Raynaud, Paul

Raynaud's father was a successful textile industrialist. Thanks to the well-being of the family, Reynaud had the opportunity to study law at the Sorbonne University.

He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1919 to 1924, representing the Lower Alps, and was again elected in 1928 from Paris . Although Reynaud was first elected from the conservative bloc of the Blue Horizon, he soon moved to the center-right Democratic Alliance and later became vice-chairman of the party.

In the 1920s. Raynaud gained a reputation as a supporter of softer conditions of reparations, while the majority of French politicians demanded harsh conditions for Germany . In the 1930s, especially after the Nazis came to power, Raynaud tightened his attitude towards Germany. He was a supporter of a strong alliance with Great Britain and, unlike most French rightists, improved relations with the USSR in opposition to Hitler's Germany ^[1]

In the early 1930s. He repeatedly held posts in the government, but in 1932 he split with his party on French defense and foreign policy and did not receive posts in the government until 1938. Like Winston Churchill , Raynaud looked like an apostate in his party and often remained alone when He called for rearmament and warned about the threat of strengthening Germany. He supported the theory of mechanized war of Charles de Gaulle, as opposed to the doctrine of static defense, which was popular in that era among the French under the impression of the 1st World War and whose expression was the construction of the Maginot Line . Reynaud was also opposed to the policy of appeasement of the German aggressor. Raynaud also dispersed with the leadership of his party on the issue of economic policy, since he advocated the need for the devaluation of the franc to overcome the economic crisis. Pierre Etienne Flandin , the head of the Democratic Alliance, agreed with Raynaud’s economic proposals, in particular, demanding a policy of economic liberalism.

Reynaud was appointed in 1938 by the Minister of Justice in the office of Daladier . The Sudeten crisis , which erupted shortly after his appointment, again revealed disagreements between Raynaud and other politicians of the Democratic Alliance. Raynaud did not agree with the coercion of Czechoslovakia to the concessions of Germany , while the party leader Flandin believed that if Germany was encouraged to expand to the east, this would lead to a conflict between the two powers and weaken both. As a result of the conflict with him, Reynaud left the party and became an independent politician, but despite this, he retained support for Daladier, whose "closure policy" was close to Reynaud's views.

Despite clashes with leading politicians, Raynaud dreamed of taking the post of finance minister. He was a supporter of a radical liberal economic policy, which, in his opinion, would allow the French economy to be brought out of stagnation. He proposed to abandon the excessive state regulation, including to abandon the 40-hour work week ^[2] . The concept of “deregulation” was very popular among French entrepreneurs, and Reynaud believed that deregulation was the best way for France to regain investor confidence. The L. Blum government fell in 1938 as a result of Blum’s attempts to expand the regulatory powers of the government; in France, there was widespread support for alternative approaches, such as the one advocated by Raynaud.

Paul Marchando, whom Daladier had originally appointed Minister of Finance, proposed a moderate program of economic reforms that did not satisfy Daladier. Reynaud and Daladier exchanged ministerial portfolios, with the result that Reynaud successfully implemented their radical liberal economic reforms. Thanks to the success of the reforms, the government withstood a short-term tough confrontation with the opposition. Reynaud spoke directly to the business world of France: “We live in a capitalist system. For it to function, we must abide by the laws. There are laws of profit, individual risk, free markets and growth through competition ” ^[3] .

Raynaud’s reforms proved extremely successful; a program of austerity was introduced (although the expenditures on armaments were not reduced), and therefore French reserves increased from 37 billion francs in September 1938 to 48 billion francs a year later, on the eve of the war. More important is the fact that French industrial production jumped from 76% to 100% (taken as the benchmark level of 1929) from October 1938 to May 1939 ^[4] . By the beginning of the war, however, Reynaud did not seek to achieve the growth of the French economy at any cost; he believed that an excessive increase in spending before the war would play a detrimental role for the French economy.

The French right took a dual position in relation to the war in late 1939 - early 1940, considering it a more significant threat to the USSR ^[5] . The winter war between the USSR and Finland to a large extent removed this problem; Daladier refused to send help to the Finns, while the war with Germany continued. The news of the Soviet-Finnish armistice in March 1940 forced Flandin and Laval to hold secret meetings of the legislature, which denounced Daladier's actions; the government fell on March 19th. Two days later Reynau was appointed Prime Minister of France .

Although Raynaud was becoming increasingly popular, the Chamber of Deputies elected him to the post of prime minister by a margin of only one vote, with the majority of deputies from his party abstaining. Reynaud received more than half of the votes from the socialists. With broad support on the left and opposition on the right, the Raynaud government proved unsustainable; many critics on the right demanded that Raynaud get involved in a war against the USSR instead of a war with Germany ^[6] . The Chamber of Deputies also imposed on him Daladier, whom Reynaud considered personally responsible for the weakness of France, as Minister of Defense. One of the first steps of the Reynaud government was a joint declaration with British Prime Minister N. Chamberlain that neither of the two countries would conclude a separate peace with the enemy.

Reynaud rejected any proposals based on the "strategy of the protracted war", where France hoped to wear down her rival. On the contrary, Raynaud believed that the war should spread to the Balkans and Northern Europe; he managed to organize an Allied campaign in Norway, although it ended in defeat. The decision of the British to retreat on April 26 was the reason for Raynaud’s personal visit to Britain, where he defended the need to protect Norway to the end ^[7] .

The battle for France began less than two months after Raynaute took office. On May 15, five days after the German attack, Reynaud contacted his British counterpart, W. Churchill , who had just taken office, and told him: “We were defeated ...; the front is breached near Sedan . ” At the same time, Charles de Gaulle , whom Raynaud had supported for a long time and who was one of the few successful generals during the campaign of 1940, was promoted to brigadier general and appointed deputy minister of defense ^[8] .

Due to the constant deterioration of the martial law of France, Reynaud was forced to agree with the appointment of F. Petain on the post of state minister. Shortly after the occupation of France, Peten and his supporters began to put pressure on Raynaud to sign a separate peace with the Germans. Raynaud refused to participate in this and on June 16 he resigned. Peten led the new government and signed a truce on June 22. On his orders, Reynaud was arrested, but Peten did not organize a trial over him, but handed him over to the Germans, who kept him in a concentration camp until the end of the war. Reynaud was liberated by the Allies near Wörgl , Austria , on May 7, 1945.

After the war, Reynaud was again elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1946. He repeatedly held ministerial positions and continued to play an important role in French politics, although his attempts to form a government in 1952 and 1953. proved unsuccessful. Raynaud supported the idea of ​​the United States of Europe . He was also the chairman of the advisory committee that drafted the constitution of the Fifth Republic . In 1962, Reynaud opposed the attempt of his old friend de Gaulle to abandon the electoral college system in favor of direct voting and resigned in the same year.

In 1949, Raynaud remarried at the age of 71 and became the father of three children. He died on September 21, 1966 in Neuilly-sur-Seine .

• Paul Reynaud - Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs ;
• Camille Shotan - Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers;
• Edouard Daladier - Minister of National Defense and War Minister ;
• Raul Dotri - Minister of Weapons;
• Henri Rua - Minister of the Interior
• Lucien Lamoureux - Minister of Finance ;
• Charles Pomare - Minister of Labor;
• Albert Serole - Minister of Justice ;
• Cesar Kampinshi - naval minister ;
• Alphons Rio - Minister of the Navy;
• Laurent Einak - Minister of Aviation;
• Albert Sarro - Minister of National Education;
• Albert Rivière - Minister of Veterans and Pensioners;
• Paul Tellier - Minister of Agriculture;
• Henri Key - Minister of Supply;
• Georges Mandel - Minister of the Colonies;
• Anatole de Monzie - Minister of Public Works;
• Marcel Herault - Minister of Health;
• Alfred Jules-Julien - Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, Telephones and Transfers;
• Louis-Oscar Frossard - Minister of Information;
• Louis Rollin - Minister of Commerce and Industry;
• Georges Monnet - Minister of the blockade.

Changes

• May 10, 1940 - Louis Maren and Jean Ibarnegaray enter the Cabinet as ministers of state;
• May 18, 1940 - Philippe Petenet enters the Cabinet as State Minister. Raynaud inherits Daladier as Minister of National Defense and War Minister. Daladier inherits Raynaud as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Georges Mandel inherits Roy as Minister of the Interior. Louis Rollin inherits Mandela as minister of the colonies. Leon Bareti inherits Rollin as Minister of Commerce and Industry.
• June 5, 1940 - Reynaud inherits Daladier as Minister of Foreign Affairs, remaining also Minister of National Defense and War Minister. Yves Butille inherits Lamoureux as Minister of Finance. Yvon Delbos inherits Sarro as Minister of National Education. Louis Oscar Frossard inherits Monze as minister of public works. Jean Prouvos inherits Frossard as Minister of Information. Georges Pernot inherits Herault as Minister of Health, with the new name of the Minister of the French Family. Albert Shisheri inherits Bareti as Minister of Trade and Industry.

• Au cœur de la mêlée (1930-1945), Flammarion, 1951
  • Paul Reynaud. In the Thick of the Fight, 1930-1945 (1955)
• Paul Raynaud. Gollism foreign policy = La politique étrangère du gaullisme. - M .: Progress , 1964. - 166 p.

• Noel Barber. The Week France Fell (1976)

• World at war biography
• Spartacus biography
• Biography (not available from 23-05-2013 [2261 days] - history , copy )