French protectorate administration tolerated slavery to protect the local economy.

Evidence

In the protectorate areas of Senegal, for example, the French administration refrained from interfering directly in relations between slaves and masters, for fear of disrupting the local economy. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 331

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth chasing: what exactly was the economic dependence on slave labor in the Senegalese protectorates?