Debt, the other French revolution

It is a mission that has marked those who, within the state apparatus, were aware of it. In the spring of 1983, Michel Camdessus, Director of the Treasury, discreetly flew to Riyadh. Objective: to return to Paris with a Saudi credit of several billion dollars. The Republic of François Mitterrand and his Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy needs this money. The franc is on the verge of dropping out of the European Monetary System (EMS). France risks having to humiliate itself and call for help from the International Monetary Fund, like the United Kingdom, seven years earlier.

Read the file: Our series “Voyage to the land of debt” in full

This is neither the first nor the last time that France must urgently ask, beg from those who still want to lend it. In the fall of 1992, its currency was again in dire straits. Once again, the British have, at their expense, given the example of what can happen: on Wednesday September 16, that famous "Black Wednesday", the pound sterling was ejected from the EMS by the attacks.

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