The loi-cadre ( Reform Act) was a French legal reform passed by the French National Assembly on 23 June 1956. It marked a turning point in relations between France and its overseas empire. Under pressure from its colonized populations, the government transferred a number of powers from Paris to elected territorial governments in French West Africa and also removed remaining voting inequalities. It was the first step in the creation of the French Community, comparable to the British Commonwealth of Nations. The territories of French West Africa, French Equatorial Africa, and Madagascar were then scheduled to vote on this new, reformed union with France.