Father of France

Chapter 26 Entering the Luxury Goods Market

In the 21st century, it is no exaggeration to say that luxury goods are the foundation of France's national identity. After all, no other country besides France sells handcrafted clothing and footwear at such high profits.

It should be noted that the industrial profits of this major Eastern country are actually very low. In order to export, they have almost squeezed costs to the limit. They may even lose money if labor costs increase slightly. They have already turned their attention to automated factories.

Fortunately, we have entered a stage of declining birth rates, and employment pressure is decreasing; otherwise, it would be a real problem.

The average profit margin of China's commodity exports, especially light industrial products, is only three percent, while those reaching ten percent are mostly high-end manufacturing industries such as new energy vehicles and drones.

French clothing and footwear, relying on their established brand advantages, can achieve profit margins of over 10%. In other words, French clothing and footwear are roughly equivalent to the new energy vehicles and drones of the major Eastern country.

No country in the world, except France, can sell clothing and footwear—products originating from the lowest-profit textile industry—at luxury goods prices. Not even Italy can do it.

Many luxury brands are still perceived as Italian, but they have long been controlled by the French.

In this era, French luxury goods were still competitive. This was a legacy of history. Before the 19th century, France was not the France after the Napoleonic Wars, where it could only submit to the British.

French is the common language of European royalty, and French culture is renowned far and wide. In the German song "Ode to King Friedrich," there are lyrics about the French king using luxury goods to pay his soldiers.

These lyrics describe the common outfit of Louis XIV, the Sun King, during the Bourbon dynasty in France: stockings and high heels. Stockings and high heels had existed for a long time, but they became famous and a trend among the European aristocracy because Louis XIV always wore them.

Comparing the France of the Sun King Louis XIV and the France of Napoleon, in terms of national strength, the France of the Sun King was far superior to the France of Napoleon. This is quite normal, as a country's national strength and its demonstrated military power may not necessarily be present at the same time.

In terms of national strength, the Second German Empire under Wilhelm II was certainly far superior to the Führer's Greater German Empire, but the Führer's Greater German Empire performed better on the battlefield than Wilhelm II's.

Koeman pointed to the seats in the open space. These seats were where the Bastille guards rested, but they weren't dirty; in fact, they were very clean.

At that moment, several soldiers from the Youth Division appeared at the gate, bringing in the prisoners they had just captured. Koman immediately recognized them as soldiers from the Jerusalem Regiment. He could still recognize the different regiments of the Youth Division, as their armbands were different.

The armband of the Jerusalem Division is a white background with a gold cross, consisting of one large and four small crosses, which is actually the symbol of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Koman nodded to his comrades from the other units who came in, and then his gaze fell back on Chanel. He didn't stand on ceremony with the old lady. Even if she was a beauty when she was young, she was over sixty now and didn't look like Garbo anymore. Why be polite?
Before she could speak, Chanel, who had witnessed the entire scene, praised, "You have perfectly captured the youthful spirit of the young man."

"Ms. Chanel, you truly are a woman who moves among the powerful and wealthy in various countries. If you were younger, you would be amazing."

Koeman chuckled and shook his head, saying that since the old lady was so clever, he didn't need to test her. "Every soldier in the Youth Division, except for the officers, was recruited by me. After completing their files, I joined the unit myself. Now, the Youth Division is responsible for punishing traitors throughout France. Of course, we don't have the power of trial." "Very similar..." Chanel seemed to realize something upon hearing Koeman's description of the Youth Division's work, but hesitated to speak.

"Like the Gestapo?" Koeman sneered. "All countries are pretty much the same, and our units all serve roughly the same purpose."

Chanel's German lover was a Gestapo officer, so it's not surprising that he was familiar with this type of force. He had already achieved success in business and entered the wealthy class before the war, and he was adept at social maneuvering and had complex interpersonal relationships with high-ranking officials in various countries.

"If Ms. Chanel is willing, she can return to Paris now and rebuild her brand. With us here, there will be no problem, and the investigation into you and the Germans can stop here."

Koeman stated his conditions in a businesslike tone. Due to the war, Chanel's business had been interrupted. In another world, Chanel returned to Paris in the 1950s to resume her business. Unsurprisingly, she succeeded in starting a new business and thus created the world-renowned Chanel brand.

This offer was quite generous, but Chanel, having spent years navigating the world of high-ranking officials, knew that nothing comes for free. "So what are your terms?"

Although the offer was very tempting, Chanel was not blinded by it. Even if the other party could do it, there must be conditions waiting for her. Thirty years ago, she might have thought that Corman would become her devoted lover, but she did not have that confidence now.

“We’ll relaunch your business together, but Coco Chanel will still have to be in the spotlight.” Corman was also interested in this French industry, which had low technical barriers to entry and could generate huge profits.

He could help Chanel survive by pulling her down now, but it wouldn't be difficult for him to eliminate her altogether.

"Ms. Chanel, can you find anyone more patriotic than us? Soldiers are all simple-minded, born to serve their country."

"I need some time to prepare." Chanel hesitated for a moment before agreeing. She wanted to observe the situation in France, knowing that the French Communist Party was still around, which was quite frightening.

“No problem. I have always respected women’s opinions. My mother is a woman, and my future wife will also be a woman,” Coman replied expressionlessly. This was an excellent opportunity to enter the luxury goods industry, so he had plenty of patience to wait.

Koeman stood up and watched Chanel leave the Bastille, then turned back into the prison. He met Alain coming towards him and said directly, "Find me a savvy French collaborator, and I'll promote him."

Alan raised an eyebrow. It seemed like less than an hour ago, the other party had told him not to use methods that could harm the body or to torture him to extract a confession. And now?

However, Alan also had a flexible moral bottom line. The choice between his comrades and traitors was still easy. Before long, accompanied by heavy blows and screams, another French collaborator was hit by the iron fist of justice.

At the Paris City Hall, Henri Frey, Secretary General of the Prime Minister's Office, informed de Gaulle of a message: "General Dracon, commander of the First Army, has left Sardinia to prepare for an offensive into Italy from the southeast. General Dracon will come to Paris to learn about the provisional government's views on the next phase of the war."

(End of this chapter)