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History of the IMF pp 147–164Cite as

The IMF and France (1944–1960): A “Cooperative Game” in the Bretton Woods System

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Abstract

No other member of the IMF has experienced such a peculiar relationship with the institution as France has had. On the one hand, France, as a major signatory nation of the Bretton Woods Agreement, has been one of the most important members of the IMF, sending several high-ranking officials to the Fund, including Managing Directors. On the other hand, the position of France often has been contrary to the IMF’s views and it has proposed distinctively alternative plans for an international monetary system. France has in fact been a “watchdog” of the Bretton Woods System (Bordo et al. 1994, p. 10).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    IMF EBM46/53, September 10, 1946; EBM46/65, September 23, 1946.

  2. 2.

    NARA, NAC Documents, Meeting No. 38, September 10, 1946.

  3. 3.

    NARA, NAC Documents, Staff Committee, Minutes, Meeting No. 40, September 16, 1946.

  4. 4.

    NARA, NAC Documents, Meeting No. 39, September 17, 1946.

  5. 5.

    NARA, NAC Documents, Meeting No. 40, September 26, 1946.

  6. 6.

    IMF EBM46/72, September 30, 1946.

  7. 7.

    IMF EBM47/135, February 12, 1947.

  8. 8.

    IMF SM35, Foreign Exchange Transactions in France, January 27, 1946.

  9. 9.

    IMF SM35, Foreign Exchange Transactions in France, January 27, 1946. This report was written by Raymond Bertrand, approved by Edward Bernstein, before its proposal to the Board.

  10. 10.

    IMF EBD99, Initial Par Values, France, prepared by Robert Triffin, October 30, 1946.

  11. 11.

    Triffin’s estimation was based on the sum of aid granted to France, i.e. “500 million from the International Bank, $300 to $400 million from other sources, especially the British Dominions and Latin America, and $100 to $200 million of private loans and investments, in the latter part of 1946–49, mostly from the United States”. This sum makes “a gap of about $300 million between estimated needs and resources. Such a gap”, however, represents “only 7 per cent of the total contemplated deficit”. Ibid.

  12. 12.

    Ibid. According to Philippe Mioche, Monnet held the view that execution of the Plan would be a prerequisite for American aid supply. Cf. Mioche (1987), pp. 201–202.

  13. 13.

    IMF EBM46/88, November 8, 1946.

  14. 14.

    De Largentaye was a first translator of Keynes’ General Theory into French, and served as the IMF Director from 1946 to 1964.

  15. 15.

    NARA, NAC Documents, Staff Committee, Minutes, Meeting No. 47, November 4, 1946.

  16. 16.

    NARA, NAC Documents, Staff Committee, Minutes, Meeting No. 48, November 7, 1946.

  17. 17.

    NARA, NAC Documents, Meeting No. 45, November 26, 1946.

  18. 18.

    NARA, NAC Documents, Meeting No. 79, January 6, 1948.

  19. 19.

    Thorp was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs (later Assistant Secretary), representing the Department at the NAC. In an interview in a later year, Thorp testified about the conflict between the Treasury and the State Department of the period, particularly with Snyder at the Treasury. Harry Truman Library, Oral History Interview with Willard L. Thorp (Amherst, Massachusetts, July 10, 1971), http://www.trumanlibrary.org/oralhist/thorpw.htm#52

  20. 20.

    NARA, NAC Documents, Meeting No.80, January 19, 1948.

  21. 21.

    NARA, NAC Documents, Meeting No. 83, January 22, 1948.

  22. 22.

    NARA, NAC Documents, Meeting No. 84, January 27, 1948.

  23. 23.

    NARA, NAC Documents, Meeting No. 86, February 4, 1948.

  24. 24.

    On the first consultation, cf. IMF SM/52/56, “France—Restrictive System”, August 8, 1952; ERD/52/16, “France—Restrictive System”, August 6, 1952; ENA/52/20, “France—1952 Consultations”, August 7, 1952.

  25. 25.

    On the career background of Guindey, Cf. Yago (2013), pp. 130–131.

  26. 26.

    Cf. Rimbaud (1990), pp. 150–226 for the political aspect of Plan Pinay. For the relationship between Pinay’s program and the Banque de France relief to the French Treasury, cf. Feiertag (2006), pp. 415– 419. See also de Lattre (1999), p. 73.

  27. 27.

    IMF ENA/52/20, “France— 1952 Consultations”, August 7, 1952.

  28. 28.

    NARA, NAC Documents, Meeting No. 267, January 11, 1951.

  29. 29.

    IMF SM/54/20, March 17, 1954.

  30. 30.

    IMF SM/55/25, April 25, 1955.

  31. 31.

    IMF SM/56/61, October 17,1956.

  32. 32.

    IMF SM/57/69, August 9, 1957.

  33. 33.

    As for the process from the 1957 devaluation to the return to convertibility, cf. IMF, France: Establishment of Par Value, prepared by the European Department in consultation with the Legal and Exchange Restrictions Departments, December 26, 1958, confidential.

  34. 34.

    NARA, NAC Documents, Meeting no. 256, February 19, 1957, “Financial and Economic Situation of France”.

  35. 35.

    It was Wilfrid Baumgartner who confronted Per Jacobsson this time at the Banque de France. In fact, Baumgartner had been a candidate for the position of Managing Director of the IMF instead of Jacobsson, but this French high-ranking official refused the offer. Feiertag (2006), p. 537. As for Jacobsson’s visit to France, cf. Jacobsson (1979), pp. 291–296.

  36. 36.

    IMF SM/57/69, August 9, 1957.

  37. 37.

    IMF SM/59/20, March 27, 1959.

  38. 38.

    IMF SM/60/37, May 20, 1960.

  39. 39.

    NARA, NAC Documents, Meeting No. 264, January 28, 1958, “French Financial Situation”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Commerce, Waseda University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Kazuhiko Yago

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  1. Waseda University School of Commerce, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Kazuhiko Yago

  2. Seijo University Faculty of Economics, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Yoshio Asai

  3. Otsuma Women's University School of Social Information Studies, Tama, Tokyo, Japan

    Masanao Itoh

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Yago, K. (2015). The IMF and France (1944–1960): A “Cooperative Game” in the Bretton Woods System. In: Yago, K., Asai, Y., Itoh, M. (eds) History of the IMF. Studies in Economic History. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55351-9_7

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