Abstract

The Tasks Ahead in France

According to the author there will be two tasks, which will be the first responsibility of the government of liberated France, the repatriation of the millions of persons who have been driven from their homes and the provision of food for a huge percentage of the population. The next thing to be done will be to find jobs for the returning men, at least for all those who do not live on the land. In most cases only the walls of the factories will be standing. Or if the buildings have escaped destruction, it will be found that the machinery has been removed, probably to Central Europe. Or if the machinery is intact; there will be no power to turn the wheels, no raw materials to feed it. In former highly industrialized regions large numbers of skilled operatives will be unable to find work. At the same time in other regions there may be a shortage of labor-men will be needed to repair highways and railroads, to build houses, to quarry stone, to make cement and bricks. Obviously, after the liberation, maximum production will be required in the essential industries.