[INDOCHINE] Anonymous Portrait of Paul Reynaud in full regalia Photographic print Signed: "à Charles de Breteuil / en souvenir de l'entrée à Hanoï / Paul Reynaud". Mounted on heavy paper Framed under glass Dimensions (photograph): 26.5 x 20 cm Dimensions (mounted) : 42.5 x 32.5 cm Portrait of Paul Reynaud in civilian dress Charles de Breteuil (1905 - 1960) Before becoming a journalist in Africa, Charles de Breteuil was chief of staff to Governor General Marcel Olivier at the Universal Colonial Exhibition in 1931. There he met Paul Reynaud, then Minister for the Colonies, and accompanied him on his tour of Indochina. After serving as Finance Minister under André Tardieu in 1930, Paul Reynaud was appointed Minister for the Colonies in the Laval government from January 1931 to February 1932, when the International Colonial Exhibition was organised. The Exhibition was organised under the patronage of Marshal Lyautey, who acted as the Exhibition's general commissioner. The idea was to bring together pavilions representing each colony in the form of a large exotic fresco in Vincennes. In a climate of mistrust with the British Empire, this Exhibition was a manifesto of French power in the eyes of other nations. It was a popular success, with more than 8 million visitors coming to take part in this "round the world in a day" tour, including camel rides, visits to a reproduction of the temple at Angkor and canoe trips on Lake Daumesnil. Paul Reynaud, who had travelled the world in his youth, stood out from his contemporaries for his open-mindedness and cultural curiosity. He toured the world and felt the first stirrings of dissent during his trip to Indochina. This privileged knowledge of the Empire would be important in his conception of France's economic development, its rearmament and, beyond events, his intellectual positioning for the continuation of the French Revolution. of the War. [INDOCHINE] Anonymous