Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 37. (1984)
ORDE, Anne: France and the Genoa Conference of 1922
France and the Genoa Conference of 1922 339 Credits should only be given on the effective realisation of a plan of reform, and a financial adviser with extensive powers might be appointed for each country by the powers interested in reconstruction59“). All action should have an international character; there should be no spheres of influence. The commission did not think it necessary to insist on re-establishing links among the Danubian States nor to stress the role of Vienna. The conference of successor states held at Porto Rosa (Portoroz) the previous autumn had had good results, and to try to go farther now, in a conference that included Germany and Hungary, would frighten the Little Entente countries and feed their fear of seeing the Austrian and Hungarian peace treaties revised to their disadvantage. The German problem, however, could not be entirely excluded from the conference, because the state of the German exchange and German economic policy affected the whole of Europe60). The section of the report on Russia was sent to organisations representing French interests in Russia, who protested that it was not strong enough on the restoration of private property, and criticised the idea of special zones outside of which foreigners would have fewer rights. That proposal had indeed, Seydoux acknowledged, many disadvantages. If the zones were economically successful they would attract large numbers of people from less fortunate areas, who would then be difficult to support; the zones would be resented in the rest of the country; and the idea took insufficient account of the interdependence of different regions of Russia61). When Chapman visited Paris on 10 March Seydoux learned that the British had no plan for reconstructing Russia and were merely envisaging conventions to allow debt repayment and the resumption of trade, about which Chapman was personally sceptical. Seydoux told him that the French creditors wanted to give Russia some organisation for recovery, and the government would not agree to Russia being reopened merely to be handed over to speculators62). A week later Seydoux put up a memorandum urging on his superiors the desirability of a positive Russian policy. Chicherin’s latest message63), he wrote, was further evidence of the Soviet desire for an understanding with France. Genoa had been Lloyd George’s idea: it had aroused great hopes in both Britain and Russia, but now the British seemed to be ignoring Russia and the hopes were dashed. It was possible that the British were preparing a plan which did not include France; and in any case if France simply waited on events she risked finding herself playing the same passive and negative part as she had recently done at the Washington conference. Russia was a former ally, at present in 59*) The “Genfer Sanierungswerk” brought the realisation of similar plans for Austria: for the role of a financial adviser with extensive powers cf. Jac Bosmans Ausländische Präsenz in Österreich während des Genfer Sanierungswerkes 1922-1926 in MÖStA 34 (1981) 286-332. 60) Report of interministerial committee, 8 March 1922: MAE Relations commerciales 1920-29 113. The section on Russia is also in ibid. 89 and 108 and PA Millerand 75. 61) Noulens, president of the Commission générale pour la protection des intéréts frangais en Russie, to Poincaré, 17 March; memorandum by Seydoux, 18 March 1922, commenting on letter from Bayard, president of the Office commercial frangais pour la Russie, to Ministére du Commerce: MAE Relations commerciales 1920-29 108. 62) Memorandum by Seydoux, 10 March 1922: ibid. 89. 63) 15 March 1922: DBFP 1/19 no. 46. 22*
