In 1885 the European opening up of Gabon and Congo had only just begun. The intervention of metropolitan France in the archaic and brutal form of the régime concessionnaire copied from the Leopoldian model, soon resulted in the upsetting of the fragile pre-colonial balance. Social and political disintegration took place rapidly following the operations of the conquest, and the rapid proliferation of European commercial enterprises had disrupted the main traditional trade routes. The idea of an economic conquest based on the opening up of great penetration routes with the aim of 'linking the mouth of the Congo to Upper Egypt across Africa' went back to Brazza. Given the dreadful state of the finances of the colony, the apparent success of the Leopoldian system after 1896 made the decision inevitable. The military expeditions to Chad swallowed the entire budget. The development of the colony demanded a considerable investment in men and in capital and every kind of infrastructure.