Pierre Boulanger

"Incorruptible, blending in, tough on the job, and not talkative, they gradually invest in the factories and offices under the authority of Pierre Michelin and Pierre Boulanger. “The two Pierres,” said André Citroën, “on whom I will rebuild my temple.” The salaries of the main collaborators are authoritatively cut by thirty to thirty-five percent. Expense reports are scrutinized. Company cars are removed. Michelin, who before getting involved in the business had the Traction tested in Montlhéry, in Auvergne, and even in Sweden, knows the weaknesses of the model perfectly and knows they can be corrected quickly."

"A flaw remains. Citroën has high-end models that sell well but nothing in the lower range anymore. By the end of October 1935, Pierre Boulanger requests the quick development of “a car capable of carrying two farmers in clogs, fifty kilos of potatoes or a barrel at a maximum speed of sixty kilometers per hour, with a consumption of three liters per hundred kilometers.” Starting all problems from scratch. And achieving an affordable solution: “No more than the price of a motorcycle,” requested Edouard Michelin. So, less than eight thousand francs, a third of the price of the “11 CV”. A pittance (the production cost will never be less than nine thousand five hundred francs). Boulanger limited himself to specifying that “aesthetics were of no importance.”"

"Since there is no other solution, Edouard decided to establish a regency and entrusted it to the two men closest to him: his son-in-law Robert Puiseux, and his most faithful lieutenant Pierre Boulanger, whom he sent to restore order at Citroën. Two men who are, moreover, very dissimilar."