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Hoare-Laval Pact (1935)
A secret agreement negotiated by British Foreign Secretary Samuel Hoare and French Prime Minister Pierre Laval in December 1935, proposing to end the Abyssinian crisis by offering Italy roughly two-thirds of Abyssinia's territory in exchange for a ceasefire. When the proposal leaked to the press in December 1935, it provoked a public outcry in Britain and France. Hoare was forced to resign. The episode exposed the unwillingness of Britain and France to enforce League sanctions against Italy, even as they publicly supported collective security. It severely damaged the League's credibility and accelerated the collapse of the collective security system.