socialists

"In his letter to Fabius, Bernard Arnault commits to respecting the plan he presented to the government, which promises in particular the "perpetuity" of the Boussac group and makes firm commitments on employment. In return, he presents the bill to the State: 940 million, partly (380 million) in the form of debt write-offs, the rest (560 million) in the form of new aid6. The money will be paid, but the promises will not be kept: Bernard Arnault can congratulate himself on returning to France six months earlier. The socialists, those scarecrows, have just given him the best Christmas of his life."

"In Parisian circles, André will soon repeat that “with one hundred million, it is possible to manufacture five thousand airplanes, and this can be done in a year.” Later, the Michelin brothers will explain the deep reasons for their campaign: “By our profession and thanks to our Frankfurt am Main subsidiary, we were in the front row to know the Germans well. In direct competition with them every day in France and abroad, we were struggling worldwide against their travelers, whom we always found supported — happy merchants — by the German consul of their region. We could not doubt that the war was wanted, prepared by the leaders, and that the rest of the population would follow by discipline, as one man. Even the socialists, even the Rhinelanders, naturally peaceful. It is because the war seemed certain and imminent to us that we felt compelled to make all our efforts to hasten the development of aviation.”"