Chapter 108: Travel Training (3)
As with all things, it began with a small crack.
When exactly did it start...? Roughly with the short-selling of the British pound in 1992.
“It’s fine. Unlike those damn Brits, the French economy is solid.”
At first, they made such bold claims, raising interest rates and releasing capital to defend the value of the franc.
To a certain extent, they were right. Hedge funds that half-heartedly threw short-sells just to test the waters ended up bleeding and pulled back.
Great France, unlike Britain, seemed to be doing fine. They were neighbors soon to become one community under the name of the European Union, but well... watching the Brits get wrecked was always a pleasure, wasn’t it?
“Ahaha! See that? We can’t let those American bastards eat up our great France. Hmph, but what the hell is up with CL? Politicians, I swear...”
And around that time, CL’s corruption started trickling out.
The usual news of bribery and misconduct, to stories about insiders at the bank pocketing enormous sums through insider trading.
Even optimistic circles started murmuring when the French state-owned bank suddenly announced plans to enter the airline and film industries.
“...Is it really okay for a bank to act like this? I mean, maybe if it were a private bank, sure, but why is a state-owned bank investing so aggressively?”
But they only raised concerns—they couldn’t actually say anything outright.