"War Aims and War Aims discussions (France)"
Résumé
On 4 August 1914, in his first speech after the declaration of war, Raymond Poincaré, president of the French Republic, did not outline any aims other than the Union sacrée (sacred union) and the defence of the country’s borders. Once the hopes for a short war had been dispelled, it was necessary for France to define more precise war aims. The main goal pursued by the government remained establishing a security system to avoid new threats to its borders. To reach these goals, France’s war aims wavered between territorial expansion to protect its borders and the inclusion of Germany in an international framework (of alliances or collective security).