Les cartels, une voie vers l'intégration européenne ?. Le rôle de Louis Loucheur (1872-1931)

The interwar period constituted a ?golden age? for cartels. A lot of entrepreneurs or politicians considered even cartels as a good way to rebuild the European economy and to resolve the difficult problem of Reparations. It was the case of Louis Loucheur. Big contractor of civil engineering, Loucheur controlled, at the eve of the World War I a powerful group of construction, electricity and transport. During the war, he became the most important organizer of the French industrial mobilization, with his predecessor, Albert Thomas, a socialist. Taking his inspiration of the Walter Rathenau?s action in Germany, Loucheur surrounded himself of a brain trust of brilliant engineers, accelerated the rationalization process of the French industry and opened the way to an independent national oil policy. After the War, he played a determining role in the French reconstruction. Become a leader of the Republican Left Party, Loucheur campaigned for the development of the international inter-firms agreements and cartels. Loucheur considered that cartels were the only mean to reconcile France and Germany and to compete with<np pagenum="1044"/> us economy. Very active within the League of Nations, he saw cartels as a tool to open the way to United States of Europe. Classification JEL: D43, F23, F53, L26, N73, N74