The Third Republic’s imperialism rested on assumptions of cultural superiority and human perfectibility

Evidence

This idea of a secular mission civilisatrice did not originate under the Third Republic; it nevertheless acquired a particularly strong resonance after the return of democratic institutions in France, as the new regime struggled to reconcile its aggressive imperialism with its republican ideals. The notion of a civilizing mission rested upon certain fundamental assumptions about the superiority of French culture and the perfectibility of humankind. It implied that France’s colonial subjects were too primitive to rule themselves, but were capable of being uplifted. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 25

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to broader themes of paternalistic colonial justifications across European empires.