Pierre Jovanovic on French Monetary History

Pierre Jovanovic (jovanovic.com) talks to the GoldMoney Foundation about a number of episodes in French monetary history, from John Law’s introduction of fiat money and the Mississippi Bubble. He explains how France repeated its mistake with the Assignat hyperinflation of revolutionary France, how Napoleon’s gold standard and the latin monetary union lasted over 100 years and how it was abandoned to fight the First World War. He talks about De Gaulle’s intention to return to the gold standard and his demands on the dollar’s gold convertibility which eventually lead to Nixon’s default on the US Bretton Woods obligations. He goes on to explain how gold has since been marginalized in France, despite its traditional role and long history