Economic crisis: the two lessons of 1945 to get out of it

Historical comparisons easily border on indecency. On May 8, 1945, our country deplored 600,000 dead, civil or military, due to war, and nearly one in ten households was homeless at the time of the armistice. It is nonetheless legitimate to refer to it, because the social and economic shock we are experiencing today, to stick to this one aspect, has been unprecedented for seventy-five years, as everyone agrees .

Even if everything opposes the monstrous human losses and the gigantic material destruction of 1939-1945 to the current crisis - a forced cessation of activity as a remedy for Covid-19 -, the financial challenges that result are of comparable natures. In this respect, the solutions found in the aftermath of 1945 in France and in the other belligerent countries deserve attention. As the saying goes, "History may not tell us what to do, but it may help us find it."

Read also: Jean-Pierre Robin: "France has the means to overcome the economic shock of containment"

First of all, public finances, which are being abused everywhere

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