State

"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."

"The market is an organizational instrument. It allows coordination without the need for a leader. That is why it is much more effective than socialist centralization. Of course, a market does not function on its own. Arbitration mechanisms are necessary to prevent the strongest from corrupting the system. But once the rules of the game are established and stable, players can be freed. In pursuit of their interests, they will achieve what no organization can and enable the accumulation of wealth that drives development. This accumulation of wealth can generate tensions, especially in new countries, but the State remains the master of the game and, through taxation and laws, sometimes through direct allocation of resources, it can therefore reduce negative effects and achieve a redistribution that maintains the balance of society."

"Well then, let’s start over. Through the history of the Wendel family, it’s that of the elites over three centuries that interests us: transformations, enrichment, consorting with the State, good and bad fortunes… If these archives have been deposited, why is it not possible to consult them? Is there something to hide?"

"If the Administration, the two brothers believe, is clogged with men who prefer adherence to regulations over common sense, it is because the State is a bad employer. “When an employee in a private enterprise is inadequate or commits a serious error, the sanction is clear: it’s the door. “And this sanction has a triple advantage: “It serves as an example to the mediocre. “It prevents recurrences. “It makes room for advancing the man of value. “The State does nothing similar: it keeps the incompetent, it preserves their seniority-based advancement, and even better, it decorates them! Hence, it discourages the good ones.”"

"WITHOUT the green light given at the end of 1935 by the patriarch of Clermont, the Bull Machine Company would have died a natural death, four years after its birth. And French computing would have had to take other paths to begin its launch. In the autumn of 1935, the main shareholders of the Bull Company, specialized in the production of punched card accounting machines, are worried. At Avenue Gambetta, at the headquarters, the directors meet in a conclave to decide whether, failing to reach a balance in their accounts within a reasonable time frame, they should ask the State for help or simply sell the business to IBM. A minimum of six million francs is needed to bail it out."

"“Your airplane fabric is unsellable,” the consulted merchants categorically opine. “We don’t wear ecru shirts. We wear white shirts or striped shirts,” they object to him. “There is going to be a crisis,” others groan. There is going to be a “boom,” Boussac thinks. After four years of privations, men and women are eager to regain comfort and extravagance. And here are three million demobilized soldiers returning from the front, ready to dress in civilian clothes again. The euphoria of peace, the movement of reconstruction, the vast needs to be met: that’s what he believes in. He draws up his plan. He starts by buying back from the State everything that was meant to become wings. Then he purchases in England all the stock of airplane fabric that his competitors, relieved to get rid of it, sell to him cheaply."