ABSTRACT
Unlike in other European countries, the Depression in France did not begin to bite until late 1931. Partly because of the undervaluation of the franc, which made exports cheaper, partly because of the colonies, which represented a protected market for French goods, and partly because of the small-scale nature of French industry and agriculture, which allowed businesses to slow down production rather than lay off workers, France was initially insulated from the downturn. Moreover, the fact that French producers studiously avoided indebtedness and overproduction meant that France had been spared the artificial levels of prosperity in America, with the result that France suffered much lower levels of unemployment, less than 900,000 at the height of the crisis as opposed to 6 million in Britain.
