Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 37. (1984)
ORDE, Anne: France and the Genoa Conference of 1922
336 Anne Orde The greatest French investment in Russia was in bonds issued or guaranteed by the Tsarist government53), and the hope of payment depended not only on Soviet acknowledgment but on Soviet recovery. There was also a political consideration, mentioned at the end of January by another Ministry of Finance official, Lion, in a scheme similar to that outlined by Cheysson. France, Lion wrote, continued to wish for a strong Russia as a counterweight in Asia and Europe to both Germany and Britain, and she should try to prevent them collaborating in a joint exploitation of her former ally. Loans were out of the question for even if Russia could provide guarantees the first priority for an international loan must be to enable Germany to pay reparations, and France could not supply capital herself. Her role should be to act as friend and adviser, getting Russia to moderate her expectations and submit to the consequences of the chaos into which she had plunged, and then helping to protect her from exploitation by Germany54). French official preparations for Genoa did begin in the middle of February with the setting up of committees on financial questions, trade and transport questions and an inter-departmental committee on Russia55). Seydoux, who took the chair of this last, said that on Russia, France was in the same situation vis-ä-vis the other Allies as she was over Germany: as the chief creditor on government bonds she was obliged to demand securities and concrete guarantees, to be the one who obstructed agreement on the basis of easy promises such as the Russians were likely to give generously and the exporting countries were likely to be ready to accept. France would therefore have to be very prudent. It was agreed to study conditions in Russia and to pool information, and Lion’s plan was given general approval56 57). The interministerial committee received much detailed material about Russia from Frangois-Poncet, director of the business journal Bulletin d’études quoti- dien"). At subsequent meetings members discussed agriculture and special development zones. The director of oil in the Ministry of Commerce proposed a substantial amendment to the Lion plan, since he thought it unlikely that the Russians would agree to chartered companies with a monopoly. He suggested instead asking for restoration of the former companies with guarantees and 53) Crisp Studies in the Russian Economy 198 gives the following figures of French investments in Russia in 1914: government bonds Fr 7.193.120.000; government-guaranteed bonds Fr 2.729.401.000; municipal bonds Fr 583.175.000; joint-stock companies Fr 1.745.000.000; total Fr 12.270.696.000. The French interministerial committee on 18 February 1922 put the government claim, not including war debts, at approximately Fr 1.812 million and private claims at about Fr 18.000 million. On 7 March the Ministére du Commerce gave an estimate of the value of shares held by French nationals in joint-stock companies in the Caucasus as not less than Fr 280 million, and in the Donetz basin as Fr 750 million, all at 1914 values and not including railway shares: MAE Relations commerciales 1920-29 106, 108. M) Plan Lion, end January 1922: ibid. 105. 55) Central committee of experts meeting, 15 February 1922: ibid. 112. 56) Interministerial committee on Russia meeting, 16 February 1922: ibid. 106. 57) Ibid. 114.
