The economic crisis was still raging, and all industries were affected, but the shipping industry was an exception.
Influenced by the Government of Vienna's policies, the business of European shipping companies increased dramatically, and there was a boom against the market.
First was the Eastern European immigration policy, and millions of people from East and West Prussia went to Africa, and now there was a wave of cross-border "resettlement."
Shipping companies engaged in international trade were living a good life, and even the economy was showing signs of recovery.
Of course, this was just an illusion. The economic crisis was more serious than it seemed, and in order to attack their competitors, Britain and Austria continued to play dumping.
With the dual advantages of technology and raw materials, the cost of industrial products in Britain and Austria was lower than in Europe, which created favorable conditions for dumping.
Everyone was losing money, but they could still break even, so the game could naturally continue. In order to kill their competitors, the capitalists of Britain and Austria also put in a lot of money.
As a result, the call to withdraw from the free trade system and establish a tariff protection system was also growing in Europe.
In Paris, a revolution had just ended, and the blood had not yet dried. The citizens of Paris once again took to the streets to protest against the dumping of goods by Britain and Austria, and to ask the government to protect the market.
Listening to the "voices of the capitalists" outside, no, the voices of the people, Napoleon Iv in the temporary palace felt a lot of pressure.
Economic Minister Erza carefully analyzed, "Although the domestic economy is showing signs of recovery, the speed of recovery is too slow.
Most industries are struggling under the impact of foreign goods.
To recover the economy in a short period of time, the best way is to withdraw from the free trade system and protect the domestic market.
But in this way, we will be easily isolated internationally. We need to pull more countries to withdraw from the free trade system, and everyone will share the pressure from Britain and Austria.
Under the dumping policy of Britain and Austria, many countries in the world are suffering, and all countries urgently need to change the situation.
As a world power, France has the responsibility to lead everyone to get rid of the oppression of Britain and Austria, and to establish a harmonious business system without dumping. "
The first part was the expertise of the economic minister, but the latter part was obviously stolen. Generally speaking, pulling in allies was within the scope of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Minister Terence Burkin frowned, "Sir, it's not that simple.
The industrial countries were mainly affected by the dumping of Britain and Austria. Colonial empires like the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal had limited industrialization, so the impact was very limited.
Perhaps they were still cheering and jumping for joy, excited about the price reduction of their goods. They will not stand with us unless their own interests are at stake.
Other than us, only Belgium and North Germany have been affected. Are you sure we want to rope them in? "
It wasn't a matter of whether or not he could pull her over. The key was that he couldn't pull her over at all.
The dumping of goods by Britain and Austria would only cause them to lose money at most. It was impossible for it to continue. They could just bear with it and it would be over soon. The French wanted to swallow them whole.
No matter how hard the Government of Paris tried to cover it up, the voices of the people moving eastward still made Belgium and Germany tremble with fear. If they didn't hug the thighs of England and Austria, how would they be able to sleep?
Economic Minister Elsa replied without hesitation, "Of course! After the outbreak of the economic crisis, the number of unemployed people in various countries increased, and the governments of Belgium and Germany were also under great pressure.
I don't think they will refuse if they can get out of this crisis. As for their worries, he would give them a guarantee.
We can sign a treaty with the two countries to guarantee their national defense and let them serve as our raw materials source. "
After listening to the economic minister's explanation, Terence Bourkin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He asked, "Sir, do you think the rulers of Belgium and Germany are fools?
You have to know that they are different from us. They don't have colonies to support them.
After withdrawing from the free trade system, who will they sell their goods to? Where will the industrial raw materials come from?
To be our raw materials source, sir, you really dare to dream!
How are you going to ensure their safety? How are you going to make them trust you? "
The increase in unemployment these days was really not a big deal. Whether it was the major colonial empires or the American countries, they all welcomed European immigrants.
Moreover, Belgium and North Germany were the key areas for Austrian immigration. With the colonial government in charge of ship tickets, even if they lost their jobs and livelihoods, everyone could still migrate overseas.
The government just had to cooperate with the publicity and they could send the trouble away. Without the revolutionary pressure brought by the wave of unemployment, everyone naturally had to weigh the pros and cons.
The market and industrial raw materials were only one aspect. The key was to mix with Britain and Austria to raise the export price of coal. Wouldn't it be nice to earn huge profits?
They had to be out of their minds to reject the benefits that were delivered to their doorstep and run to be the raw materials source for the French.
Security was even more of a joke. If a treaty could work, then what was the point of having an army?
The credibility of France was actually only a little better than that of Britain and Russia. If they wanted to rely on this to conquer the world, they would need the Government of Paris to work hard.
Did the Minister of Economy not know these problems? Obviously, that was impossible. How could someone who could climb to such a high position be an idiot?
However, sometimes it was rare to be stupid, especially for politicians. Pretending to be stupid was a required course.
Basically, all the weird policies were born in this context. It looked funny on the surface, but there was often an invisible chain of interests hidden behind it.
It was the domestic industrial and commercial capitalists who needed to implement trade protection. If they wanted to develop the economy, they couldn't avoid dealing with these people. After a while, everyone became one of their own.
The capitalists needed to make money, and Elsa also needed political achievements. They were all beneficiaries of trade protection policies.
Knowing that the reason was not tenable, Minister of Economy Elsa bit the bullet and argued, "Don't we still have the Americans?
The United States of America is also about to complete industrialization. They are also victims of Britain and Austria and urgently need to get rid of this shackle. "
Everyone was angry at the mention of their deceptive ally. In order to support the independence of the Americans, France sold everything it had. After the outbreak of the war against France, the first major thing the US government did was to hit France while it was down.
Of course, Napoleon Iii still retaliated. During the Civil War, Britain, the Fao, and the Spanish worked together and successfully divided the United States.
Minister of Finance Roy Vernon echoed, "The domestic economic situation is very bad, and the government's revenue has dropped significantly. Our debt has reached a very dangerous level.
Maybe you haven't noticed, but we are now the government with the highest debt in the world. We have to pay a huge amount of interest every month.
If this situation doesn't change, we might go bankrupt one day in the future. "
France, which didn't have a war, actually had more government debt than the Russian Empire. It might be hard to believe, but it was an indisputable fact.
As the first country in the world to rely on government investment to stimulate the economy, France was in deficit most of the time. Over time, the accumulated deficit became an astronomical figure.
Everyone's life did get better in the short term, but it also overdrew the future.
From the time of Napoleon Iii, which began with the transformation of Paris, the government invested in infrastructure to stimulate the economy, and the French economy entered a golden age.
This model could have continued for many years, but not long ago, Britain and Austria attacked the French financial system, and the value of the franc fell by one-third.
Then came the economic crisis and civil war. A series of combined blows directly destroyed the French financial system, and the Government of Paris's financing ability declined.
In this context, the Government of France had to tighten its belt.
Napoleon Iv nodded, "Withdrawing from the free trade system is something that can't be helped. If the domestic economic situation improves, we can still go back.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must try to rope in as many allies as possible to share the international pressure with us.
At the same time, we have to do a good job of explaining and try to make everyone understand the difficulties we are facing, and reduce the hostility of the international community towards us. "
Withdrawing from the free trade system, at worst, they would offend Britain and Austria and be isolated for a while.
Anyway, they were used to being isolated. If they wanted to be isolated, then so be it.
If they continued to insist on staying in the free trade system, then they would be shelled for a long time.
Maybe one day, Britain and Austria would feel that the return on shelling was too low, and they would start to eat sheep.
The world was so strange. Driven by interests, France actually had to stand with the people it didn't like.
Of course, compared to the "Blasphemy Alliance" in the past, this was child's play.
The United States of America was excluded, but that was because the Allied Nations did a good job in public relations, and they were at ease as the raw material source and commodity dumping market for everyone. The great powers naturally welcomed this kind of underling who could bring benefits and had a good attitude.
In essence, everyone was still in the cultural circle. Even if they didn't like each other, it was only because of interests, and there was no deep hatred.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Foreign Minister Terence Bourkin replied gloomily.
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