If the pawn industry directly destroyed the jobs of ordinary people, then the various small loans of the Bank of France destroyed the entire economic foundation of the Paris Commune.
You must know that all undertakings in the world ultimately require the support of money. You can say that money is evil, but money is a necessary means of human commodity exchange.
Are you a great writer or artist who regards money as dirt? Yes, but you also need products to satisfy your artistic creation, and even ink has to be bought with money!
Even if you lower your living standard to the lowest level and eat black bread with salt every day, you still need money to buy that bread and salt.
The same is true for great commune undertakings. They want to break the fanatical worship of money in the capital world and crush the gap between rich and poor, but they also need money to pave the way for any undertaking.
Any action requires funds. Without money, where can we get weapons and ammunition? Where did the soldiers' rations come from? Where can I bribe the enemy's spies?
Everything requires money, and Blanqui and others are not financial masters, otherwise they would have become big capitalists themselves. The means by which these people make money are actually very pitiful.
Donations from the poor, and support from some progressive wealthy businessmen, including help from foreign proletarian organizations!
Another point is that loan fraud is pervasive! Yes, these people also cheated on loans, and they took advantage of France's small loan loopholes.
The leaders of the commune knew that relying on donations from others or plundering by force was not a long-term solution. In the end, any action must have its own continuous hematopoietic function.
So what to do? At this time, France, a usurious imperialist country, can take advantage of the loopholes! The bearded man in London has always described France as a loan sharking country, and this metaphor is really apt.
Usury has become a cultural tradition in France, and almost all wealthy people like to get involved in this industry.
And no matter how big the bank is, it doesn’t dislike small money and small profits! Even if the profit is as small as a fly's leg, I don't mind it.
Just like Thiers' first decree, the first thing is to let France's public pawnshops start collecting funds. Look... There are actually public pawnshops in France!
It's shameful enough that the government runs the pawnshop industry, but this public pawnshop actually does business for the poorest citizens.
Shouldn’t the big pawn shops invested by the government do big business? Most people would think that if you want to do a business with such a large background, you need to do a big business of hundreds of thousands of francs or more than a million francs, a big pawn?
But the reality is so funny. Pawnshops operated by the government also accept ordinary people’s tattered coats, scissors, and kitchen knives... This kind of small business of a few francs is still done in the same way!
It is conceivable that even the pawnshop business was not spared. So, would the former Imperial Bank and other commercial banks spare the business of small loans?
In that era, many small workshops, such as bakeries, butchers, sausage stands, grocery stores... these ultra-small businesses would also provide small loans, usually a few hundred francs, and rarely more than a thousand. .
Although the single amount is small and the interest rate is not too high, the advantage is that there are many people. You can always be full if you eat a grain of rice and a plate!
It was precisely because of the easy lending of the Bank of France that these commune leaders discovered their financial resources!
Develop loyal members and invest in some small businesses, such as tanning, low-end brewing, restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores... These are small businesses that have a lot of revenue and can be hidden in the streets and alleys that people can't live without. .
By using these small businesses and falsifying accounts, you can commit loan fraud. As long as you can turn around the interest, this scam can continue for a long time.
What the Imperial Bank needs is the interest on the loan, but what these people want is the principal of your loan!
Look, what a perfect financial game. In this way, the labor movement has obtained a very stable financial source. Although it is not as good as those big capitalists, it is better than nothing.
Thiers was indeed vicious, and he discovered this loophole at a glance. He ordered that the small loans must be recovered within four months with interest. This completely undermined the financial foundation of the commune.
Varlan, Duval, Ligao... and other commune leaders all smelled the smell of death, and the shadow of terror began to come over them.
The situation changed three times a day. Two days later, Thiers made another decisive move. This time, he directly hit the rental industry. He abolished all the benefits of the previous provisional government.
End the rent moratorium and no one can default on rent under any excuse!
Abolish the residence protection for residents, and landlords have the right to evict residents who are in arrears with rent!
These are two very important measures to protect people's livelihood. You must know that the poor in Paris are the real proletariat. They have no houses at all and can only rent houses!
The war destroyed the economy of Paris, people were unemployed on a large scale, factories were shut down, and everyone had no income!
Against this background, we encountered another very cold winter. In order to stabilize people's hearts, the interim national defense government could only order all landlords not to evict their tenants, even if they owe you rent!
This is great, Thiers has abolished even this article. This will ruin the jobs of the poor and drive them to the streets to blow the cold wind!
"Protest! We must protest! This is tyranny, this is evil law... Thiers is a murderer! He is not the president..."
Hundreds of thousands of angry Parisians took to the streets and began to demonstrate. There was only so much they could do. Outside the city were the German army and the new French army, which was growing every day.
They dare not launch an active attack, so they can only use protests and demonstrations to vent their dissatisfaction!
That day, half a million people crowded the streets of Paris. Under the vigilant gunfire of the Germans, these people launched a strong protest against their president!
"Thiers is an illegitimate president...The Bordeaux election is invalid..."
"Release Blanqui...re-election..."
"Proletarians of the world unite! Fight the enemy!"
"Long live the people! Long live the revolution!"
Xiao Letian stood on the wall of the Porte de Chapelle, looking at the violent scene in front of him with a telescope, and the roar of protest seemed to come over in real terms.
"Tsk tsk tsk...it's so spectacular...France is really a nation that loves to protest!"
Note: France should be regarded as the ancestor country of modern human society and demonstrations. The habits developed since the Great Revolution have been imprinted in their genes.
They would march for the slightest thing, and when the price of milk became cheaper, they could herd cows into the streets of Paris to block traffic!
When it comes to movements like demonstrations, the French are always the most avant-garde and trendy!
In May 1968, when the May Storm broke out in France, one of the various slogans shouted by the avant-garde French was deafening.
Those professors, scholars, and college students shouted, "The election is a scam to fool fools!"
Look, how avant-garde and trendy!
Other countries still use elections as a panacea, but the romantic French have already seen through the essence!
The birthplace of the Great Revolution, what others are after are actually the leftover foot bindings from others!
But things are all relative, with advantages and disadvantages. Perhaps it is because the French have seen through everything and they have studied the essence!
It is precisely because each of them is too smart that the country cannot form a joint force!
Therefore, France is destined to be a top cultural and artistic power, and a first-class economic power, but militarily... after World War II, it was a third-rate country!
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