‘The Black Market Is a Crime Against Community’: The Failure of the Vichy Government to Bring About an Egalitarian System of Distribution and the Growth of the Black Market in France During the German Occupation (1940–1944)

Abstract

Brought about by shortages the black market affected all the countries occupied by Nazi Germany. In France the black market was particularly active for a number of reasons: economic looting by the Germans, the division of French territory into separate zones and the unpopularity of the restrictions. Based on investigations into the institutions in charge of repression, the chapter explains the growth of the black market, its consequences for the French economy and society and the failure of measures taken to repress or prevent it.

This communication surveys the main conclusions of my PhD on the black market in France, published under the title La France du marché noir 1940–1949 (Paris: Payot, 2012 for the 2nd edition in paperback). This work is based on the archives of the Administration of Economic Control and the police forces that specialised in repressing the black market.