Finance Decrees
Thursday evening, August 8. Marcelle Lambert, bone tired, sat watching hypnotically the tall windows bordering the long meeting room in the Quai d’Orsay. To her eyes the windows were bright black mirrors reflecting back the luminous images of lights shining from crystal chandeliers hanging down over the cabinet table. Along the table sat, and sprawled, members of the cabinet. Midnight was upon them. They had been there all day discussing, and finally approving, the seventy to eighty draft decrees to complete and supplement the deflation program adopted the month before. Next week Madame Lambert would work with the ministries to organize them into exact order.
At the head of the table, Premier Laval stood solemnly giving a benediction to the evening’s proceedings, “From now on the great financial danger has been set aside. Later will come a great revival of business activity if the disciplined nation responds to the effort the cabinet is pursuing without faltering and without allowing itself to be turned from its duty.” He turned and headed for the doors at the far end of the meeting room. The cabinet wearily followed.
The secrétaire général busily came up. “Madame Lambert, I will go with the premier. My car will take you home. Can I suggest that we meet at the Matignon late tomorrow morning and we can come over to the Quai d’Orsay together?”
Madame Lambert pertly replied, “Oui, Monsieur le Secrétaire Général.”
The secrétaire général hurried after the premier. Madame Lambert gathered up her papers and slowly walked to the car waiting in the courtyard.
Late the following morning, Madame Lambert was standing at a long conference table in the Hotel Matignon going over numerous piles of documents with her assistants. She had been there since early morning preparing documents for the afternoon conference. The secrétaire général entered and came up to her, warmly asking, “Is everything ready for this afternoon, Madame Lambert?”
“Yes, of course, Monsieur le Secrétaire Général.”
“Good. My car will take you,” and he looked at several of her assistants, “and your assistants over to the Quai d’Orsay.” He pulled a newspaper out of his pocket and motioned to the assistants to come closer and hear. “Your efforts do not go unappreciated. Look at the headlines on the newspaper,” and he held it up and read, “The franc is saved.” He stuffed the newspaper back in his pocket.
Madame Lambert smiled and said, “Thank you.”
The secrétaire général departed and Madame Lambert gave final instructions to her assistants.
“Yes, Madame,” they replied.
Driving through the gates of the Quai d’Orsay, Madame Lambert and her assistants peered out of the limousine’s windows at the dozens of official cars crowding the courtyard. Madame Lambert explained to the astonished assistants, “All the prefects of France have been summoned by the premier to a conference on the deflation decrees, almost seventy officials from the departments.”
The car pulled to a halt outside the entrance and the women got out. Guards came over to assist with the boxes of documents. Madame Lambert led her assistants into the building followed by the guards.
Inside the sumptuous Salon de l’Horloge, Madame Lambert pointed to long tables along the walls where the documents should be placed. Her assistants quickly assembled the documents in order.
Madame Lambert looked to the far end of the room, just below the fabled clock, and saw Premier Laval and several ministers. Around the room groups of prefects stood talking animatedly with each other.
Madame Lambert walked over to the tables and went over the documents with her assistants. Then she looked to the head of the room and caught the eye of the secrétaire général and nodded to him. She and her assistants took seats at the rear of the hall.
The secrétaire général strode up to the side of the lectern and shouted out in a stentorian voice across the room, “Monsieur le Président du Conseil!” Everyone came to his or her feet.
Premier Laval walked briskly up to the lectern; the prefects took their seats. Premier Laval thanked them for taking the time to come to Paris. Then he introduced the ministers of finance, commerce, public works, and labor standing beside him.
Premier Laval launched into an explanation of the new decrees and concluded, “It is the fate of the régime and the life of the country that are at stake.”
The premier motioned for the finance minister to come forward. The finance minister explained to the prefects that interest rates were reduced from six to five percent and that the profits tax on businesses was increased from eighteen to twenty-four percent.
The finance minister stepped aside and the public works minister came forward and grandly announced that the government was providing an additional billion francs to national public works, and he paused for a dramatic second, and then said that a billion additional francs was going to the communes and departments for public works. The prefects quickly applauded, some standing and clapping loudly. Premier Laval beamed.
The other ministers came up in turn and explained additional aspects of the deflation program, many focusing on lowering prices and increasing trade.
At the end of the session Premier Laval returned to the lectern and concluded, “These decrees contain the measures demanded by the country for years. It is a long-term program which will put the franc in safety from every attack.” He thanked the prefects and strode down the center of the room to the doors at the far end of the hall.