Pierre Laval during WW II
The secrétaire général escorted the premier out into the hallway, “This way, Monsieur le Premier.”
The secrétaire général nodded ahead to a receptionist and asked softly by way of inquiry for his principal assistant, “Madame Lambert?”
The woman stepped through a nearby door into an interior office and said, “Madame.”
Presently, Madame Lambert stepped out of her office into the corridor, and in a moment of recognition, she smiled warmly at the premier with a look of easy friendship in her eyes.
The premier said, “Ah, Madame Lambert.”
The secrétaire général immediately understood that the premier knew Madame Lambert, and rather well he gathered. He also knew that the premier was totally devoted to his wife and daughter, a man unknown to wander with other women. The respect for Madame Lambert would be strictly professional concluded the secrétaire général. Which would of course be completely consistent with everything he knew about Madame Lambert. He smiled inwardly. His wife had been trying at every social occasion for months to pry out the tiniest detail about Madame Lambert from behind her monumental discretion.
The premier turned to the secrétaire general. “I know Madame Lambert well from the ministry of labor.”
The secrétaire général quickly understood. “Yes, of course.” The premier had been minister of labor in 1930. With Herculean labor, he had drafted a sweeping social security program for France and through incessant lobbying of all the parties got the legislation through both houses of parliament. It was the most important law passed so far by the Third Republic.
The premier watched the secrétaire général, saw his mind clear, and then good-naturedly said, “In 1930, I saw that the task of passing a social insurance law had broken all governments since the Great War. Therefore, I resolved to start afresh. The people associated with the failures of the past had to go. We undertook a thorough house cleaning of the ministry of labor. Then we wrote a new social security law. With the parliament of course. Madame Lambert was of skillful assistance in our efforts.” The premier smiled.
The secrétaire général immediately saw the threat; the senior civil service dare not obstruct the political leadership, so he mused, or the junior civil service would replace them. Voila! But the threat was so crudely put that he wondered what the real item on today’s agenda was. He was sure he would soon find out.
The premier nodded at Madame Lambert. “Isn’t that so, Madame Lambert?”
“Yes, Monsieur le Premier.” She dipped her head in a hint of a curtsey.
“Ah, I see that you are now a chef du bureau, Madame Lambert?”
“No, Monsieur le Premier, I remain a sous-chef.”
The secrétaire général intervened, “She has been seconded from the ministry of labor. Here she holds temporary appointment as chef du bureau and is paid a supplemental allowance to bring her pay up to the same level.” The secrétaire général smiled with some self-satisfaction at the arrangement.
The premier looked at Madame Lambert. She smiled in thin acquiescence.
The premier smiled warmly at Madame Lambert’s minor dissatisfaction with the arrangement. He admired her ambition, and in due time would make good use of it. The clean competence of her ambition so neatly fit into his plans. So much better than the schemes of some of the other women who tried to use their wiles, if not charms, to promote their careers. Almost always resulting in unfortunate consequences, the premier thought.
The premier turned to the secrétaire general. “We must keep in mind the well-deserved promotion.”
The secrétaire général brought his heels together and bowed slightly. “Our thoughts exactly, Monsieur le Premier.”
The premier nodded in approval. Then bringing Madame Lambert into his gaze, he said, “Let’s go into Madame Lambert’s office and talk.”
Madame Lambert turned and entered her office, the premier followed, and then the secrétaire général, who closed the door behind them. All took a seat.
The premier began, businesslike in tone, “The government has been given the authority by the parliament to rule by decree in financial matters. A comprehensive and coordinated set of laws and regulations must be implemented by the end of July. But all the decrees must submitted to parliament when it returns in October. So the decrees must be written to exacting professional standards.”
The secrétaire général nodded in agreement.
The premier summarized his program, “The government is striving for fiscal independence, flexibility, and for equality of sacrifice.”
The secrétaire général focused on the words “equality of sacrifice,” that would be the political issue. He understood.
The premier continued, “Since your department oversees the development and progress of all legislation, I want to see that all documents related to the implementation of the new finance program are undertaken here in your offices. You will closely work with the permanent staff of the finance ministry and other affected ministries.”
The secrétaire général replied, “We are pleased with your confidence in our capabilities.” The secrétaire général continued to quickly think of the angles; yes, the premier was going to hide the politics behind the professionalism of the civil service. Well, they all do that, he thought.
The premier, guessing at the thinking of the secrétaire général, added, “I also continue as foreign minister.”
The secrétaire général knew that the premier had been foreign minister for the past eight months in the previous governments.
The premier continued, “We must be very professional here at the Matignon so that I can manage the politics that pounds on the front gates of the Quai d’Orsay.”
The secrétaire général nodded his understanding: quite straightforward. Remarkably shrewd, though.
The premier moved on, “My chef du cabinet,” and he nodded towards the other side of the building where his political staff had its offices, “will work to keep the politics of the new budget acceptable to all the political factions. Here, at the level of the premier, we are an all-party coalition.”
The secrétaire général saw the great unspoken principle of this premiership; the government would be all-party at the domestic level, but would exercise its great powers of manipulation at the foreign policy level. The rising threat from Germany was of course the over-arching foreign policy issue. The Right wanted a closer alliance with Mussolini and Fascist Italy. The premier, as foreign minister, had earlier in the spring forged the Stresa Front with both Italy and Great Britain to just that end. The Left wanted a close alliance with Great Britain on a practical level and, on principle, collective security through the League of Nations. Others wanted to consummate the alliance with Soviet Russia, a fearsome thought to the Right, but strategically very sound.
Premier Laval watched and thought: yes, I have been understood.
The premier stood up; the secrétaire général and Madame Lambert followed. The premier said in conclusion, “Madame Lambert is quite familiar with how all of this should be done,” and turning to Madame Lambert and smiling, “from our time together at the labor ministry.”
The secrétaire général, wishing to display some initiative, nodded in agreement and added, “Madame Lambert has just returned from the Quai d’Orsay. She has established a liaison with Madame Bardoux.”
The premier, a bit surprised, seemed pleased. “My compliments on your initiative, Monsieur le Secrétaire Général.”
The premier nodded at Madame Lambert, shook the hand of the secrétaire général, and then walked over to the door. The secrétaire général darted around the premier and opened the door; the premier returned to his offices on the first floor.
The secrétaire général turned and nodded at Madame Lambert to take her seat while he walked back and sat down in one of the wing chairs. He steepled his fingers together, looked over the tops of them at Madame Lambert, and said, “I did not know you knew Premier Laval so well.
”
Madame Lambert simply nodded; she did not feel any further comment was required since there was no personal friendship between her and the premier—all was professional. Everyone would know that except the dullest of gossips. She went on to explain, “He is a very skillful lawyer, very demanding of the professional capabilities of the senior civil service. But always very correct. He wants to get the policy exactly in alignment with what he sees as the political balance point.”
The secrétaire général nodded in silent agreement.
Madame Lambert summed up the future working environment, “We will have long hours of work. But our professionalism will be respected.”