The French Empire Between the Wars is the first study of the French Colonial Empire at its zenith in the 20 years following the First World War. Based on extensive archival research, it address current debate about French methods of rule and their impact on colonial peoples, the roots of decolonization, and the role of popular imperialism in French society and culture.By considering the distinctiveness of the inter-war years as a discrete period of colonial change, this book addresses several larger issues. These include tracing the origins of decolonization in the rise of colonial rebellions in Africa, Syria, and Indochina. The book also connects French theories of colonial governance to the lived experience of colonial rule in a period scarred by war and economic crises. The author analyzes colonial decision-making in Paris and the Empire, and considers the role of local intermediaries in colonial administration. He highlights the colonial economic conditions, forms of discrimination in the empire, and the renewed threat of global war to illustrate the process of French imperial decline.