Tutkin asiaa vielä hieman tarkemmin, ja löysin oheisen artikkelin:
Beyond “caution, pragmatism and cynicism”? France’s relations with the Eastern Baltic in times of crisis (1918–1922; 1988–1992)
Una Bergmane, Louis Clerc
http://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/EAA/artic ... 016.3-4.03
Seuraavassa joitain lainauksia artikkelista:
”For some French publicists and politicians, the liberation of “oppressed nationalities” was a question of principle already in 1917: personalities from the republican moderate Left with an interest in international affairs and foreign cultures (Henry Franklin-Bouillon, Albert Thomas, Léon Bourgeois, etc.) defended small European nationalities in the name of justice but also out of a conception of France’s historical mission: victorious France, daughter of the 1789 Revolution, naturally had to act as the defender of the oppressed. But even the most convinced defenders of small nations tended to regard as worthy of consideration only those “historical nationalities” they saw as being sufficiently developed, well established, and presumably Francophile.”
”In this respect, however, Finland had managed to anchor itself on the French map of Europe as a real nationality, oppressed by Russia but nonetheless developed and active.”
”In the context of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, France’s decision-making thus tended to oscillate between caution and support under quickly changing circumstances. Taken in the feverish atmosphere following Lenin’s coup, the decision to recognize Finland’s independence in January of 1918 seemed to rekindle the idea among the French leadership of some nationalities as potential poles of stability, this time against chaos in Russia. Discussions were a mix of suspicion towards wayward national groups, reflections concerning Finland’s national worthiness, and hopes that these seemingly solid nationalities could be used to stabilize some parts of the Russian empire.”
”French diplomacy ended up recognizing the new country on 4 January 1918 essentially for two reasons: the intense lobbying of the French consul in Helsinki, Louis Raynaud, and the French leadership’s hopes that this comparatively wellknown, stable national group would hold the line against Lenin.”
Toinen kirjoittajista, Louis Clerc, joka nähtävästi vaikuttaa Turun yliopistossa, on kirjoittanut aiheesta myös kirjan: La Finlande et l’Europe du Nord dans la diplomatie française. Relations bilatérales et intérêt national dans les considérations finlandaises et nordiques des diplomates et militaires français, 1917-1940