Laissez-nous faire

How France mortgaged its future and who will pay the bill.

Nov 07, 2026

Illustration of France as a grand palace consuming itself: politicians feeding the fire with load-bearing beams, inherited wealth turned to ashes, tomorrow sacrificed for today’s comfort

Around 1681, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis XIV’s Controller-General of Finances, met with a group of French merchants suffering from British and Dutch competition. Colber…

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