France amends its contraband list

On 6 November 1914 the French government issued a decree on the application in wartime of the Declaration of London of 1909. The decree redefined which goods the French navy could treat as contraband of war and when they could be seized on board neutral ships. It tightened earlier French regulations, including the decree of 25 August.

It was a step agreed with London. A week earlier, on 29 October, Britain had announced new contraband lists and a new order on the application of the Declaration of London. France, which since the start of the war had pursued a common policy with the British on seaborne trade, adopted essentially the same rules. The official American collection of diplomatic documents from this period noted that the French decree was “in substance identical” in wording with the British acts.

The decree set out lists of absolute contraband, covering above all arms, ammunition, explosives and the equipment for making them, and of conditional contraband, that is goods that could serve both the civilian population and the armed forces. The latter, contrary to Article 35 of the Declaration of London, could now also be seized on a ship bound for a neutral port. It was enough that the cargo had been shipped “to order”, without naming a consignee, that the ship’s papers named no consignee at all, or that the consignee was in enemy territory or territory occupied by the enemy.

The most important change concerned the burden of proof. Until then it was the state seizing the cargo that had to show it was destined for the enemy. After 6 November it was the owner of the goods who had to prove that they would not reach Germany or Austria-Hungary. For merchants from neutral countries, especially those bordering Germany, this meant longer delays for ships, costly proceedings before prize courts and the risk of losing their cargo.

This was not France’s last act in the matter. At the beginning of 1915 France announced further additions to the contraband lists, and in March 1915, together with Britain, decided to stop all goods going to and from Germany, which in practice meant a full naval blockade.