France: Second Empire and Third Republic^727

A cartoon critical of Napoleon III, shown limping behind a vulture after his defeat

in the Franco-German war (left), stands in stark contrast to the Bonapartist propa­

ganda early in his dictatorship declaring “The Glory of Napoleon III” (right).

The clergy remained grateful that during the Second Republic over which
Napoleon had presided as president and then destroyed, the Falloux Law
of 1850 had returned much control over education to them.

Economic Growth

The rate of French economic growth was such during the 1850s that eco­
nomic historians sometimes use it as an example of an industrial ‘‘take-off.”
French exports doubled between 1853 and 1864. Never before had any
state taken such a direct role in stimulating the economy through encour­
agement and investment. Government officials coordinated the efforts of
the ministries of agriculture, commerce, and public works, while keeping in
close touch with wealthy bankers and industrialists who backed the regime.
French entrepreneurs had often found it difficult to raise investment cap­
ital. Most companies remained family concerns, hesitant to open investment
possibilities to outsiders. Napoleon III encouraged the creation of state
mortgage banks. In 1852, the Pereire brothers, who were Protestants like
many French bankers, created the Credit Mobilier, an investment bank.
Selling shares to raise capital until its collapse in 1867, it provided loans to
businessmen. Other smaller deposit banks, too, attracted large and medium­
sized investors. A mortgage bank (the Credit Foncier), another one of
Napoleon Ill’s pet projects, aided the development of the agricultural sector.
At the same time, some major French industries reached a scale of pro­
duction and concentration comparable to that of their British rivals. The