The minister at the school of shopkeepers: Charles de Lasteyrie

// ABSTRACT IN ENGLISH: When Minister of Finance from 1922 to 1924, Charles de Lasteyrie failed to restrain traders gambling on French currency. Foreign traders were wary about the national debt reaching 168% of the gross domestic product. During World War One, France run into titanic debt in order to buy weapons and supplies. The war had also destroyed many areas, which were in need of rebuilding. French cabinets got accustomed to borrowing rather than rising taxes, hopeful about the pay-backs due to German war damage laid down by the Versailles Treaty. Lasteyrie spurned debt consolidation for fear of despoiling warrantees' savings. During the Third Republic the great mass of people were praising personal savings and foresight. Most politicians and citizens dreaded that bankruptcy or devaluation would wreck the republican compromise between social progress for the needy and property safety for the affluent. Charles de Lasteyrie was quite sure that his wide circle of banking acquaintances would secure reinvestments in the national debt at a rate profitable for the Treasury. Routine reinvestments would stave off huge pay-outs when due, as well as exceeding the lending limit negociated in 1920 with the Bank of France. In 1923 when France occupied the Ruhr in order to compel Germany to pay war damage, Lasteyrie prevailed upon Poincaré that the French government could not afford managing the Ruhr economy. Lasteyrie repelled deviating from established policies. // ABSTRACT IN FRENCH: Lors de son passage au ministère des Finances de 1922 à 1924, Charles de Lasteyrie ne parvint pas à enrayer la spéculation contre le franc, fomentée par des opérateurs financiers méfiants envers la dette publique se montant à 168% du produit intérieur brut, creusé par le coût ertigineux des armements et de la logistique pendant la Grande Guerre de 1914-1918 ainsi que par la nécessité de reconstruire l'infrastructure des territoires dévastés par les combats. Les gouvernements successifs avaient eu davantage recours aux emprunts qu'aux impôts, dans l'espoir de tout rembourser grâce aux réparations de guerre imposées à l'Allemagne par le traité de Versailles. Lasteyrie récusa catégoriquement toute consolidation forcée de la dette publique, par crainte de spolier l'épargne des rentiers. Sous la IIIe République, un très large consensus alorisait l'épargne comme gage d'une méritocratie fondée sur le labeur et la prévoyance. Élus et citoyens, dans leur grande majorité, redoutaient qu'une