The Stavisky affair: scandal at the top of the state

2024-03-28T04:11:02.856Z

Highlights: At the beginning of 1934, a financial scandal jeopardized the Third Republic. Businessman Serge Alexandre Stavisky dies mysteriously while he is about to be arrested. He is accused of having set up scams worth several million francs, while benefiting from the support and goodwill of high-ranking people. These revelations have the effect of a bomb. The general public is outraged and demands that heads fall at the top of the corrupt state. The crisis becomes political and fuels the ambient anti-parliamentarism.

At the beginning of 1934, a financial scandal jeopardized the Third Republic. Businessman Serge Alexandre Stavisky dies mysteriously while he is about to be arrested. He is accused of having set up scams worth several million francs, while benefiting from the support and goodwill of high-ranking people. These revelations have the effect of a bomb. The general public is outraged and demands that heads fall at the top of the corrupt state. On December 15, 1933, financial controller Maxime Sadron found six vouchers signed in blank at Crédit municipal de Bayonne. Like a blank check, it's illegal. Gustave Tissier, the director is arrested, and he does not intend to dive alone. It involves a famous man in the region, who immediately enters the crosshairs of the police: Mr. Alexandre, the most influential businessman of the moment. Born in Russia, Serge Alexandre Stavisky moved to France at the beginning of the 19th century. He amassed a small fortune in various scams. Bayonne's credit is one of them: he put it together from scratch. Everyone is rushing for their vouchers, encouraged by the Ministers of Labor and Commerce. Following Tissier's denunciation, an arrest warrant was issued against the businessman, who is now untraceable. In early January 1934, the police traced Stavisky to Chamonix. The crook is surrounded, but the rest of the story is a mystery. The door to one of the two bedrooms is locked from the inside, and the police take a long time to break it down... until a shot rings out from inside. Stavisky is found in agony. Immediately, the police were suspected of having murdered him: this man knew too much. The press traces Stavisky's friendships which go all the way back to the top of the state. The crisis becomes political and fuels the ambient anti-parliamentarism. While fascist regimes are spreading across Europe, the Third Republic is faltering.