Reincarnated: Vive La France
Chapter 237: Discussion - I

Chapter 237: Discussion - I

From the offices of Le Figaro to the workshops of Montreuil, from the aristocratic salons of Neuilly to the iron-wrought balconies of Marseille, one topic consumed the French imagination.

The Provisional Government’s draft budget.

It was not merely a fiscal document.

It was a promise, an attempt to bind the wounds of the past year with numbers and percentages, to translate revolution into spreadsheets and hope into allocations.

And everywhere, people responded.

At the Grand Hôtel in Vichy, a gathering of landowners and industrial magnates convened in a paneled salon beneath chandeliers dulled by cigar smoke.

The Société des Intérêts Nationaux had called for an emergency session.

The attendees, dressed in quiet elegance, carried portfolios heavy with annotated budget proposals.

Maréchal Moreau’s draft budget lay before them.

₣100 billion focused on reconstruction, modernization, defense, agriculture, welfare, colonial investment, financial stabilization, and national pride.

A printed cover read: "1937 Emergency National Budget- Draft for Public Consultation."

On each place card stood nameplates.

Count Henri de Beaumont, industrialist Jacques Fontenay, banker Léon Chavanne, Andrée Vial founder of the League for Rural Development.

Along with them at the table end sat Reynaud and Moreau who came here specially to listen and not interfere until conclusion has been reached.

Count de Beaumont drew breath. "Gentlemen," he said crisply.

"This is France’s Renaissance in financial form. ₣30 billion in roads, rails, energy it reshapes geography to our benefit."

Industrialist Fontenay leaned forward.

"Not just geography. It remakes commerce. A modern highway network ₣8 billion means swift movement of goods. We’ll see industrial belts around Rouen and Lyon. Private enterprise thrives with that infrastructure."

Léon Chavanne, head of Banque du Nord, rubbed his chin.

"We all applaud. But financing it requires public confidence. The ₣5 billion Franc Stabilization Reserve is essential. We can’t let the bond market quake at every shipment of tonnage to Marseille."

Jacques Fontenay nodded. "Agree. We can’t relaunch industry if farmers can’t repay on stable currency."

Andrée Vial spoke up.

"Aviation funding and rural credit ₣5 billion and ₣2 billion respectively are critical. Our farms need protection, our mail needs planes. Rural communes feel long forgotten. This step returns them to modernity."

An opposition voice rose baroness Élise de Montfort.

"But what of the colonial portion? ₣7 billion for Algeria and Indochina? Must we pour capital there when French villages suffer?"

Fontenay answered calmly. "Tapping colonial railways and minerals isn’t charity it’s integration. It reduces import costs, strengthens national output, and supports jobs here in the metropole. We cannot sever metropolitan growth from colonial value."

Across the room, several factory owners murmured agreement.

Young engineer Marcel Leroy, representing a consortium of foundries, added, "Steel consolidation funding (₣4 billion) plus tank-artillery stimulus (₣4 billion) will hire swathes of ironworkers. Local foundries in Lorraine have been idle. We need orders."

Count de Beaumont raised an eyebrow. "Military readiness disguised as infrastructure it’s shrewd. France keeps its guard, builds new roads in the process. A win-win."

Mme Vial nodded thoughtfully. "Rural electrification (₣4 billion) also opens factories and homesteads. A farmer in Champagne lights a lamp, and industry wakes in Châlons-sur-Marne."

The banker Chavanne leaned back. "We all see the merits. Yet social unrest remains. The ₣10 billion social welfare tranche

clinics, vocational schools, veterans’ pensions how do we ensure those funds reach the needy, not the politically connected?"

Vial answered.

"I helped draft oversight clauses funding flows through regional agencies with union, local government, and business representation. No party patronage."

Fontenay rubbed his fingers together. "The National Innovation Bureau (₣2 billion) I will propose it includes industrial accountability. If we pay for R&D, we get industrial patents, not just academic white papers."

Andrée Vial raised her glass. "To accountability."

Count de Beaumont added, "Yes, but let’s discuss real-world concerns. Highway labor in Auvergne ₣8 billion means tens of thousands hired. But where will they live? Housing funding (₣5 billion) must absorb them."

Banker Chavanne glanced at the draft. "Public housing is urban, yes. But we must include dormitory towns boarding cottages next to labor sites. Otherwise, we create ghost towns where workers come and go in candlelight."

Marcel Leroy offered, "Factory-run housing near worksites temporary timber barracks first, bricks later. National Innovation Bureau could support design."

Baroness de Montfort tapped a finger. "Also, what about colonial extraction zones pulling resources gold, rubber, bauxite? Are we ready to transport them? Ports dredging (₣3 billion) plus railway links in Algeria ₣2.5 billion makes this work. But where’s the oversight?"

Fontenay answered. "Private packets. The State will auction concession rights publicly. The competition will keep standards high, revenue visible."

A younger delegate, representing an association of small business owners, raised a cautious hand. "But on propaganda funds (₣3 billion) isn’t there danger in state-controlled messaging? We speak of unity but whose unity?"

Count de Beaumont nodded. "Valid point. Culture funding radio, film, national architecture must not become mere propaganda. Let it include regional voices, minority languages, historical reflection. France’s unity is not uniformity, but diversity."

Vial chimed in. "We propose oversight councils with multi-party representation and public consultation on content."

Chavanne tapped his pen. "Essential. Now, about currency stabilization will we be borrowing again mid-year?"

The banker paused. "If bond issuance works, yes. But only for two series ₣30 billion bond issue. We can’t bleed again."

Baroness de Montfort frowned. "Will that lock us into austerity before the projects bear fruit?"

Reynaud, listening from the side, added quietly. "No. The bond is for staggered draws. Bonds spent as projects disburse not sold all at once. We avoid the pitfall of borrowed debt before projects open revenue."

A ripple of approval passed across the table.

Moreau leaned in.

He waited a beat. "May I sum up?"

He spoke with clarity. "We agree that infrastructure, rural support, defense integration, social reform, and financial stability all serve national resurgence. We request oversight mechanisms in each ministry. We agree on staggered bonds with financial guardrails. We oppose heavy propaganda but favor cultural expression. We will respect regional concerns. We shall allow two days public feedback before final vote."

He looked around. "Can we send this summary to the press and the prefectures?"