Most French Army programmes in the years after World War i were driven by specifications issued within the army prior to any participation by the private and national companies involved in the armaments industry. The programme to replace the FT 17 light tank was unusual in that it was set into motion by a Mr Ainsworth, the director of the Hotchkiss company, in 1933. Ainsworth was British, which might explain why this nonconformist approach was taken. By that time the FT 17 was certainly obsolete and in dire need of replacement. The first Hotchkiss light tank prototype was shown to the French Army a very short time later, in June 1933. Six weeks after that an official request for proposal for FT 17 replacements was announced.