of the Soviet Union (as well as Italy). First, Paris proposed Moscow to conclude a non-aggression pact. Second, the French diplomats initiated discussions on the project of the “Danube triangle” (Vienne-Budapest-Prague), which could constitute an anti-German alliance better accepted by the USSR (and Italy) than the Little Entente. However, the rapprochement between Paris and Moscow undergone few setbacks in 1932–1933. In the spring of 1932, the French Prime Minister, André Tardieu, projected to economically tie the Little Entente States with Hungary and Austria. The negative reactions of Rome and Moscow caused the failure of this project. In 1933, Paris supported Mussolini’s attempt to create a "European Directory", composed of Britain, France, Italy and Germany. Excluded from this “club”, Moscow strongly criticized Mussolini’s project. Finally, the Four-Power Pact, also disapproved by the Little Entente and Poland, collapsed. By the mid-1933, Paris came back to the idea that not only Italy, but also the Soviet Union should play a more active role in Central Europe. On the one hand, Paris proposed Rome to deepen its relations with Austria, Hungary (that led to the Rome Protocols in 1934) and Czechoslovakia. On the other hand, the French lobbied the restoration of diplomatic relations between the Soviets and the Little Entente States. In addition, at the beginning of 1934, Paris opened discussions for the establishment of a military alliance with Moscow, which would besides assume some obligations towards Warsaw and Prague. As a result of the active diplomacy of the French Foreign Minister, Louis Barthou, Paris and Moscow agreed on the principles of the Eastern Locarno Pact (which was partly realized in 1935). Moreover, France (together with Italy and Turkey), played an important role in the de-jure recognition of the USSR by some Central European States (Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Albania) and the Soviet admission to the League of Nations.

Автор статьи анализирует политику Франции в начале 1930-х гг. в отношении государств Средней Европы, особое внимание уделяя советской реакции на французские планы реорганизации этого региона. Он приходит к выводу, что Париж, осознавая слабость своих военных союзов с Польшей и государ ствами Малой Антанты, стремился укрепить свое влияние в Средней Европе благодаря втягиванию в антигерманскую орбиту Италии и СССР, а также Авст рии и Венгрии. Наиболее амбициозный французский план реорганизации региона — дунайский проект Тардье 1932 г. — подразумевал укрепление связей Малой Антанты с Венгрией и Австрией. Получив негативную оценку в Берлине, Риме и Москве, этот проект реализован не был. В ответ Франция попыталась наладить региональное сотрудничество с великими державами. Так, в 1933 г. Париж поддержал (неудачную) попытку создания «европейской директории». В конце 1933 г. Кэ д´Орсэ предложил объединить в блок Малую Антанту, Польшу и СССР. В свою очередь Кремль, выступая против появления вдоль своих границ крупных блоков, выразил готовность активизировать свои связи только с государствами северной части Средней Европы. В 1934 г. эта линия легла в основу переговоров по Восточному пакту.

Mots clés: Tardieu plan; Eastern Locarno; Four-Power Pact; League of Nations; France; Central Europe; Interwar Period; diplomacy; international relations; USSR; Soviet Russia; French foreign policy; Soviet foreign policy; Central and Eastern Europe; Central and Eastern European history; Central European history; André Tardieu; Eduard Benes; Maxime Litvinov; Louis Barthou; Soviet-French relations; Little Entente; Poland; Hungary; Czechoslovakia; Austria; Romania; Bessarabia; Anschluss; Germany; Italy; security; integration; Danube

Domaines: Histoire; Science politique

Aliaksandr Piahanau. Политика Франции в Средней Европе и СССР, 1931–1934 гг.. А. Рупасов; А. Исаев. СЕМИНАР. Вып. 2. Работы победителей 7 конкурса «Актуальная наука» («Советский Союз, Польша и другие страны Центральной и Восточной Европы в мировой политике XX века») памяти О. Н. Кена. Польский институт, ИИ РАН в Спб, Университет в Белостоке., 2015, 978-5-91258-339-1. ⟨hal-01266698⟩