Father of France

Chapter 135 De Gaulle Steps Down

"Yes, the situation in Iran is very complicated right now," Martin said, adding that French newspapers are also reporting on the situation there.

“Our interests in the Middle East are no longer significant. Syria is currently undergoing the independence process and is just waiting for the immigration to be completed.”

Koeman paid little attention to the Cold War rehearsal, saying, "Although we were not as successful as Britain during the colonial era, we had a better foundation than Britain, and Britain will no longer be our opponent in the future."

Ninety percent of France's colonies were in Africa, and they were basically contiguous areas. Even disregarding population, resources, and everything else, it is a fact that half of Africa was under French control.

Canada is great, Australia is great, British India is great, but is that still British territory?

Canada and Australia have already shifted their focus from the UK to the US. As for India, a powerful and influential country, its reputation may vary in other areas, but it is generally considered very trustworthy.

Currently, the only place left for Britain that is valuable and can compensate for its lack of national strength is Egypt.

After the United States gained independence, British India and Egypt became the strategic fulcrum of the British global empire, so the Suez Canal War was the end of the British empire.

Koeman's current job, in a more noble sense, is to participate in major infrastructure projects. He also told Martin that selling German tobacco is not a long-term solution and that he should consider leaving to work in North Africa. For soldiers, money is just an external thing.

Martin knew that what they were doing now was not a long-term solution, so he asked, "Algeria is currently under military rule. How many military courts does Constantine have?"

“Seventy-eight. There were originally over one hundred and twenty settlements, but after the last uprising, population migration began, and the number was consolidated to the present.” Koman explained carefully, “Migrating Arabs to environments they are familiar with and settling them in safer locations plays a significant role in consolidating the security situation.”

These people were forcibly resettled in designated areas known as "reorganization camps" or "protective villages." These camps were typically surrounded by barbed wire and under the tight control of the garrison.

This migration involved three million people, primarily targeting Arabs, while Berbers were excluded.

Besides the migration policy, the remaining issue is the adjustment of the immigration policy. The Maronite immigrants who poured into Algeria were mainly settled on both sides of Algeria, namely Algeria and Morocco, and Algeria and Tunisia.

This was done so that, in the event of another uprising, Christian immigrants could be used to isolate the Arab nationalists infiltrating Morocco and Tunisia.

While immigration and migration policies are being implemented simultaneously, simply controlling the Arabs does not solve the problem. That is why Koman is trying to develop industries to control the issue. Otherwise, the way Israel treats Gaza would only cover it up.

But can it be covered up? In large concentration camps like Gaza, the population explosion will only make the problem bigger and eventually it will not be able to be covered up.

Therefore, the Gaza plan is not a good solution. It can give birth to children but not to escape the problem, and will only make the problem more serious at some point in the future.

Moreover, industrial development should not exclude Arabs. Industrialization itself has a certain effect on suppressing population growth. If Arabs can have as many children as they want while immigrants enjoy the reduced birth rate brought about by industrialization, then sooner or later they will be driven out by the majority Arab population.
Industrialization will cause the birth rate to decline, but although childbirth is very expensive, from the perspective of society as a whole, the rate of return is positive, which is a high investment and high return.

The money invested in children in the early stages will generate value far exceeding the initial investment once the children grow up and become able-bodied.

Industrialization does not cause a sharp drop in birth rates; otherwise, how come most countries in the COMECON region maintained their birth rates during the Cold War? Because industry needs people, and children are not a liability.

If we exclude Arabs, and leave this group, which already lacks a sense of identity with French culture, still living in a pre-modern way, one example is Israel.

Israeli society as a whole funds to support an extreme cult group that does nothing but chant scriptures and have children all day long. Each cult family has eight children, five of whom leave the cult and enter society, while the other three continue on the path of chanting scriptures and having children.

After all, not all of Lao Bao's children are Lao Bao. Even among the most fundamentalist Haredi, many Haredi children still leave the community and return to secular life as Jews.

If the Arabs in Algeria were abandoned, Koeman couldn't imagine what this place, which was crucial to France's fate, would become.

Compared to the Iranian crisis, which is a Cold War preview, the current first French government is clearly facing greater problems, and de Gaulle has made his support for the presidential system clear on multiple occasions.

However, this view was opposed by the three major parties, which tended to restore the traditional parliamentary republic model.

In this model, parliament holds supreme power, and the government is composed of a majority in parliament and is accountable to it. They fear that an overly powerful president could lead to autocracy, repeating the history of Napoleon or the monarchy. The struggle between the executive and legislative branches, though delayed, finally arrived in France. De Gaulle publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the parliamentary system: "How can I lead a French government one day, only to have it subject to a National Assembly with fifteen or even twenty parties the next? Each of these parties has its own representatives, its own committees, its own plans, and undoubtedly, its own ambitions and conspiracies."

Before the French Communist Party could even step forward, the Constituent Assembly, with the support of the Socialist Party and the Christian Democratic Party, passed a resolution to drastically cut the military budget.

When Corman returned to Paris on his year-end vacation, de Gaulle was arguing with almost every party, including the Popular Republican Movement, which identified itself as a supporter of de Gaulle.

Admiral Dragon was somewhat surprised by Corman's return, but he didn't say much, nor did he mention the current struggle between de Gaulle and the parliament. Corman, of course, pretended not to know.

However, when it comes to matters concerning the military, Koeman still has to ask questions, such as about the military spending cuts, which he is waiting for General Dragon to answer.

“The black market economy is rampant and the financial burden is heavy,” Admiral Dragon replied. “There are also voices that suggest the franc should be appropriately devalued to boost exports.”

"This will also increase import pressure." Although Koeman is not an economist, he understands the basic principles.

The current exchange rate between the franc and the dollar was established in 1939. The war destroyed factories and infrastructure, leading to a sharp decline in industrial production. At the same time, a large number of workers were deported to Germany or became prisoners of war.

Leaving aside the changes France has undergone in recent years, the biggest variable is the United States. In 1939, the United States was still an isolated hegemon in the Americas; now, it is the undisputed world hegemon.

Another reason was that France was seeking a large loan from the United States at the time. The US negotiators, led by the US Treasury Secretary, explicitly demanded that France first implement currency reforms, including devaluing the franc to a realistic level to stabilize the economy; otherwise, the loan would not be provided. The US did not want its aid to be wasted on an overvalued exchange rate.

This means that the franc's exchange rate is currently under pressure from the United States; if the US wants to provide aid to the franc, it must be devalued.

"In other words, the reduction in military spending is somewhat related to this devaluation of the franc," Koeman muttered lazily. "Fortunately, we had done a lot of things beforehand, otherwise we wouldn't have had much money left just to deal with the Algerian problem."

Even when he was still in the provisional government, de Gaulle had already allocated 20 billion francs for the resettlement of Maronite immigrants, which helped him avoid this wave of franc devaluation.

He didn't have much vacation time, and one reason he came back was to visit Eva Gardner, to see if this most beautiful vertebrate in America was settling in well in France, and of course, to complain about American hegemony.

"So you take out your American hegemony on me?" Ava Gardner said in a wicked woman's tone, looking at the head that was wriggling around in her arms.

"No, I just admire how unassuming you are, sister." How could Koman dare to act like he owns half of Africa in front of Ava Gardner? He only has one face here, one of deep affection.

“You wouldn’t want to show too much skin.” Ava Gardner, who was described as having a hidden depth, directly pointed out the hypocrisy of a certain French captain, “I’m an actress, and you’re asking me to start an industrial company with explosive reactive armor as the first product? Is that appropriate?”

“Perfectly fitting, because explosions are art.” Koman looked at Ava Gardner with certainty and said confidently, “It’s the cornerstone of a nation, like the entertainment industry, right? You understand without me saying it.”

Ava Gardner squinted, then suddenly leaned close to Koman's eyes and blurted out, "Are you disgusted with me?"

"No." Koman swore that he would definitely look down on others, but he had no right to look down on Ava Gardner.

Besides, he has a little dragon rider to be nurtured and raised; Gudron Himmler is more than enough to satisfy Koman's expectations for nurturing a child.

While enjoying himself immensely at Ava Gardner's place, Koeman spent the rest of his time seeking support from major infrastructure projects, knowing he could never rely on just one supplier.

Even if Martin had already consulted them, he still wanted to go through it again, just like a serious illness requiring two visits to different hospitals. Once a conflict of interest arises, even angels in white can turn into devils.

After New Year's Day, the French people welcomed the first day of 1946. De Gaulle brought his own New Year's gift to the French people: a heated argument broke out between De Gaulle and his ministers in parliament, and the atmosphere was very tense.

As Koeman packed his bags to return to North Africa, de Gaulle suddenly announced his resignation at a cabinet meeting, and the first government of the Fourth Republic collapsed.

(End of this chapter)