French colonial administrations openly gave illegal labor recruitment aid to private enterprises

Evidence

Everyone knew, and the missions of inspection that came to AOF also knew, about the actual help the authorities gave to private individuals, not only in Ivory Coast but in other colonies of the group (Sudan, Upper Volta, Guinea, Dahomey) for recruiting labor. Illegal, perhaps, this aid was nevertheless justified for reasons that no one, among people of good faith, questions. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 846

Categorization

• DEFINE: Establishes the baseline official administration position that such aid was ‘illegal, perhaps’ yet justifiable — good for tracking the official rationalization of forced labor.