La vision slovaque des relations entre la France et la Petite Entente (1918-1925)

Abstract

The Petite Entente, political and military alliance between Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Romania during the Interwar period, shows at the same time well and less known characteristics in the history of international relations. Besides this alliance a friend-ship among elites and peoples has developed, but also economical interests, cooperation in culture and sports, and individual contacts. She affirmed herself as a specific European civilization, with her distinctive evolution, finer in the West thanks to the democracy, more agrarian and less elaborate in the East, and often conservative. Moreover the three countries were linked with special ties to Poland and France. In the Interwar period, the Petite Entente was the pride of the Czechoslovak foreign policy. The alliance between three “victorious” countries, which had fought in the allied camp, could rely on old economic ties and common interests dating back to the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The Czechoslovak leaders wanted to establish a system of alliances corresponding to the traditions of the country among them was certainly the Francophile one but also the Slavic solidarity. But the main task of the construction of such an alliance was the containment of the potential Hungarian threat. The constitution of the Petite Entente was settled by the signature of the convention between the Kingdom SHS and Romania in 1921, which aimed at the preservation not only of the Treaty of Trianon, but also of the Treaty of Neuilly concerning Bulgaria. The signatories interpreted the conventions as being real alliance treaties. After the failure of an extension of the alliance to Poland, the first test for her was the two restoration attempts of former king Charles in Hungary. The Petite Entente strengthened the international situation of Czechoslovakia and the project of a common defense was an important challenge for the three countries and their French ally, even if the Czechs did not want to depend on one only great power and were not as much interested in a policy hostile to Germany as was France. The military cooperation played an important part in the discussions between Czech and French officials and the agreement between the military authorities of both countries contributed to the signature of the alliance treaty in January 1924. Shortly after that, the Czech dependence on French military assistance ceased, for the Czechs considered the Hungarian problem solved by the existence of the Petite Entente and did not want to engage in an aggressive policy towards Germany. Therefore they supported France in her attempts at conciliation with Germany. But the Treaty of Locarno was to bring unexpected results leading to potential dangers for Poland and Czechoslovakia.