Bibendum

"In Clermont-Ferrand, the old Carmes workshops and the Estaing storage center, built on the eve of the war, were joined in 1924 by the gigantic Cataroux factory, today still the largest in the group. Outside of France, over the years and protectionist regulations, Bibendum has established itself in Great Britain, in Stoke-on-Trent (1927), opened a spinning mill in Italy (1927), and expanded in Germany in Karlsruhe (1931). It’s a lot."

"On February 7, 1935, the restructuring of the Société Anonyme des Automobiles André Citroën is decided by the liquidation committee. The Bank of France, solicited by the government, provides its assistance. There are two urgencies: filling the three hundred million francs gap in cash flow and negotiating the spreading of the two hundred fifteen million francs of debt. The main creditors — there are two thousand four hundred and fifty in total — gather under the banner of Bibendum, whose austerity and sense of large sums inspire confidence. The banks, delighted to no longer deal with the “great charmer,” reopen the floodgates. One hundred twenty-five million francs flow in. In June, a “squeeze-out” on the capital successively allows it to be reduced to seventy-five million francs and then increased to two hundred ten million."