EXTENDING APACE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 April 1941, Page 5

EXTENDING APACE

INFLATION IN FRANCE TREMENDOUS OCCUPATION COSTS. VASTLY GREATER THAN ALL OTHERS. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, April 16. An analysis of the latest, official returns of the Bank of France made by the newspaper "Frankfurter Zeitung’ throws light on the progressive inflation in France and the reasons for this worsening of the economic situation. On the side of assets, from March, 1940, when the figure for advances to the Government was 30,000 million francs there was an increase to 46,000 million in June and to 146,000 million in December. Of the last sum occupation costs amounted to 72,000 million.

On the side of liabilities, note circulation rose over the same period from 156,000 million francs to 174,000 million in June and 218.000 million in December. • There was also a debt of 41,000 million in December. The total monetary circulation—franc notes, occupation mark notes and coins —rose in December to 288,000 million (gold assets throughout this period are given as 85,000 million). Since then, it is pointed out in London the note circulation must have increased so that by mid-March the monetary circulation must have risen to 310,000 million francs, since advances in respect of occupation costs have risen to over 90,000 million. The conclusion to be drawn is that in the 12 months to mid-March last the monetary circulation rose by some 140,000 million francs, that is by over 80 per cent. About two-thirds of this inflation was due to the German-levied costs of occupation and one-third to Government expenditure and the failure of normal revenue since the collapse of France. For the second quarter of 1941 the Vichy Government's proposed ordinary budget has been reduced to 22.732 million francs and great play is made of the fact that, this was scaled down by 1500 millions. The amount payable to the Germans for this quarter as the cost of occupation is 36.400 million francs.

Thus the budget for all France is only 250 million a day compared with 400 million a day as the cost of occupation. Thus, assuming that there are one million German troops in France. Vichy has to pay out 400 francs a day for each German compared to the budgetary allowance of only six francs a day for each French civilian. The sum of 400 francs is far in excess of the actual, cost, one reliable estimate being 125 francs. The credit over and above without doubt goes to securing illegal German control of France's industry—at the cost of Franco.