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Even General McGinnis couldn't reach it.

So Josie was also helpless... To be honest, he was still puzzled as to why, at some point in the future, Captain America and Tony Stark were able to so easily infiltrate that heavily guarded military research institute in New Jersey.

As for Hydra, apart from Ophelia, who was under his control, the higher-ups valued the Allied high command more than him, a businessman. It wouldn't be easy for Josie to get these things.

In Ophelia's memory, there was no such special warehouse at all... After all, her status there was not that high, and she was just passing through Paris at the time, not the person in charge of Hydra in Paris.

Now, things that he had always longed for but could never get his hands on, were so easily obtained by Aldo. Josie felt it was truly a dream come true.

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Chapter 89 Exploiting the French

“Mr. Kahn, can’t we have more?” In the presidential suite reception room of the Grand George V Hotel in Paris, de Gaulle looked at Josh Kahn in front of him and said with lingering resentment, “My people are starving!”

“Mr. de Gaulle, I am a businessman, not a philanthropist, and besides, we are not French. The ton of canned meat is a gesture of respect for your personal character… Furthermore, I must remind you that you are not a legitimate representative of France!” Josie put down her coffee cup and said somewhat coldly.

It was already September, and while the Allied forces were still clearing out the remaining German resistance forces throughout France, they were also making final preparations for the retake of the Eagle's Nest.

However, the last French man standing in front of Josie has been busy with something else lately.

That is the food problem.

France is experiencing food shortages, and Paris is experiencing food shortages.

As a long-established agricultural power in Europe, it was also the world's second-largest colonial country after Britain.

France has not experienced a food shortage for one or two hundred years. Even during World War I, France had a very abundant supply of food and other industrial and agricultural products.

However, with the rapid defeat in World War II, the situation changed completely.

Germany could not sustain its massive military system solely through domestic production.

Naturally, they would plunder from the occupied countries.

If it were a country like Austria, Hungary, or Czechoslovakia, which are considered "Germany's own people," Germany would naturally be less aggressive.

But when it comes to a long-standing enemy like France, no one holds back when it comes to taking action.

从1940年开始到1944年被占领期间，法国北部德国占领区生产的72.5%的小麦、100%的食糖、87%的黄油、64.6%的牛肉都被德国强行征收或强行以低价买走。

Most of these agricultural products were either loaded onto trains and transported back to Germany or were given priority to the German troops occupying France.

The situation was slightly better in the southern Vichy Free Zone, but 27.5% of the wheat, 13% of the butter, and 35.4% of the beef were still shipped to Germany.

This only covers food; not to mention other supplies.

So even though the German troops in Paris surrendered, sparing this jewel of Europe from the ravages of war, a well-preserved city doesn't guarantee food. People will go hungry or be without cigarettes.

American soldiers outside could spend the night with a beautiful French girl with just a pack of cigarettes and a few pieces of chewing gum, much cheaper than British girls.

Not to mention tycoons like Josie, the world-famous George V Hotel where he is currently staying was purchased directly with a batch of supplies that were extremely cheap for him.

Lyndon Schneider, who acted as his intermediary, was also extremely busy after arriving in Paris. He directly borrowed supplies from the US military's transport teams, with convoys of vehicles being transported into the city from who-knows-where outside the city every day.

All goods were refused francs... After being occupied for so long, the French economy was already on the verge of collapse, with terrible inflation, and this was only the beginning.

While the British economy managed to stay relatively stable after the war, the French economy declined steadily until de Gaulle came to power in the 60s, at which point it finally stabilized.

Yes, de Gaulle, a French hero, was only temporarily the leader for a few months after the liberation of Paris. He was soon ousted by the newly formed government and remained inactive until the 60s when he returned to public life.

More importantly, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the United States do not recognize de Gaulle's current status as interim leader... They only recognize de Gaulle's military post, not his government post.

This is why Josie said that de Gaulle was not the legitimate representative of France.

In this situation, Josie would be out of her mind to accept francs.

If you want to buy his goods, bring US dollars or real money!

High-end jewelry? That's fine, but you'll have to get a 70% discount.

Land title or house title? That's fine too, and you can get a fair price.

Factories and mines? So-so, half price.

Pounds? Okay, but I don't want ten or twenty pounds, and I need to give you a 20% discount.

In just over a month, Lyndon had earned more wealth and assets than he had in the UK.

Of course, such a lucrative business is bound to attract the covetous eyes of others.

But this time, Josie directly had the US military stationed in Paris transport goods and maintain order, and his salary was cigarettes and alcohol; asking for US dollars was perfectly reasonable.

Who dares to touch his business?

Even the last man in France had to condescend to visit a businessman like Josie just to beg for alms.

But as Josie said, he's a businessman, not a philanthropist... If he were in his home country, he wouldn't mind doing more charity work for the sake of his reputation, but in France? There's absolutely no need!

So no matter how much de Gaulle pleaded, Josie ultimately only managed to appease him with a ton of canned meat... To be honest, that was already a concession from Josie.

That ton of canned meat, if placed outside now, could buy an entire street.

"Then I'll buy it from you on behalf of the French government, is that alright?" Seeing that Josie showed no sign of backing down, de Gaulle looked helpless. He had thought that everything would get better after the liberation of France, but after serving as the representative of the provisional government for less than a month, he found that the situation was far more complicated than he had imagined.

A ton of canned meat may sound like a lot, but for the whole of Paris, it's just a drop in the ocean—there are millions of mouths to feed in Paris.

“Your Excellency de Gaulle, it’s not that I’m being harsh, but does the current French provisional government… have any money?” Josie said, shrugging helplessly.

What is a provisional government? It's just a scapegoat that does the dirty work and gets all the blame.

Only true patriots like de Gaulle, or people with ulterior motives, would venture into this place.

We have neither money nor supplies.

That is to say, there are still a few armies that are barely passable... but even these few armies were only assembled by De Gaulle after begging and pleading with everyone in Africa.

“We can mortgage it…!” However, before de Gaulle could finish speaking, Josie raised her hand to interrupt him.

“Your Excellency de Gaulle, don’t try to write empty promises to me. If your provisional government had any decent collateral, you would be at our embassy right now!” Josie said impatiently.

When Josie mentioned going to the US embassy, ​​she was actually referring to the Lend-Lease Act, proposed by the US as the "leader" of the Allied forces during World War II, which provided massive support to Britain, Russia, and many other allies.

However, France received the least support among them.

The reason is simple: as an occupied territory, France did not have a truly recognized official government.

This also means that no one in France has the right to pledge any French national assets to the United States in exchange for supplies.

The only American material support France received came from the two Free French armored divisions under de Gaulle's command.

Even so, it was only after de Gaulle promised Algeria independence that they received some donations and various empty promises that they were able to obtain equipment for two armored divisions from the United States. In the original timeline, the food crisis was also resolved with the help of the United States. However, the war is not over yet, and the United States must prioritize supplying the military with its resources.

After supplying the army, the priority was to supply Britain.

France will have to wait at least another month or two to receive aid from the United States.

The question of how France would repay its debts after the war also stemmed from the lack of a formal government.

In the original timeline, after France was officially liberated and its own government was established, de Gaulle was immediately ousted from power.

Almost none of the empty promises he made were fulfilled.

For example, Algeria gained independence through war.

The initial loans from the United States were repaid by opening up the French film market, but this plan was abandoned after a few years due to public opposition.

Look at France, even daring to renege on its debts to the United States. If Josie believed de Gaulle and gave him the supplies, it would truly be like throwing good money after bad.

Hearing Josie's unwavering refusal, de Gaulle's expression darkened. He knew that his words were meaningless, but he had no choice but to make various promises, even at the cost of his pride, for the sake of the country.

To be honest, this last French man was quite pitiful, constantly bearing responsibilities for the country that he shouldn't have had to bear.

But despite feeling sorry for them, Josie wouldn't sacrifice her own interests to help them.

but……

“Actually, you do have something to pledge!” Josie tapped the table and said.

“What do you want? As long as it’s reasonable, we can consider it!” De Gaulle said, his eyes flashing as he heard Josie’s words.

"Hehe, you don't have the final say on French products, but German products are still pretty good!" Josie chuckled.

De Gaulle was a very intelligent man, capable of single-handedly transforming France from a victim to a victor. He immediately understood the meaning behind Josie's words.

That's right, he, as the interim leader, has no say in the affairs of French national assets.

However, as a representative figure of the French military, he had considerable autonomy over the partitioning of Germany and its allies after the victory.

Josie's idea was to use the still unknown postwar division of spoils by France as collateral in exchange for supplies.

“Absolutely. All war reparations France receives after the war can be chosen by Your Excellency, but the value cannot exceed the value of the materials you provide by much.” With almost no hesitation, de Gaulle agreed to Josie’s conditions.

The saying goes, "If you don't use your power, it will expire." De Gaulle understood this principle well.

“Of course!” Josie readily agreed.

After World War II, although France was only the least important of the four major Allied countries, it still had a considerable occupied territory, which it occupied for four years from 1945 to 1949. The output there was enough to repay the supplies supplied by Josie.

Originally, Austria and France would also have occupied territories, but if the operation to return to the Eagle's Nest succeeds, Austria will likely become one of the victorious powers, and France will naturally not get any.

"The whole of Paris needs at least 120,000 tons of grain to get out of this predicament. How much can you provide, and what is the price?" De Gaulle asked impatiently.

Besides the German plundering, another reason for France's food shortage is this year's poor wheat harvest.

France's wheat is mainly winter wheat, which is harvested in June and July each year. Due to the intense war and the German rush to harvest, France was only able to harvest less than one-fifth of the normal amount of wheat. This amount of grain was simply not enough to feed the entire country.