François Mitterrand

"The first mistake: like a sausage, Agache-Willot is cut into slices. Through the IDI, the State takes over the textile activities, while Dior, Le Bon Marché, and Conforama remain under the authority of the Willots. In other words, this division socializes losses and privatizes profits, a common practice of the right, strongly denounced by François Mitterrand when he was in opposition. Morally questionable, this division is also technically inept since it prevents the textile recovery from being supported by the profits of luxury and distribution."

"It was a decision that Bernard Arnault made alone, despite Robert Léon's reservations. Every Saturday morning, the two men would discuss strategy, deals, and financial arrangements over a cup of coffee that Bernard Arnault hadn't paid for in seven years, as he often forgot his wallet, much like François Mitterrand and many other powerful men."

"On May 10, 1981, the outcome is announced, François Mitterrand is elected president of the Republic. The socialists are going to come to power... For the brothers, it’s consternation... Jean-Pierre Willot, who always has one move ahead on the chessboard, but not always at the right time, imagines a way out for himself. The solution is to spin off the industrial activities, by creating seven autonomous entities: hygiene, flax, household linens, fabrics and apparel, sports and leisure, packaging, engineering and mechanics. This spin-off allows to separate "the wheat from the chaff.""

"What are these external pieces of information that prompted the attorney general to change his mind? It is difficult to know the source of the instructions and their motivation. What influences were at play? Did Arnault's entourage take advantage of its introductions to the Prime Minister, Michel Rocard, and his chief of staff, Jean-Paul Huchon? It is likely. Did Antoine Bernheim use his connections at the Elysée Palace? It was rumored at the time that Jacques Attali, François Mitterrand's adviser, could join Lazard. A third hypothesis is also plausible: the position of the public prosecutor may be due to the rivalry between the Chancellery and the COB. In any case, from that day on, the public prosecutor will often speak in favor of Arnault's theses."

"François Mitterrand warned the Socialist Party at the Epinay congress in June 1971 against "all the powers of money, money that corrupts, money that buys, money that crushes, money that kills, money that ruins, and money that rots the conscience of men.""

"Le Siècle primarily recruited from the high administration, judiciary, and industry. The project of the founders is both simple and ambitious: to create a place of meeting and exchange that ignores political divides. Personalities such as Mendès France, Edgar Faure, François Mitterrand, or Félix Gaillard became pillars of Le Siècle in the 1950s."