Market microstructure and Nazi influence on the Paris stock exchange during WWII

Although studies of the Paris stock exchange are quite numerous, its functioning during the Second World War has been overlooked. Based on archives from both the French brokers (Compagnie des Agents de Change) and from the occupying forces, this paper describes the market microstructure, the changes in market organization and the manipulations of the stock prices by the Nazis. Furthermore, the paper shows that, for economic reasons, some measures imposed by the Nazis were kept after the war. It suggests, moreover, that long-term analysis based on indices that include the war years could be misleading because most stocks could not be bought or sold, even though they were quoted at the time.