Counterrevolutionary Legitimation: French Diplomats and the Advent of General Franco

The historiography of Franco-Spanish relations during the civil war (1936-1939) has often emphasized the pragmatic motivations behind the late recognition of General Franco in February 1939. However, French diplomats had raised the issue of his recognition in political terms as early as 1936. Embracing and transmitting the counterrevolutionary propaganda disseminated by the opponents of the Spanish Republic, from the outset these diplomats endeavored to justify the military uprising that had installed Franco in power as a means of putting an end to the Spanish Revolution, and soon advocated his recognition by the French authorities.