The French economy at the end of the 19th century is very interesting to talk about. The bearded man in London called the empire led by Napoleon III, which was completely usurious imperialism.
From the perspective of natural resources, the coal and iron production in France is not as high as that of Germany, or even as high as that of Prussia. This is something determined by God and cannot be changed by manpower.
Therefore, when it comes to the development of heavy industry, France is inherently short-legged and cannot compare with Britain, let alone Prussia.
What's even more terrible is that France, through the influence of several generations of kings and emperors, has become very popular in palace luxury. The upper-class aristocratic society is proud of competing for gorgeous clothing, jewelry and top-notch cuisine.
In the banquet after banquet, France's luxury culture has reached its peak, which even the world's most powerful country, Britain, can't compare to.
The fashion circle in Paris, France, determines the fashion trends across Europe and even the world. They say which red wine tastes the best, and it will get the support of fans all over the world.
The cuisine of Paris restaurants is the best in the world. Mr. Louis Vuitton, who made leather bags for Queen Eugenie, will always be a leader in the leather goods industry and no one can compete with him.
This is a culture, and this culture is also shaping the character of the French. In this style of luxury and enjoyment, the aristocratic capitalists at the top of the empire abandoned the dirty and chaotic heavy industry and chose to adapt to their Light industry, such as luxury goods industry.
Engage in the coal and iron industry? What a price drop! To make that little money, I might as well monopolize a few red wines, and then I will still make a lot of money!
Even in the end, a large amount of idle funds were too lazy to work in light industry and luxury goods industries, and turned into capital for mortgage loans.
The wealth that France plundered from its colonies around the world quickly turned into hot money in the financial market. They borrowed money from foreign countries desperately, and they were full of interest and money.
Big capitalists can unite to borrow from countries such as Tsarist Russia, and the middle class will also borrow French private housing if they have some spare money. Especially farmers in France, almost every family needs to borrow money in exchange for interest.
Often the principal is not repaid, and all the profits from the land in a year are converted into interest. Then year after year, they become slaves of the lenders forever, and all the remaining resources every year are given to the lenders. By.
This is a very interesting situation. Rich people in France never take the initiative to buy farmland. They are not as obsessed with land as rich people in China.
They just use money to control the farmers in disguise. The land will always belong to the farmers, and I don’t want the property rights, but you, the farmers, need to borrow from me every year to live your life and invest in production funds.
The interest on this borrowed money was very high, and the farmers could not repay it at all. In this way, the French farmers who owned the land actually became tenants or serfs of the loan capitalists.
Xiao Letian banged on the table and carefully analyzed the current social contradictions in France to Pierre, analyzing the lesions in France one by one.
"Pierre! France is very rich now, very rich! But all this money cannot be turned into real national power. France as a whole is just a weak fat man!"
"All the money is hoarded in light industry, luxury goods and financial products. When it comes to the country's fundamental heavy industry, it is simply ignored!"
"The gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider and wider. Farmers will never be able to repay so many loans in their lifetime, while workers are facing fewer and fewer jobs!"
"All the wealth has turned into hot money and hit the market. No one is engaged in industry, so how can there be jobs?"
"Without jobs, workers will have to starve to death, and the scarcity of jobs allows capitalists to cut wages at will, because they know that if you don't do it, others will do it!"
"If this kind of plundering continues, the farmers and working class of France will never be able to stand up! This is the biggest conflict, and this is the root of the continuous demonstrations and armed uprisings!"
"Look at the back of the photo..." Xiao Letian opened another brown paper bag, took out the photo and threw it in front of Pierre.
"This is the banquet scene in the Tuileries Palace after the riots! Look at the luxury, and then look at the lives of the poor workers. What has your country become?"
In front of Pierre, the Tuileries Palace was brightly lit, the champagne tower was more than three meters high, and the attendants stood on stools to pour the wine.
The white marble fountain sprays not water but red wine. The fine wines from the top wineries have actually turned into fountains here. The statue of Bacchus floats in the wine pool. The drunken nobles even lie down in the wine pool and drink heavily. .
In the spacious hall, men and women were dancing together. The countless precious diamond jewelry on their bodies reflected the pearly light, making it dazzling.
As for the food on the buffet truck, it goes without saying. Huge lobster boats are moored in the ice one after another, and the white and tender lobster meat cannot even attract these guests.
The lady passing by even frowned at these little things. It seemed that she was tired of eating them all.
There was a sharp contrast between the arrogance and lust of the high-level people in the empire and the dire straits of the people at the bottom. Pierre's heart seemed to have fallen into a frying pan, frying back and forth.
"Why is this happening? How did it become like this..."
Xiao Letian saw that the heat was almost done and said in a low voice, "Pierre, please believe me. From the beginning to the end, my enemies are only Napoleon III and the aristocratic capitalists behind him!"
"I will never hate the people of France. These poor people have never invaded China. There is no sin on them!"
"On the contrary, they are also victims of the empire's cruel oppression!"
"War is inevitable. I, Xiao Letian, don't say that I am a saint or a savior. I also have selfish motives and I want revenge!"
"But please believe that I overthrew the cruel rule of Napoleon III. This is definitely a great thing for the French people!"
"The French people did not burn down the Old Summer Palace, and the blame cannot be placed on them!"
"Pierre! Completely untie your knot, give up your worries, and help me! Let us work together to overthrow the rule of Napoleon III and let these fat-minded aristocratic capitalists go to hell!"
"Don't have any illusions about them!"
"Poor Blanqui, he actually believed that Napoleon III was also a nationalist. He actually imagined that Napoleon III would show mercy to the working class for the sake of the same nation?"
"Pierre, let me tell you, Blanqui's fantasy will definitely harm the workers in Paris! In the end, they will only have to wait for more brutal suppression!"
"Blood will dye the Seine red, and it will definitely not be us Chinese or Prussians who shoot! Then it will be you, France, who are killing each other!"
"Do you want to see such a scene? You have no choice but to trust me absolutely now!"
"Go back and take a good look at these photos! Once you understand these photos, you will understand how cruel class conflict is. It is simply irreconcilable!"
