Father of France

Chapter 228 Mediterranean Railway Proposal

Since the Socialist Party ousted the French Communist Party from the cabinet over the Marshall Plan, the current Socialist government has been in a precarious state, and the political coalition of the three parties in France has become a mere shell.

Originally facing two opponents, the People's Republican Movement, comprised of two left-wing parties, became even more adept at maneuvering.

Everything has two sides. France's parliamentary system leads to government instability, but it is a good thing for the disadvantaged People's Republican Movement. After de Gaulle's Fifth Republic, a single party would have been unable to make a difference if it faced two powerful enemies on the same political spectrum, but it could in the Fourth Republic.

This was an opportunity for the People's Republican Movement and for George Pidul, and he decided to seize it.

For most French people, the overseas departments and French Africa in a broader sense remain a non-negotiable issue. Georges Pitoure's aim in this attack is to use this issue to extend to the macro-level question of patriotism.

Currently, the top two figures in the Popular Republican Movement, Georges Pitoure and Schuman, immediately began discussing this matter. Their ultimate goal, of course, is to regain power, but the question of whether France can launch the Western Mediterranean Railway project and whether it has the capability to do so is also very important.

"Based on some experience from French Indochina, considering cost and technology, it should be fine."

George Pidul was still undecided and asked Schumann, "But we must be careful when starting such a large project at this time. I wonder if there is any experience in Europe that we can learn from."

"Of course there are. Our enemy, Germany, used a similar method to quickly emerge from the crisis after the outbreak of the Great Depression. We cannot only look at the development of the military industry. At that time, Germany also built many large-scale projects and absorbed a large amount of labor."

Schumann's answer did not disappoint George Pidul, who cited Germany during the Great Depression as an example.

Although Schumann was unfamiliar with the term "work relief," the basic principles were the same. Germany's numerous engineering projects during the Great Depression played a significant role in helping Germany emerge from the economic crisis, and these were valuable experiences that France could learn from.

Germany's largest planned project is the Imperial Highway, which is designed to high standards and features wide shoulders, gentle curves, and unique bridge designs.

Other major projects, such as canal projects and water supply systems, were also strongly promoted by Germany at the time.

The goal was achieved successfully, absorbing a large number of unemployed people from Germany, experiences that France can now replicate.

Speaking of the overseas departments, the situation there is much worse than in mainland France. The overseas departments have little industry to begin with, and this wave of construction is mainly due to housing and public facilities issues for immigrants.

The housing problem can't continue for much longer. Once the housing project is completed, most people in the overseas provinces will return to their original economic structure, only with a decent new house, and continue living their original lives.

However, once the Western Mediterranean Railway project is launched, it will greatly boost the economy of overseas provinces and even the protected countries of French North Africa.

“This plan is actually excellent, although the timing of its proposal isn’t the best,” Schumann said with a sigh. “Just as you said, George, the overseas provinces cannot have such a large economic gap with the mainland for a long time. They definitely shouldn’t be given voting rights for the time being, otherwise it would greatly impact the current political landscape. But in terms of social infrastructure, we absolutely cannot remain unchanged.”

George Pidul nodded and said, "What we can expect now is that the Socialist Party will definitely use the fiscal deficit as a reason to block it. We must present an accurate conclusion that the economic benefits brought by the project outweigh the investment. This is what we need to do now, otherwise it won't be this simple."

Schumann did not answer immediately, clearly weighing the options on the issue and figuring out how to refute the obstacles the Socialist Party might be setting up.

"The United States is no longer an obstacle for us; we are only dealing with the Socialists. As for Britain, well, they've lost their minds," Schumann concluded after a long silence.

The United States was at the height of its national power, and what it was anxious about was that Europe's economic recovery was not fast enough, that the United States was not exporting enough goods, and that Europe's ability to resist the Soviet Union was too weak.

Despite Britain's rhetoric about European unity, when it comes to actually needing Britain to step in and work with France to promote it, the country is unreliable. France has already raised similar issues with Britain, but Britain's response has been very lukewarm.

It's not hard to guess what the British were thinking: integrating Western Europe would strengthen the interests of Germany and France and weaken Britain's influence on the European continent, so the British had no intention of doing this for them.

Even at this point, Britain was still preoccupied with the integration of Western European countries, wondering about its own remaining influence. This greatly displeased Schuman, who saw Britain as doomed. The United States was not an obstacle; as long as Britain ignored him, he was unimportant. Dealing with a Socialist government was not a problem for Schuman. He used the Socialist Party's hesitation on the Marshall Plan—though it was the French Communist Party's fault—as a good starting point, and then extended it to the Western Mediterranean Railway.

The first question was a feint, while the second question was the opportunity to oust the Socialist Party from power.

After some discussion, George Pidul and Schuman, the two leaders of the People's Republican Movement, reached a consensus on this issue. After reaching a consensus, the two decided to have a proposal drafted and prepare to convene the National Assembly to submit it.

On this issue, the People's Republican Movement can also win over African parliamentarians. The National Assembly currently has about fifty African members, which is a considerable force in French politics in the early postwar period. Under the framework of the French Federation, its overseas colonies are no longer simple territories, but are divided into overseas departments and overseas territories.

These African colonies had the right to send members to the French National Assembly in Paris. These members represented their constituencies in Africa, and most of them were native Africans. They were nominally elected, but in reality, they were more like appointed.

Although Algeria is under military rule, it does have representatives in the National Assembly. In a parliamentary system like France, a small party can become a key factor in politics.

In another world, France is long held hostage by Algerian parliamentarians and the political parties they associate with, and is mired in the Algerian War.

These members of parliament still exist, and since the issue of North Africa is involved, Schuman can win them over and secure a share of funding for the Marshall Plan.

The inclusion of these lawmakers will also enhance the influence of this People's Republic Movement proposal.

That's how parliamentary systems work, and Schumann immediately began to network with these black-faced parliamentarians to some extent.

With these members of parliament on board, it became easier to manipulate the most sensitive issue within the French Federation—whether overseas territories were colonies—in order to force the Socialist Party to comply.

This proposal, once it began, was bound to involve the French military, because Morocco and Tunisia were both French protectorates, which are different from overseas territories. France's interests in these two protectorates were purely due to the presence of French troops. Georges Pitoure did not mention the French military, but this proposal was inseparable from the French military.

After a period of preparation, on an ordinary day at the end of September, the prepared People's Republican Movement convened the French National Assembly to begin discussions on the package of proposals brought about by the Marshall Plan.

The so-called Marshall Plan was merely a pretext for convening the National Assembly; the subsequent package of plans contained much more.

You are in me, and I am in you; this is where all things go wrong...

While the major political parties were engaged in heated debates over the Marshall Plan, the question of where the money from the Marshall Plan would be used began to take center stage in the discussion, and the time was ripe.

"Many respected members of parliament seem to have never realized what the real France is, or where the fate of France is determined."

People's Republican Movement MP Moreau seemed to have reached his limit: "We all agree that the French mainland suffered heavy losses in the war, but many MPs are stingy with even a glance at the contributions made by the overseas departments and territories in this process of French liberation. They are so stingy that they don't even care whether our brothers in Africa also need financial injections to develop their local economies in such a major event."

As soon as Moro finished speaking, the members of the People's Republican Movement burst into enthusiastic applause, as if it had been rehearsed. About fifty African members of parliament also joined in the cheering. In any case, it seemed to be a large enough force to be reckoned with.

Many of these African parliamentarians are future founding fathers of African nations, and it would be easy for them to form an atmosphere group in the French National Assembly. New proposals have emerged.

As if inspired, Moreau presented a new proposal in his own name: "I propose that a portion of the Marshall Plan funds, at least one hundred million US dollars, be used for a railway connection project in North Africa. This would allow phosphate mines from Casablanca to be transported to factories in Marseille within ten days, and would allow industrial products from Paris to reach the edge of the Sahara without hindrance! It would also be a bond that unites France and our African brothers."

“We cannot selfishly focus only on our own territory; Africa’s overseas provinces and territories also need development.”

At Schuman's signal, other members of parliament immediately stood up to support Morrow's proposal. "Look at our African brothers in parliament, how excited they are right now. Paris cannot be so selfish as to forget the contributions made by its overseas territories."

(End of this chapter)