Pourquoi la France a-t-elle occupé la Ruhr ? - article ; n°1 ; vol.51, pg 56-67

Vingtième Siècle. Revue d'histoire - Année 1996 - Volume 51 - Numéro 1 - Pages 56-67
Why did France occupy the Ruhr?, Stanislas Jeanneson.
The Poincare government wanted to give the 1923 Ruhr occupation a pacifist, temporary and limited vision. But next to the hidden long-term economic objectives, there were also political and strategic objectives. The occupation was supposed to serve not only to take guarantees for reparations, but also to create a protectorat to assure, beyond the withdrawal of the troops scheduled for 1935, French security. Some occupation officials even wanted to assure a cultural and civilizing presence on the Rhine after a century of Prussian domination. The occupation of the Ruhr was therefore essentially political. The real aim was to improve the Treaty of Versailles by force in order to correct its imbalances : the supply of French steel industry in German coke and security on the Rhine. Its failure was due to the way in which decisions were taken, in closed committee, without any consistency between the various decision-making groups.
12 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.