Word: laval
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Chief reason for hanging Pierre Laval: the Premier's drastic wage slashes, affecting huge numbers of already underpaid Frenchmen. Chief reason for not hanging Laval: his equally drastic efforts to force down food prices, rents, etc., along with wages in a great "Equality of Sacrifice" to keep the French franc at its present gold value. Last week Premier Laval, who locked up his Cabinet for 14 hours while the Ministers wrangled over and finally approved his first 28 emergency decrees (TIME, July 29), locked them up again and got action on some 40 more decrees. As before, these were...
...From now on the great financial-danger has been set aside," crowed Chanticleer Laval. "Later will come a great revival of business activity if the disciplined nation responds to the effort the Cabinet is pursuing...
These decree efforts were featured last week by earmarking two billion francs ($132,500,000) to be spent with all speed on employment-creating public works, half by the national Government and the other half by the 86 French prefectures. Obviously, the moment was opportune for Premier Laval to pull tighter the reins by which Paris controls France. For the first time in history all prefects were summoned to the Capital. Most made their trip in their official limousines and gleaming, long-snouted Renaults roared in over all the main roads of France...
This was to say that prefects must be more energetic in suppressing both radical and reactionary groups now hankering for a coup d'etat against the French Republic; must enforce Premier Laval's emergency decrees, especially those forcing down food prices, with greater vigor; and must not play politics with local disaffected groups. True Frenchmen and therefore argumentative, some 30 prefects next made the Premier listen to their views on how France should be run, each speaking out with vigor before the assembly about special conditions in his department...
...protect creditors, reduce the profit permitted on contracts with the State, increase the profit tax paid by directors of large concerns, reduce the interest rates on commercial loans and generally contribute in involved fashion to the budget-balancing, despite the two added billions expenditure for public works, M. Laval has set as his goal...