Chapter 889: Investment in the French general election

After being verified by Li Wuming at the door, François Mitterrand was led by Li Wuming to the living room at the innermost part.

There was only Xia Yu in the living room. Xia Yu, who had heard the footsteps long ago, got up. After seeing the figure of François Mitterrand, he gave a warm smile on his face and said hello in fluent French, 'Mr. Mitterrand, I'm really sorry to have you come over at this late hour.'

Even though he had seen Xia Yu's information before and knew that Xia Yu was very young, François Mitterrand was still shocked when he suddenly saw the real person.

What's more, he never expected Xia Yu to speak such fluent French. If he had his eyes closed, he would have definitely thought that the person in front of him was a native Frenchman.

This was unbelievable!

Fortunately, he was a veteran of the political arena, and although he was shocked inside, he didn't let it show. He gave a kind smile, shook Xia Yu's hand, and said, 'Mr. Xia, good evening. It is an honour to make your acquaintance.'

Xia Yu smiled slightly and said, 'It should be my honour!'

François Mitterrand exclaimed, "Mr Xia, I didn't expect your French to be so good. This is a shock to me. You have an enviable talent for languages.'

Xia Yu smiled and said, "Thank you. I do have a certain talent for languages. This should be the only thing I'm good at.'

François Mitterrand laughed and said, 'Mr Xia, you're really modest.'

'Haha, let's sit down and talk!'

Xia Yu laughed back, then led François Mitterrand to the sofa and sat down.

'Tea or coffee?'

'Tea, I heard that drinking some tea after a meal can help refresh your breath, and it so happens that I just finished dinner an hour ago.'

François Mitterrand said with a smile, feeling quite at home, Xia Yu couldn't help but his eyes brighten slightly.

'Mr. Mitterrand, tea has many functions, such as health preservation, clearing oil and relieving greasy food, and it is best to drink it an hour after a meal.'

'This tea is a new special green tea that came out this year, and you can't buy it on the market. Try it and see if you like it.'

After brewing, Xia Yu poured the amber-coloured tea into a cup, held the cup with wooden tongs and placed it in front of François Mitterrand, making a gesture to invite him to drink.

'Mmm, there's a charming fragrance...'

The two men engaged in friendly conversation, and the cup of tea was the starting point that opened the topic of their casual chat.

'Mr Xia, I hear you have made a lot of investments in France. Are you optimistic about the current economic development in France?'

François Mitterrand asked casually.

Xia Yu looked at him, nodded and shook his head. When François Mitterrand frowned in puzzlement, he said slowly, 'I'm optimistic about France and I'm not optimistic about France.'

'As Europe's leading economy, France is unavoidable, unless I don't want to develop my career. Therefore, large-scale investment in France is inevitable.'

'But I don't think highly of France at the moment. Giscard d'Estaing has his own unique views on the economy and a broad perspective on the overall international situation. He even went so far as to co-initiate the establishment of the European Monetary Union with Germany last year. He is a very capable person.'

'However, in the face of the global economic downturn, and especially with Europe in the midst of an economic quagmire, his preferred liberal policies are not suitable for France. He has tried different approaches, but the French economy has not seen any improvement.'

'So I have invested in quite a few companies in France, but without a major change in France, there is basically not much more to invest.'

Giscard d'Estaing was François Mitterrand's rival, and Xia Yu's comments on Giscard d'Estaing made him feel better.

George Berkeley had communicated with him several times before, so he also knew a little about Xia Yu's attitude.

The reason he had met Xia Yu on this occasion under the pretext of a business trip to the island country was that he wanted to know Xia Yu's true attitude, which was extremely important to him.

At this point Xia Yu brought the topic to this extent, and he did not hide it, asking, 'Mr Xia, you are one of the world's top economic powers. In your opinion, what should France do to get out of the doldrums?'

Xia Yu smiled and said, 'Although the UK has begun the process of privatising state-owned enterprises, it is because the UK's state-owned enterprises are already quite bloated. However, France is different from the UK.'

'For the time being, the productivity of France's state-owned enterprises is still higher than that of the UK, and it is not yet at a level that requires privatisation. State-owned enterprises have the advantages of the state-owned enterprise system, and the efficiency of France's state-owned enterprises actually needs to be improved.'

'In this economic downturn, apart from non-livelihood industries, industries related to people's livelihood should be more subject to the unified guidance of the government, and resources should be fully integrated together to generate more powerful energy.'

Hearing Xia Yu say this, François Mitterrand's smile grew wider, because this was precisely his consistent economic concept.

He has always advocated gradual structural reform of the French economy through a certain degree of nationalisation, planning and autonomous management, without eliminating private ownership, in order to establish 'French-style socialism' that is 'democratic' and 'free'.

His ideas have a certain market, but they are at a lower level and it is more difficult to gain the support of the upper echelons of French capital.

He is also aware of the drawbacks, so he has left room for manoeuvre in his ideas, and this room for manoeuvre is reserved for negotiations and exchanges of interests with capitalists.

It is just difficult to explain...

So when the Englishman George Berkeley approached him, he was initially confused, but after careful investigation, he was overjoyed.

To him, it didn't matter if the capital came from France or England, as long as it was capital.

What's more, this capital didn't look weak at all!

The French Socialist Party, which he headed, was quite short of funds.

Not to mention that the capital that had thrown him an olive branch had achieved great things in the media sector and had a certain media foundation in France. As long as the other party was willing to invest, it would not be difficult to expand its media presence in France.

A capitalist with both financial resources and media support was an excellent partner.

Xia Yu's attitude had already preliminarily clarified the basis for cooperation, so it was time to move the conversation in a more in-depth direction.

François Mitterrand said gratefully: 'Mr Xia, thank you for your recognition of me and for your investment in France.'

'But I am already 64 years old, and my two failed presidential campaigns have dealt a serious blow to my reputation. What's more, the left-wing French Communist Party has broken off its cooperation with our Socialist Party, and we are not in a strong position in the face of the Rassemblement démocratique de la République. Even if I have a lot of ideas, I may not have the chance to put them into practice.'

After saying this, François Mitterrand was moved by his own thoughts and recalled his past struggles. His face looked a little gloomy.

At the age of 28, he joined the special agency of Charles de Gaulle's provisional government and became one of the 15 secretaries-general. At that time, he was a political star.

However, after the official government was established, he was not given a corresponding ministerial position. In a fit of anger, he joined the left-wing Democratic Social Resistance Alliance and, at the age of 30, became the Minister of Veterans Affairs appointed by Paul Ramadier, the Prime Minister of the first government of the Fourth Republic. He became the youngest minister in France in nearly a century and was in the limelight.

He thought he would be able to reach the top in his forties, but fate is unpredictable. Due to repeated political accidents, he lost both elections.

However, he was not a loser. In the 1976 departmental council and municipal elections, he led the left-wing coalition to a great victory, and he was building up his strength for the 1981 general election.

But who knew that FaG, one of the two major forces within the Left Alliance, also had designs on the leadership and was increasingly at odds with him, the First Secretary of the Socialist Party, over some issues of principle. In the end, the Left Alliance broke up, resulting in the Socialist Party's defeat in the parliamentary elections in 1978 and the loss of some of the gains made in 1976.

This was a huge blow to him, because he was already in his sixties.

In the history of French politics, no one had ever successfully run for office in their sixties.

The general election will start again next year, and this year he is already 64 years old, and the Socialist Party has not re-formed an alliance with the French G, one of the two major parties on the left, let alone the other dozen or so large and small parties on the left.

Relying on his Socialist Party alone, he is not confident that he can break through the siege.

His thinking is also related to the unique French system, because France is very lenient when it comes to the establishment and election of political parties. For example, there are currently more than 30 political parties of varying sizes in France, as well as no less than 100 political clubs, each of which is eligible to participate in elections.

Therefore, the uncertainty of general elections in France is particularly high, and no one can say for sure which political parties may suddenly form alliances or betray their allies.

Generally, the French government is formed by a coalition of multiple political parties.

So in fact, before George Berkeley contacted him, he had been hesitating about whether to run in the election again.

He had already lost face twice, and if he lost again, he would have no face left to show to the voters of the Socialist Party, which he had founded, and would have to withdraw from politics in great embarrassment.

But not running in the election might still preserve his dignity, while paving the way for the Socialist Party to continue, and perhaps one day succeed.

Up until now, he still hasn't made up his mind, but that doesn't stop him from making preparations.

Even if he ultimately decides not to run, establishing a good relationship with Xia Yu can also build up the Socialist Party's reserves.

Politics cannot do without capital, and meeting with Xia Yu can only do good. The only thing that can be considered harmful is that he will need to give some benefits to Xia Yu after he succeeds.

But in a capitalist society, the exchange of political and capital interests is nothing out of the ordinary. The exchange partner will be Xia Yu or someone else, and it makes no difference to him.

Back to the topic.

François Mitterrand's tone was gloomy, but Xia Yu knew that he was not really giving up, otherwise he would not have travelled thousands of miles to secretly meet with him.

Without revealing the truth, he smiled lightly and said, 'Mr. Mitterrand, I have always firmly believed in a saying, which has guided my life and will continue to be my guiding principle in the future.'

François Mitterrand's brow twitched with interest, and he asked, 'What is that saying?'

'Everything is possible!'

Xia Yu said solemnly.

François Mitterrand's brow furrowed, and he looked deeply at Xia Yu. He could see the firmness in Xia Yu's eyes.

He seemed to be shocked, and nodded with emotion, saying, 'You are right, everything is possible.'

'Mr Xia, thank you for your teaching. I also believed this when I was young, but I don't know when this gradually faded from my mind.'

Xia Yu couldn't continue with this conversation, after all, François Mitterrand was an elderly man in his sixties.

He immediately changed the subject, saying, 'Mr Mitterrand, I wonder if you have paid any attention to the US election?'

The United States is not only one of the world's two superpowers, but also the head of NATO. Every move the United States makes has a huge impact on the world.

The President of the United States represents the will of the United States, and the US presidential election is naturally watched by the whole world. As a qualified politician, François Mitterrand must pay attention to this matter.

François Mitterrand's expression changed as he thought about the situation of the US election. He nodded and said, 'Of course I'm paying attention.'

Xia Yu continued with a smile, 'Then you should know that Ronald Reagan has already gained the upper hand, and he is now 69 years old!'

'At one time, he was also hesitant to run for the election because of his age.'

'And his background is not as good as yours.'

'But by chance, I had a good chat with him for a week, and after that, I gave him strong support.'

François Mitterrand knew Ronald Reagan's age, but what Xia Yu told him next was a secret that no one knew.

Hearing this out of the blue, François Mitterrand was shocked once again. He looked at Xia Yu with wide eyes and blurted out, 'Mr Xia, you supported Reagan?'

Xia Yu smiled and nodded, saying, 'Yes, his political views impressed me, so I gave him support worth tens of millions of dollars.'

'And his political views were also accepted by David Rockefeller, so he has come this far.'

'I think that your political views are no worse than his for France.'

Xia Yu's last sentence was quite revealing.

Tens of millions of dollars in resources!

David Rockefeller!

The amount of information revealed in Xia Yu's few short sentences was too much, and it made François Mitterrand's thinking stall a bit.

His mouth twitched, but in the end he suppressed his curiosity and didn't ask. There were indeed some things he didn't need to know, and knowing them would be trouble instead.

Xia Yu could talk, but he couldn't ask!

He only needed to know that Xia Yu was indeed a golden thigh!

France is much smaller than the United States, not to mention tens of millions of dollars in resources. If Xia Yu gave him 20 million dollars in resource support, it would be enough to bring about huge changes in his Socialist Party.

Not to mention anything else, it would more than be enough to make the Socialist Party rise in the early stages!

As long as the Socialist Party emerged victorious, he would have the confidence to gain the support of other French consortia and large families, and it was very likely that a virtuous cycle would be formed.

At this moment, he felt that the presidency was not unattainable, and that his dream of decades of struggle might come true!

Looking at Xia Yu's smile, François Mitterrand made up his mind to seize the opportunity and give it another shot.

He was not willing to give up without a fight!