Resumen de Financial Improvisations during World War I in France:: Issues of Liquidity

Bertrand Blancheton

• This article highlights the improvisations in financial management during World War I. The option of a moratorium on bank deposits to the detriment of rediscount reflected a refusal to allow the Banque de France to fulfil its role of lender of last resort. The subsequent choice of a preference for a floating debt laid the foundation for a loss of control over the money market by the French monetary authorities. The article questions the relationship of WWI contemporaries with liquidity.