Father of France

Chapter 227 Overseas Provincial Corps Plan

The consequence of France's choice to retain its colonies was that there were small garrisons in each of the major colonies. Even after the war was over, the size of the French army of 1.1 million came about.

But France isn't the only country doing this; Britain also maintains an army of 700,000, and it's an island nation.

However, after British India gained independence, it seems that the Attlee government had already considered disarmament, and rumors were circulating in British politics.

Koeman slapped his forehead. Even in US dollars, it would cost hundreds of millions. France was still waiting for the Marshall Plan; where would they get the money to invest in such a large project?

“The national finances are in serious trouble, and Washington is demanding that the franc not maintain its artificially high exchange rate.” Martin said, glancing at Ava Gardner, before continuing when she showed little reaction.

Martin, being based in his home country, naturally knew that the official exchange rate of the franc was now three times different from the actual exchange rate, which was unhealthy for any country, and it was perfectly normal for the United States to make such a request.

Unfortunately, this implicit dissatisfaction with the United States had no effect on Ava Gardner; that woman wouldn't think that far ahead.
But Ava Gardner had heard of a theory Koeman mentioned, which she paraphrased: "Considering inflation, large-scale projects should be implemented as soon as possible if there are no technical problems; otherwise, future labor costs will only increase. Koeman said that such large-scale projects also include the military industry."

"At this time, France's low labor costs were actually an advantage. Large-scale projects could boost employment in France, strengthen the foundation of French Africa, and better support France."

Even a major Eastern power at the height of its industrial powerhouse was not immune to this situation. This is even more true for Western countries that are already undergoing deindustrialization.

The high investment and low efficiency of Europe and the United States in the 21st century have reached an incomprehensible level. The United States has thrown hundreds of billions of dollars into military spending without any results. In Truman's words about Chiang Kai-shek, "You are thieves, your whole family are thieves."

Even Israel, which emphasizes building its own mythology, is using half of Russia's military budget to fight a lightly armed Hamas force of 20,000 men, and the conflict has been going on for two years with no end in sight.

If France currently possesses the technology to build railways and has a relatively large workforce, then projects like the Sahara Atlantic Railway should be implemented immediately, just like high-speed rail projects, instead of being researched and evaluated first, wasting valuable time.

Now that ilmenite has been found, not to mention that France's own labor force is not expensive, the labor force in French Africa is even cheaper. What is there to fear from an old imperialist country that worked on the Suez Canal and Panama Canal projects in the 19th century?

The northern route project could be named the Western Mediterranean Railway Project. Eva Gardner returned to Paris with the essence of what Coman had instilled in her, and that was her biggest purpose.

“Aren’t the Maronite followers also your fellow countrymen, Captain Martin?” Ava Gardner took a sip of sweet tea and waited quietly for a reply.

These words struck a chord with Martin. Syrian Christians were already a minority, and if they hadn't been relatively united in the face of a large number of infidels, they would have been wiped out long ago.

"The absolute support of the army is the most important thing. If General Juan, the commander-in-chief of the French army in Algeria, can give his full support, and with the approval of General Dragón in Paris, we can gain the understanding of the People's Republican Movement politically. Then, the only remaining issue is the injection of funds. If Koeman can resolve part of the issue, we should be able to get the approval of the Socialist government."

After Martin was moved, he listed several conditions. These conditions were not difficult to put together individually, but putting them together would definitely take some time to work out.

“Koman and I will wait patiently.” Ava Gardner nodded her thanks and drifted away, leaving behind a fragrant breeze.

"Is he an American?" Martin muttered with a long face, inwardly admiring the Koeman family's imperial status.

For France, the three-ring diplomacy envisioned by Churchill has never existed; France is not Britain, and the conditions for such a diplomacy do not exist.

From the post-war period onward, France's objective was clear: to preserve its colonies as much as possible, and at the same time, to remain the dominant power in Europe, at least in Western Europe.

France's main focus is on being the leader in Europe, because African countries are incompetent, much like Latin American countries are in the eyes of the United States—they have no value in terms of co-opting or uniting the country, and any method other than violent suppression is a waste of time.

However, Koeman doesn't see it that way; French Africa still needs to break free from its status as a floor tile on Earth.

Although France faced a slightly better situation with the influx of refugees than Britain in the 21st century, this was mainly because India and Pakistan, both derived from British India, did indeed have some control over Britain, and Britain had little else to offer besides its financial sector. The financial sector is further divided into the overt financial cities and the covert gray market, the latter comprised of Russian oligarchs, Indian elites, and princes from former British colonies in the Middle East.

With no other industries besides finance to support it, Britain dares not crack down hard on these gray-market money activities. With major cities now headed by immigrants, the anger of the British people can only be ignored, and the blame is borne by the immigrants while the white people suffer.

Before Brexit, the influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe was not a serious problem due to the collapse of the socialist bloc in Eastern Europe. The British were hesitant to do anything to Black or Green people, but they were able to crack down hard on immigrants from Eastern European countries. This is how Polish football came about in Britain.

However, after Brexit, Eastern European immigrants could no longer enter, which immediately exposed the large Hindu, Muslim, and African populations. British whites no longer even had the right to vent their anger on Eastern European immigrants.

France does have some industries that are not so reliant on the financial sector, but the situation is only slightly better than that of the UK, and it still faces the same pressure from immigrants.

There was no way to completely resolve this issue, because both Britain and France had vested interests with their former colonies. If they opened a small hole in the dam, the massive amount of water would simply widen the hole.

Britain and France faced the same predicament, but the Indians were in a league of their own in terms of determination. Not to mention Britain, even the United States and Canada couldn't hold on for long.

Coman, who was in Saigon, soon heard Eva Gardner's triumphant speech in her conversation with Chanel, as well as the difficulties currently facing the Western Mediterranean Railway, where money was still the most important issue.

"This problem?" Koeman pondered for a long time after reading the telegram. It wasn't that there was no way to solve it; it just required an organization with execution capabilities far exceeding those of ordinary people.

After much thought, a word flashed through Koman's mind: Production and Construction Corps. Since the North African Overseas Province was already under military control, what was missing was the existence of a Production and Construction Corps?

Garrisoning troops to cultivate land, integrating farming and warfare, is not a particularly strange thing.

Now that the Maronite Christians have all immigrated and Syria has become independent, the military control over the overseas provinces cannot be merely nominal. The immigrated Christians should be officially recognized and their communities divided into three parts: agricultural reclamation, railway, and mining projects, thus putting the military control over the overseas provinces into practice.

The first phase of the Sahara-Atlantic Railway, the Western Mediterranean Railway, presents an excellent opportunity to reduce labor costs, lay a solid foundation, and engage in dialogue with the Socialist Party.

The emergence of the new Production and Construction Corps naturally involved integrating the management authority of the military, government, and enterprises. In the areas inhabited by Marlonite immigrants, a model of military-government integration was directly implemented, eliminating the need for any administrative officials. The French army directly managed all municipal construction.

"I believe that once the Corps is established, it will make indelible contributions to economic development, maintaining border stability, consolidating national defense, and promoting national unity." Koman, who immediately picked up his pen and got to work, began to list plans and make grand pronouncements.

Although Koeman was in Saigon, he hadn't forgotten to show his patriotism. It all depended on whether General Zhu An, Commander-in-Chief of the Overseas Provinces, dared to step forward and support him. Koeman intuitively felt there wouldn't be much of a problem. With the pretext of military control already in place, what was there to fear about adding more substance?
However, the advancement of this matter needs to be divided into two parts. For example, the proposal for the Western Mediterranean Railway certainly cannot be put forward by the military.

Fortunately, there was also the Popular Republican Movement, which shared the same political spectrum as the French military. Its leader, Georges Pitour, even served as prime minister. This proposal, which involved strengthening relations with the French military, was very suitable for the former prime minister to put forward.

To silence the French Communist Party and the Socialist Party, a certain degree of flexibility is needed. Doesn't the French Communist Party like to talk about class? We can't treat overseas departments and domestic departments differently; that would artificially create class divisions within the French Federation.
No one objected to the fact that the vast majority of the Marshall Plan's funds were allocated to promoting development in mainland France, but overseas departments couldn't be left out entirely, even if it was just a small percentage.

After the People's Republican Movement put forward the proposal, it was foreseeable that the government would use the fiscal deficit as an excuse to back down. The next stage would be the establishment of the Production and Construction Corps, which would use some Soviet-style methods to reduce railway construction costs.

The second phase requires General Juan, the French commander-in-chief in Algeria, to step in and resolve the issue.

After completing the plan for establishing the corps and outlining the implementation steps, Corman went directly to the French Indochina Gendarmerie Headquarters and sent a telegram to Paris. It was another day of practicing his superhuman skills, and he was happy just thinking about it.

A tiny butterfly in Saigon will stir up a storm in Paris, involving a major question for the French Federation: what is the true political status of the overseas departments? Are they merely nominally an inseparable part of France, but in reality, colonies?

As a direct opponent of the Socialist Party-French Communist Party Left-wing Alliance, Georges Pitour, leader of the People's Republican Movement, has decided to launch another attack on the Socialist government's ruling power on this issue.

(End of this chapter)