Father of France

Chapter 55 Collecting a Singles Tax
Koman was a young soldier who didn't like to beat around the bush. At that time, in the Soviet Union, if Lubyanka wanted to, everything he did would be exposed, so he might as well do things openly.

We should openly learn from the Gulag's management practices; after all, it has been operating for so many years and is certainly much more mature than France's approach when it was just starting out.

This trip to Moscow to capitalize on a major diplomatic event is just as perfectly legitimate.

Just as he had envisioned, no one knew how the future situation would unfold. On the surface, Britain, the United States, and France were united, with Britain and the United States acting as one. France's apparent neutrality was also a positive development for the Soviet Union. After discussions at the highest levels, Stalin decided to seize this opportunity.

In terms of diplomacy, the Soviet Union made an exception for France's bid for a permanent seat on the Security Council. In terms of trade, France and the Soviet Union were already complementary in trade, so reaching an agreement was a win-win situation.

The French economy has been severely damaged, with industrial capacity down by 40%, and it urgently needs external resources such as energy and raw materials to restore production.

Although the Soviet Union suffered heavy losses in the war, it possessed abundant resources such as oil, coal, and timber, which could compensate for France's shortages.

However, in terms of trade methods, the Soviet Union took the initiative to propose using an accounting model for trade, which could avoid dependence on the US dollar.

As for trade institutions, Georgy Pidul proposed establishing a joint economic committee to regularly negotiate trade quotas. Molotov readily agreed, as this was a familiar approach for Moscow.

After finalizing the details of the various terms, it was time for the formal signing. Amidst the flashes of reporters' cameras, the signing of the Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Trade Assistance was faithfully captured. In this photo, behind Georges Pitoure as he signs the treaty, there is a French soldier wearing a black top hat.

"I witnessed the Franco-Soviet Treaty." Koeman maintained his composure amidst the flashing lights, a smile on his face as if he were genuinely pleased with the progress in relations between the two countries.

But really, it's just about successfully riding the wave of popularity and feeling happy. There's no need for too many of these kinds of trending topics; the problem is that there aren't enough.

George Pitour, as the provisional government's foreign minister, was quite busy on the eve of victory and could not stay in Moscow for long. He arrived at Moscow airport with a lot of gains, but he still gave Koeman a month to investigate and applied to the Soviet government through the French embassy.

Koeman stood ramrod straight and watched George Pidul board the plane and leave. The feedback from the other party for the successful signing of the Franco-Italian Community agreement was already more than enough, and he was grateful for it.

While remaining at the French Embassy in Moscow, Corman received a study tour arranged by the embassy, ​​which not only catered to Corman's thirst for knowledge but also allowed him to arrange his own time.

However, the embassy secretary, Henry, still explained the difference between the Soviet Union and this country: "Koeman, you can't escape their sight. Therefore, you will be accompanied by Soviet NKVD officers during your inspection."

“I know, I’ve never thought about leaving. Soldiers always act with integrity,” Koman replied with a smile. “I am loyal to this country, no matter where I am.”

Koeman thought to himself, "Is this even a problem? Why do the French have so many internal monologues? So what if there are Soviet soldiers around? It's not a big deal." Even in Moscow, the Soviet capital, the traces of war still lingered. It was already the end of the year, and while the weather in Italy wasn't too bad, it was a different story in a country at a latitude like the Soviet Union.

Koeman had a slight sense of what the Germans felt when they looked towards Moscow in the winter of 1941.

Beside a reconstructed version of a war-damaged building, women, their headscarves covering their mouths and noses, were shoveling bricks through the ruins. Their wheelbarrows were piled with two materials—usable red bricks from the rubble, and newly arrived precast concrete slabs. These were likely the factory's first post-war products, their surfaces still bearing the rough, porous texture of the slabs.

Koman looked at the female laborers who were holding up half the sky and said to Pavlov, who was following beside him, "It seems that the Soviet Union suffered huge losses in labor force in this war."

After being relayed by the translator, Pavlov vehemently denied it, saying, "It's only because of the war that men are in the army, and that men and women are equal, and women also bear national responsibilities."

"Is that so?" Koeman looked deeply at the NKVD officer with a face full of patriotic expression and said sarcastically, "But today, it's not just one or two places that are using women for work. It's not just the Soviet Union that knows what kind of style the German army is. We French know it too. In World War I, the French army lost more than two million soldiers. The Soviet Union's population was about five times that of France at the time. That means that the Soviet Union directly lost more than ten million people, and the vast majority of them should be men."

Koman's calm and analytical tone filled Pavlov with indignation. He couldn't possibly know how much labor the Soviet Union had lost, given his rank, but Koman had seen that the labor force in the reconstruction sites in the capital consisted entirely of women. What about in other places?
"That's an underestimation. Do you really think the German army was very disciplined, maintaining perfect discipline and committing no crimes after invading the Soviet Union?" Koeman shuddered. "Let me tell you a real statistic: there are currently 200,000 illegitimate children of Germans in France. I'm sure you know that rape was the least serious atrocity during the war. Do you even need to think about the other war crimes?"

Koman suddenly looked at the pretty translator, spread his hands and said, "Look, even the translator is a beautiful young woman. I'm starting to wonder if I'm here for an engagement ceremony instead of an inspection."

"Lieutenant Koman, are you overthinking this?" Pavlov was almost amused by Koman's speculation, but he didn't forget to deny it. "After the war, all the men will go home."

“Population loss is a byproduct of war.” Koman saw through Pavlov’s denial but didn’t say it, and changed the subject, “However, if we want to restore population growth, we will definitely need to use some policies.”

"The French guests need not worry about this; the government has already established the Order of Heroic Mothers," Pavlov said irritably, indicating that the Soviet Union had already recognized the problem.

"That's not enough," Koeman said dismissively. "Rewards and punishments must go hand in hand. You can't just reward without punishment, or punish without reward, otherwise the effect won't be good. In addition to establishing a reward system, there must also be a punishment system. Isn't that something the Ministry of the Interior excels at? Heroic Mothers only cover married families, what about unmarried men and women?"

A foreigner told NKVD officers that the NKVD was unprofessional, and Pavlov felt his job was being challenged. "Lieutenant Koman, are you saying you have a solution?"

"Considering the war factor, some women may not be able to find a partner, so objectively, it is possible to collect a single tax only from men."

Without hesitation, Koeman replied, "It would be great if it could be implemented in France. France's current situation is suitable for going further and accepting both men and women, but unfortunately, the French system has problems."

(End of this chapter)