The French budget and the fall of the franc

The Times, commenting on the franc crisis, attributes it primarily to the fact that the French budget, including the extraordinary budget, is not balanced. France, writes this newspaper, must not count on reparation payments, rather it must only consider them, if they occur, as good windfalls; the French taxpayer will first have to count on him to ensure the economic salvation of France.

The Financial News carried out a survey among the City's bankers on the depreciation of the French and Belgian francs.
According to the opinion of a foreign banker. writes this newspaper, the French franc would fall as a result of the new taxes adopted by the Chamber which cause a flight of capital abroad. Many people sell their state funds and invest their capital abroad to avoid taxes. As for the Belgian exchange rate, it follows the situation of the French exchange out of sympathy, although the market is much less pessimistic about its future.

The Observer writes: The French, encouraged by Mr. Poincaré. thought they could play the lute of militarism without it costing them anything. Now that the reparations which were to balance the French budget have not been obtained by the occupation of the Ruhr, which has only postponed any payment from Germany, people who are much wiser and who see much further got rid of their francs. This is the root cause of the depreciation of the French currency.