- If the III th République establishes a certain French political stability, compared to the failures of the first two, the last years of the regime leave France in the grip of many upheavals. Indeed, the post-war euphoria has dissipated, and with it his hopes.
- The economic crisis of 1929 which plunged the United States into the Great Depression – following the stock market crash – hit France in the early 1930s and took hold, from then on favoring social conflicts and the rise of extremes.
- Many governments follow one another, without finding a real solution. Camille Chautemps, a socialist radical called by the President of the Republic Albert Brun, holds the presidency of the Council.
1931 - 1934
Characters
Alexander Stavisky
Camille Chautemps
Edouard Daladier
Albert Dalimier
Gaston Bonnaure
John Chiappe
Francois de La Rocque
Procedure
The case takes place at the end of the III th Republic, between 1931 and 1934. Alexandre Stavisky, known as the handsome Sacha, known for acts of fraud, had the Crédit Municipal de Bayonne issue, with the complicity of the mayor Dominique Joseph Garat, a socialist radical, savings certificates at interest pledged in the amount of 235 million, when barely 10% of the amount is covered.
The case came to light thanks to a control by the Ministry of Finance, which led to the arrest of the director of Crédit Municipal de Bayonne, Gustave Tissier, on December 23, 1933. The social crook, who did not hesitate to "hose down" the police, the press, justice and political circles, thinks to secure his back. Thus Judge Pressard, who was none other than Chautemps's brother-in-law, had his trial postponed almost twenty times. The prefect of Paris, Jean Chiappe, is suspected of having slowed down the investigation. Albert Prince, a stubborn magistrate who is investigating the case, is assassinated when he was to submit his conclusions to the Keeper of the Seals, Henri Chéron, who will resign some time later.
It is a whole political class that finds itself splashed by the scandal (Dalimier, Bonnaure, Chautemps, etc.). Stavisky takes refuge in his chalet in Chamonix, but the desperate police hunt him down. Trapped, the notorious crook "officially" killed himself on January 8, 1934, by shooting himself in the head. Not fooled, the unanimous press cries out for the assassination, and headlines “We committed suicide Stavisky! or “Stavisky killed himself with a bullet from three yards out. What it is to have a long arm! .
Consequences
The Stavisky affair had a major impact and marked one of the turning points in French political life. Indeed, at the beginning of February 1934, it gave rise to a series of insurrectionary demonstrations, worthy of the Commune, bringing together the extreme right-wing leagues, Action Française, the Croix de Feu and a few Communists under the banner "Down with thieves" (6 February 1934), rejecting the current parliamentarism. They sign in turn the resignation of Camille Chautemps and that of his successor, Édouard Daladier. Faced with what it considers to be an attempted fascist coup, the left decides to unite for the first time, and will give birth to the Popular Front. Winner of the 1936 elections, this movement would upset the French political landscape, in particular through its social reforms.