Though, like its predecessor, the Fourth Republic was born as a consequence of military defeat by the Germans, the constitution it gave itself started with what looked like a bright enough image. Its preamble led off that: “It… solemnly reaffirms the rights and freedoms of man and citizen as set forth in the Declaration of Rights of 1789” and went on to declare that: “France, together with the overseas peoples, forms a Union founded upon equality of rights and of duties, without distinction of race or of religion.” France would, it stressed, “never employ its forces against the liberty of any people”.

Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Alge…, loc. 191