¹ It is significant that internal documents of this CO refer to it by an acronym which in fact belonged to the dissoved patronal syndicate the comité central des houillères.

² Hoover Institute, La vie de la France sous l'occupation (Stanford, 1958), I, 150Google Scholar.

³ Bauchard, Philippe, Les technocrates au pouvoir (Paris, 1966), p. 124Google Scholar. Belin refers to this letter (inHoover, La vie de la France, I, 150)Google Scholar but does not give the text.

⁴ Before the war Leperq had worked for the union européene industrielle et financière.

⁵ Belin, René, Du secretariat de la CGT au gouverment de Vichy (Paris, 1977), p. 135Google Scholar.

⁶ Jean-Noel Jeanneney suggests that the story that De Gaulle greeted the representatives of business with the words ‘Je n'ai vu aucun de vous Messieurs, à Londres’ is apocryphal. But the business leaders certainly did not get a friendly reception. Jeanneney, Jean-Noel, L'argent caché, milieux d'affaires et pouvoirs politiques dans la France du XX^éme siècle (Paris, 1981), p. 248Google Scholar.

⁷ Renault was nationalized without the payment of compensation to Louis Renault. Lottman, Herbert, The people's anger, justice and revenge in post-liberation France (London, 1986), p. 226Google Scholar.

⁸ Lottman, , The people's anger, p. 223Google Scholar. The words ‘mine owners’ are misleading in an industry where shareholders were four times as numerous as workers. The mines were run by managers.

⁹ ‘Note sur I'activité du COH depuis sa création’, note (dated 16 Oct. 1944) in Archives Rationales (AN), 40 AS 43; ‘La situation de la Production Charbonnière Françhise’ an exposé by Fabre acting as president of the Chambre Syndicale des Houillères Francais (an association set up to represent shareholders in mines, see below) published by the Commision de Représentation Patronale in July 1945; and Fabre's testimony inHoover, La vie de la France, I, 361–9Google Scholar.

¹⁰ Crussard succeeded Leperq to the presidency of the COH in August 1943. Crussard was a less high profile resistant than Leperq but it is important to note his role in the resistance to STO.

¹¹ AN, 40 AS 43, note dated 16 Feb. 1943.

¹² When a woman writes enquiring about the conditions of service in bauxite mines the reply reminds here that no immunity from STO is provided in such establishments but then helpfully suggests that ‘Le jeune homme qui vous intéresse’ would get such protection in the coal mines. AN, 40 AS 44 note dated 16 Feb. 1944.

¹³ AN, 40 AS 44, letter dated 17 July 1943 from compagnie des mines d'anthracite de la Mure.

¹⁴ AN, 40 AS 44, note of 4 Mar. 1943.

¹⁵ AN, 40 AS 44, note 3 Mar. 1943.

¹⁶ AN, 109 MI 5, transcript of Conseil d'administration of Anzin company. The letter is reproduced in an account of the wartime activities of the company given to the board on 29 Sept. 1944.

¹⁷ AN, 40 AS 46, letter dated 14 Feb. 1945 to Etablissements Schneider.

¹⁸ AN, 40 AS 43, letter from mines d'anthracite de la Mure to COH.

¹⁹ AN, 40 AS 44, letter of COH dated 22 Feb. 1943 to director of Ronchamps mine.

²⁰ Ibid.

²¹ AN, 40 AS 44, note to Perrin Pelletier dated 2 July 1943.

²² AN, 40 AS 44, letter of 13 Nov. 1942 from Schneider to the COH.

²³ AN, 40 AS 44, note of telephone conversation 2 Mar. 1943.

²⁴ AN, 40 AS 44, letter dated 23 Feb. 1943.

²⁵ AN, 40 AS 44, note dated 29 June 1943.

²⁶ There was one possibility which the COH does not seem to have explored. Most of French coal mining was in fact nominally under the control of the German authorities in Brussels not the Majestic in Paris. Yet the COH never appeals to Brussels. This may be because (as Milward suggests) the Brussels authorities were less economically sophisticated than those in Paris, in this case one would expect the Brussels' authorities to be less moved by the economic arguments in favour of keeping labour in France.

²⁷ AN, F 12 10 106, translation of German ordinance dated 22 Oct. 1943.

²⁸ Milward, Alan, The new order in France (Oxford, 1970), p. 277Google Scholar.

²⁹ Ibid. pp. 30, 192.

³⁰ Ibid. Milward stresses that productivity of French workers in Germany was probably higher than that of other nationalities.

³¹ AN, 68 AJ 101.

³² AN, 68 AJ 103.

³³ AN, 40 AS 46, letter to the director of mines dated 26 February 1945.

³⁴ AN, F 12 99 66. Note of 12 Mar. 1945 from the director of mechanical industries.

³⁵ It should be stressed that such an interest cannot be conceived in crude financial terms. To discover whether the mines did in fact make such a profit would be a tricky operation. It would be necessary to take account of changing productivity, price controls, the diversion of money into social provisions for workers to circumvent wage controls, and fraud to avoid taxes for excess profits. Such a detailed study is beyond the scope of my researches. In any case it is not clear that profits were relevant. The mines were run by managers rather than by owners. Indeed, given the circumstances of the occupation, it seems most unlikely that the highly dispersed shareholders would have been in any position to exercise control. What does seem probable is that managers recognized that their own importance would be enhanced by keeping production at a high level.

³⁶ AN, 68 AJ 130, note of 27 Mar. 1942.

³⁷ AN, 40 AS 43, letter dated 9 June 1941.

³⁸ The COH writes on 2 June 1943 of the Compagnie de Béthune's proposals to sue workers who had broken their contracts to work in Germany – ‘Dans ce cas particulier les poursuites seraient absolument justifiées’.

³⁹ AN, 40 AS 43, note from the chamber of mines in the Nord an d Pas de Calais of 20 Jan. 1944.

⁴⁰ AN, 40 AS 43, 9 June 1942.

⁴¹ AN, 40 AS 43, letter dated 10 June 1943, Leperq to Bichelonne.

⁴² AN, 40 AS 43, letter from COH Loire dated 22 Apr. 1942.

⁴³ AN, 40 AS 44, note of 24 Feb. about the hiring of Poles, letter to the Loire Chamber of 15 May 1942 about attempts to assimilate foreign workers in terms of labour legislation and the note of a telephone conversation of 18 Feb. 1942 about attempts to get access to groups of foreign workers.

⁴⁴ AN, 40 AS 44, letter dated 7 Feb. 1941 from Nord and Pas de Calais.

⁴⁵ AN, 40 AS 43, note of CII dated 13 Apr. 1942.

⁴⁶ AN, 40 AS 44, note of 9 Feb. 1944.

⁴⁷ Sensimhon, Crémieux and Boilhac, , ‘Les propagandes radiophoniques et I'opinion politique en France 1940–1944’, Revue d'histoire de la deuxième guerre mondiale, CI (1976)Google Scholar.

⁴⁸ For some evidence about the effect which perception of American economic power had on predictions about the outcome of the war seeSauvy, Alfred, La Vie economique des Français de 1939 à 1945 (Paris, 1978), p. 91Google Scholar.

⁴⁹ Rist, Charles, Une Saison gâtée, journal de la guerre el de L'occupation, 1939–1945 (Paris, 1982)Google Scholar.

⁵⁰ Nicolle, , Cinquante mois d'armistice, Vichy 2 juillet 1940–26 août 1944 (Paris, 1947)Google Scholar.

⁵¹ Rousso, , ‘L'Aryanization économique, Vichy, I'occupant et la spoliation des juifs’, YOD, XV and XVI (1982)Google Scholar. See alsoNicolle, , Cinquante mois, entry for 16–1902 1944Google Scholar – ‘les titres provenant des biens juifs sont quasi invendables et pour cause’.

⁵² AN, 40 AS 44, 31 May 1944.

⁵³ AN, 40 AS 44, letter from professor Leclerq, dated 25 June 1943, about the hiring of his son in law.

⁵⁴ AN, 40 AS 44, 1 July 1943.

⁵⁵ Interview with André Theret. Cited inHolter, Darryl, ‘Miners against the state: French miners and the nationalization of coalmining 1944–1949’ (unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Wisconsin at Madison, 1980), p. 49Google Scholar. Though a note in F12 9968 entitled ‘Utilisation dans les mines de houilles des jeunes astreints du STO’ (no date though clearly after 17 March 1944 and before the liberation) stressed that students and members of professions libérates were not necessarily less ‘assiduous’ than those manual workers who had previously been employed outside the mines.

⁵⁶ AN, 40 AS 44, letter dated 17 July 1943 from compagnie des mines d'antracite de la mine d'Isère.

⁵⁷ AN, 40 AS 44, letter to COH from the COH in the Loire of 25 Nov. 1943, Perrin Pelletier was later to suggest that mines employing the students should be given compensation of 55 francs per day, 40 AS 43, 3 Feb. 1944.

⁵⁸ AN, 40 AS 44, 28 June 1943.

⁵⁹ AN, 40 AS 44, June 1944.

⁶⁰ AN, 40 AS 44, 18 June 1943.

⁶¹ AN, 40 AS 44, the letter dated 10 June 1943 and concerned the fact that polytechniciens were being sent to chantiers dejeunesse and were thus ‘exdus de la possibilité de s'engager comme ouvrier du fond dans les mines, ce qui leur aurait procuré une protection au moins temporaire contre le départ en Allemagne’. There was a mafia of former polytechniciens operating in the coal industry (seeKourchid, Olivier, Production industrielle et travail sous L'occupation. Les mines de lens et les mineurs 1940–1944 (Paris, 1986), p. 30Google Scholar.

⁶² AN, 40 AS 43, note 12 Feb. 1944. The St Etienne mine school operated between November 1943 and March 1944 (AN, F 12 99 68 ‘Utilisation dans les mines’).

⁶³ AN, 40 AS 43, 22 June 1943.

⁶⁴ AN, 40 AS 44, ‘La Politique des houillères’.

⁶⁵ Milward, , The new order in France, p. 194Google Scholar.

⁶⁶ Hoover, La vie de la France, I, 365Google Scholar.

⁶⁷ AN, 68 AJ 130, note of 27 Mar. 1942 ‘les mines se trouvent moins intéressées qu'en periode normal au maintien de la qualité des carburants produits’.

⁶⁸ AN, 40 AS 44, ‘La politique des houillères’, p. 10.

⁶⁹ Ibid.

⁷⁰ Hoover, La vie de la France, I, 363Google Scholar.

⁷¹ Ibid.

⁷² AN, 68 AJ 1001, note of 24 Mar. 1942.

⁷³ AN, 40 AS 44, letter of 26 Sept. 1942 from the Loire chamber of mines to the COH.

⁷⁴ Hémery, Oddette Hardy, ‘Rationalisation de la technique et rationalisation du travail dans les mines d'Anzin 1927–1938’, Le Mouvement Social, 1970, LXXII (1970), 40Google Scholar.

⁷⁵ Pucheu, , Ma vie (Paris, 1947), p. 74Google Scholar. For further details of the Loustau plan and its reception seeKourchid, , Production industrielle et travail, p. 170Google Scholar.

⁷⁶ Dejonghe, Etienne, ‘Les Houillères du Nord et du Pas de Calais à L'epreuve’, Revue du Nord, CCXXVII (1975), 643–67CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

⁷⁷ Luirard, Monique, La région stéphanoise dans la guerre et dans la paix 1936–1951 (Paris, 1981)Google Scholar.

⁷⁸ For an especially crass example of this style of thinking seePaul, Marcel in Revue du Nord, CXXVII (1975), 667CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

⁷⁹ AN, 92 AQ 27, transcripts of conseil d'administration of Blanzy company, 16 May 1941.

⁸⁰ AN, 40 AS 44, letter dated 27 June 1943 from sociétés de tourbieres de Chateauneuf to COH.

⁸¹ AN, F 12 10033, Leperq letter to inspector of mines dated 10 May 1941.

⁸² Extract of report b y commissioner of the republic Closon inRevue du Nord, CCXXVII (1975), 661–9Google Scholar.

⁸³ Luirard quotes Perrin Pelletier as saying that the phrase ‘système Bédaux’ was used too loosely to describe any system of payment by results (La guerre et la paix, p. 600). No doubt this is right but in practice both mine managers and the COH use the phrase.

⁸⁴ AN, MI 109 MI 5, transcript of conseil d'administration of Anzin company 24 June 1941 and 27 March 1942.

⁸⁵ Paul, Marcel, Revue du Nord, CCXXVII (1975), 667CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

⁸⁶ AN, 40 AS 78, note to Lafond.

⁸⁷ Ibid.

⁸⁸ AN, 92 AQ 27, in December 1941 at a meeting of the board of the Blanzy mine it was said that the recent strikes were the inevitable products of low rations.

⁸⁹ AN, 40 AS 78, letter from Oberfeldkommandantur 670 to the perfect at Lille quoted in note dated 11 October 1943.

⁹⁰ Closon, in Revue de Nord, CCXXVII (1975)Google Scholar.

⁹¹ AN, MI 109 5, meeting of board 27 Oct. 1939.

⁹² Holter, , ‘Miners against the state’, p. 60Google Scholar.

⁹³ AN, F 12 10156, letter of 30 Nov. 1944 to commissioner of the republic in Lyon.

⁹⁴ Luirard, , La guerre et la paix, p. 706Google Scholar, testimony of Monjauvais.

⁹⁵ Ibid.

⁹⁶ F 12 10156, letter of 30 Nov. to commissioner of the republic in Lyon.

⁹⁷ Luirard, , La guerre et la paix, p. 706Google Scholar.

⁹⁸ AN, 40 AS 46, note of 26 Oct. 1944.

⁹⁹ Jones, Joseph, ‘Vichy and post war economic modernization: the case of the shopkeepers’, French Historical Studies, XII, 4 (1981), 541–88Google Scholar, reports that one member of the CO for commerce proposed that it should withdraw cooperation from the rélève but that other members of the COGC did not think that it would be sufficiently powerful to resist German pressure.

¹⁰⁰ Lottman, , The people's anger, p. 221Google Scholar.

¹⁰¹ AN, F12 10 179. A large number of submissions by this body can be found in this carton.

¹⁰² AN, 39 AS 964.

¹⁰³ AN, 39 AS 864, 29 Sept. 1944.

¹⁰⁴ AN, 39 AS 852, 11 Nov. 1943.

¹⁰⁵ AN, 39 AS 861, 23 June 1943.

¹⁰⁶ AN, 39 AS 965, undated.

¹⁰⁷ Luirard, , La guerre et la paix, p. 713Google Scholar.

¹⁰⁸ AN, 68 AJ 131, written by Leperq in Dec. 1941 and published by the COH in Jan. 1944.

¹⁰⁹ AN, 39 AS 964, letter from S.A.A.R.S. company.

¹¹⁰ AN, 307 AP 140, letter Perrin to Dautry of 27 Sept. 1944.

¹¹¹ Calmette, , L'O.C.M., histoire d'un mouvement de résistance de 1940 à 1944 (Paris, 1962), p. 67Google Scholar. Historians have been rather sniffy about Leperq's war record. Azéma suggests that he was a prudential resistant.

¹¹² Hoover, La vie de la France, p. 363Google Scholar.

¹¹³ Nicolle, entry for 15/16 and 17 of Mar. 1944.

¹¹⁴ AN, 40 AS 47.

¹¹⁵ Hoover, La vie de la France, I, 363Google Scholar.

¹¹⁶ For example the socialists in parliament produced a draft bill to nationalize the mines which insisted on the ‘raison d'ordre morale et sociale qui, non moins impérieusement que les raisons d'ordre économique’ for nationalization and went on to talk at length about the war record of the mines. A text of this project can be found in 40 AS 2 dated 19 June 1945.

¹¹⁷ AN, 40 AS 2, pamphlet of chambre syndicale des houillères.

¹¹⁸ Holter, , ‘Miners against the state’, p. 125Google Scholar.

¹¹⁹ AN, F 12 10156.

¹²⁰ Holter, , ‘Miners against the state’, p. 125Google Scholar.

¹²¹ AN, F 12 1056, letter dated 13 Feb. 1945 from ministry to prefect in answer to his letter of 30 Nov. 1944.

¹²² Jacques Julliard, ‘La charte du travail’, in FNSP. Le gouvemement de Vichy, 1940–1942.

¹²³ Rousso, , ‘L'organization industrielle de Vichy’, Revue d'histoire de la deuxième guerre mondial, CXVI (1979), 1–39Google Scholar.

¹²⁴ Hoover, La vie de la France, p. 363Google Scholar.

¹²⁵ Hoover, La vie de la France, p. 369Google Scholar.

¹²⁶ For the post-war development of the mines see Holter ‘Miners against the state’ andTrempe, Rolande ‘De l'utopie au compromis’ in Andrieu, Claire, Van, Lucette le and Prost, Antoine (eds.) Les Nationalisations de la Libération (Paris, 1987)Google Scholar.

¹²⁷ Jones, , ‘Illusions of sovereignty: business and the organization of committees in Vichy France’, Social History, II, I (1986), 1–33CrossRefGoogle Scholar, does seem to include civil servants in his definition of the Vichy state but he suggests that their policy ran counter to that of the COs.

¹²⁸ Rousso, Henri, ‘Les paradoxes de Vichy’, in Le capitalisme français, ed. Fridenson, Patrick and Straus, André (Paris, 1987), p. 81Google Scholar.

¹²⁹ Jones, , ‘The organization of committees’, p. 28Google Scholar.

¹³⁰ Jones, ‘The organization of committees’;Kuisel, Richard, Capitalism and the state in modern France. Revolution and economic management in the twentieth century (New York, 1981)Google Scholar; Mioche, Philippe, Le Plan Monnet: genèse et élaboration, 1941–1947 (Paris, 1987)Google Scholar.

¹³¹ Jones, , ‘The organization of committees in Vichy France’, p. 16Google Scholar. Jones, ‘Vichy and post war economic modernization’ does suggest that in commerce the war did lead to a less concentrated system based upon short-term demand but of course this occurred against the will of the relevant CO.