Paris Colonial Exhibition
The six month long Paris Colonial Exhibition (l'Exposition coloniale internationale) of 1931 was the opportunity to vaunt the benefits of colonization for both the metropolis and the indigenous populations. In terms of surface area, Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for the majority of the French Empire which at that time was at the peak of its glory. While most of France's former African colonies celebrate 50 years of independence this year, the Paris Colonial Exhibition's Palais de la Porte dorée, now emptied of its collections, still carries on its walls the traces of this onerous shared past.
