Father of France

Chapter 133 Reformism
This time, the delegation included not only a water conservancy project inspection team, but also a mineral exploration team, mainly a coal exploration team, in order to find coal resources in Algeria to supply France.

However, Coman estimated that Paris was destined to be disappointed. Algeria and mainland France had one thing in common: they had iron ore but no coal. So far, they had not found any in the three coastal French overseas departments. Did they have to go deep inland to look for it? That would be incredibly expensive.

Algeria's current iron ore mine is also located in the Ouenza mine in the Constantine Province. This mine was developed during the Roman Empire, when the Romans mined it to manufacture weapons, armor, and various tools for their legions.

In ancient societies, iron ore was generally refined locally, and transporting it back to Italy was a very uneconomical practice. The output of the Unza iron ore mine was not large, and it eventually fell into the hands of France.

Relying on France's domestic steel industry is certainly not as uneconomical as it was in ancient times, but France is also in the process of reconstruction, and it is unknown how much production capacity it can provide for the construction of towns in Algeria, and how long it will take. Therefore, after learning about the demand for concrete dams, Coman decided to inquire about it in person, since it was not far away.

Constantine's report will begin in five days, which will give Koeman time to conduct an inspection. Water conservancy expert Paul agrees, saying, "If the problems of concrete and steel reinforcement can be solved locally, the construction cost will be much lower."

“Mr. Paul, you are a good man.” Koeman smiled and thanked him. Algeria was called an overseas province, but in reality, it was almost like a colony.

Colonies are essentially a model of exporting raw materials and importing goods.

Even if the burden were heavier, they wouldn't choose to develop industries locally, but now this economic connection is officially ending.

Two days later, Coman appeared in Uenza, which, like Setif, was in the process of urban development. Paris had issued several design drawings, which were of course not much different from one another.

The biggest difference is probably the terrain they deal with. The Unza administrative and family area is divided into two parts: the administrative area and the family area.

The administrative area houses the offices of the iron ore mine's administrative organs, as well as departments responsible for mining, transportation, warehousing, and machinery repair. It also includes supporting facilities such as an auditorium, hospital, canteen, guesthouse, kindergarten, primary school, and middle school, providing iron ore mine employees with services throughout their entire life cycle, from delivery room to grave. The family quarters consist of hundreds of apartment buildings and roughly the same number of single-story houses.

As mining operations continue to expand, the mining area is extending further out. Some makeshift housing has been built next to the mine for the miners to live in temporarily. Their families live in the administrative family quarters.

These resource-dependent towns survive entirely on how many years the local iron ore mines can sustain them, and Coman is quite familiar with such towns.

The presiding judge of the Unza Military Tribunal held a higher rank than Koman. Major Felix arrived at the train station to greet Koman and his entourage, and asked bluntly, "Judge Koman, what is the purpose of your visit?"

"Come and see if this place can meet the demand for 400,000 tons of steel bars. Major, you won't be unwelcome, will you?" Koman replied with a smile.

“You’re welcome anytime, Coman. You can stay as long as you like. If you want to go out, I’ll arrange entertainment for you,” Major Felix said, patting his chest. Then he chuckled and added, “Many of the girls are very beautiful, actually quite similar to Italian women.”

“It’s not far indeed.” Koman smiled, he was indeed a little overwhelmed by the other party’s enthusiasm, and went straight to the point, “Three reservoirs have been planned around Setif to reclaim and expand arable land and increase local food production. Unlike here, Setif doesn’t have any iron ore mines to rely on.”

Although Major Felix held a higher rank than Koman, there must be a reason why Koman, with only the rank of captain, served as the presiding judge of a town's military court.

But he couldn't agree so quickly. Regional battles were inherently a game of who could blink first. The other side had powerful weapons, and he wasn't empty-handed either. The two sides would definitely have to exchange blows for several rounds before reaching a compromise.

"Sir, why is he holding you up?" Lefevere asked Coman after the welcome was over. "Couldn't he just explain the situation?"

Upon hearing this, Koman understood immediately. He said softly, "Before we came out, some people said that we should put more pressure on the mines and force them to comply. I can understand that to some extent. Industrial equipment costs money, but mining alone, although it is a loss for the iron ore mine, can still keep the accounts profitable. Many resource-rich places get stuck in this model and can't get out."

“Mines have their own difficulties, and it’s normal for them to have concerns. We’re here to listen to their demands and find a solution that both sides can accept. If we just keep putting pressure on them, as you’ve seen, do you think they care about our pressure?”

Having abundant natural resources means that you can make huge profits simply by exporting resources, which sounds wonderful, but such countries can be said to "die in comfort." Money is made easily, so they lose the enthusiasm to strive.

Resource-rich countries are prone to developing a dependence on resource-driven economies, which in turn leads to various problems.

The resource industry is often a leading sector in a region, attracting people from other industries. At the same time, this industry provides substantial fiscal revenue and employment opportunities, making it difficult for the government to promote economic transformation, resulting in an increasingly singular economic structure. Take the Unza iron ore mine as an example: currently, the Unza mine can easily make money simply by selling iron ore, but to move up the value chain, it would require advanced technology support in all aspects, including smelting equipment, processing technology, and mineral transportation.

The beneficiary is Setif, which is preparing to build a reservoir, but the cost of upgrading the equipment has to be borne by the Unza iron ore mine, which is naturally unwilling to do so.

Perhaps the iron ore miners, including Major Felix, were already quite satisfied with the status quo and did not want to take any risks.

However, Coman still needs to find a way to achieve his goal. If he owns mineral resources but does not have the corresponding supporting facilities, then these mineral resources are just ordinary stones to him and are worthless. Only when the mineral resources are transformed into refined finished products will they have some value.

If there is a complete industrial chain, this part of the mineral resources can be turned into money.

The locals can only work in these mines and earn wages. The truly valuable minerals have all been taken by others, so they receive very little profit. Once the mineral resources are almost exhausted, they will become even poorer.

Koeman recalled that the giant iron ore mine in Algeria wasn't located in the northeast, indicating that the mine's reserves were small and wouldn't sustain a decent life for long. In other words, the future of the miners at the Unza mine wasn't Saudi Arabia, but Iran.

The kind of easy money lifestyle that Saudi Arabia enjoys is unrealistic. If Iran had Saudi Arabia's production and cost advantages, Iranians wouldn't have gone through the painful process of industrialization.

Most of Algeria is not suitable for industrial development, with only the northern overseas provinces having a certain foundation. The northeastern region is relatively rich in water resources, so helping Unza is essentially helping Setif.

With the reservoir, Setif can provide water to other parts of Constantinople, including Unza, forming a supply chain that, while not powerful, is still usable.

As for industrial clusters, that's too far-fetched for Coman to consider. Having some industrial chains is enough to meet the immediate needs of Algeria and even France.

In the evening, Coman decided to speak with Major Felix alone. Although the scene was not as lively as during the day, there were no other people to disturb them.

"The meeting in Constantine is about to begin; the provincial military tribunal will hear our report."

Koeman earnestly advised, “If we continue to be content with being a primary supplier of raw materials, the economic gap between the overseas departments and the mainland will remain quite large in the long term. We can suppress one uprising, but there will be another. Last time we killed 120,000, who knows how many next time. It is possible for the military to kill all the rebels, but it is difficult for the Paris parliament to make such a decision.”

“There is still room for us to develop. If the regional cooperation between Unza and Setif is seen by Constantine, it will benefit both of us.”

“I understand the logic, but how much money does it require? Sometimes it’s not something we can solve just by making a decision. The revenue from iron ore can allow miners to earn more than other groups in overseas provinces. But when it comes to importing equipment, it’s still not feasible.”

Major Felix paused slightly at this point, "And the miners are already quite satisfied with the current situation."

Koman thought to himself that resource-based cities are usually quite satisfied for a period of time, but once the resources are depleted, they will be in trouble. After thinking for a moment, he said, "If Major Felix is ​​willing to join me at the Constantine Military Court meeting to jointly propose a regional cooperation initiative, I think I can think of a way."

Wasn't the income the French youth division earned from selling tobacco in Germany actually prepared for this situation? What else could they do? Deposit the money in a Swiss bank?

Koeman's role at this point is actually similar to that of a country like the Soviet Union, which also uses confiscation to directly define something as state property at the national level and nationalize it.

However, Western European countries cannot do this directly. Whether it is France, Italy, or even Britain, they usually use reformist methods while carrying out nationalization, that is, they take out a sum of money to buy it back, which is reformist nationalization.

This is definitely not nationalization, nor is it military-run business, but it has some resemblance to both.

(End of this chapter)