In 1926 after the great war the development of the French defence programme including different types of tanks was delayed several times.
In 1934 armour-plating had between 30 & 40 mm thick. On this basis Hotchkiss SA took over the market and on 11th Jan 1935 their first prototype was presented to the infantry top brass. In total 800 Hotchkiss light tanks in several versions were built. During WW11 several Hotchkiss were captured by the Germans.