Article de Bertrand Blancheton.
Abstract
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 precipitated 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.
