Chapter 1355 The Iron-Blooded President

The reason why Clemenceau chose to go all out was not only because he had no way out, but more importantly, it was out of the need to protect France.

France was severely damaged in World War I and lost a large number of people. The fate of France in World War I also made the French top leaders further realize the importance of population. If France was not inferior to Germany in population, it would not fall into today's predicament.

Although France's industry is now lagging behind Germany, it can be traced back to the population problem in the final analysis. After all, France lacks the basic minerals needed for industrial development compared to Germany, but France's colonial resources are still not bad.

However, the development of these colonial resources also needs population support, otherwise the colonial resistance movement alone can make the French government overwhelmed.

In this regard, East Africa has done a good job. The rapid population growth since the colonial era is the foundation for East Africa to expand and monopolize half of the African continent.

If traditional European colonial methods were used, East Africa would never have expanded to its current size. Of course, this is also due to the high birth rates of German and Far Eastern immigrants. The same is true for Slavic immigrants, the third largest source of immigrants in East Africa, but the Slavic immigrants in East Africa have long been Germanized.

Of course, the French government, or the current French government leadership, is very envious of East Africa's birth rate.

Clemenceau said in a sad tone: "France lost a lot of precious lives in the war, including many young people. They should have been the future of France and shouldered the heavy responsibility of breeding in France, but they died on the battlefield because of our misjudgment of the war."

"So, for the future of France, we must cherish the French people who survived today."

"If what East Africa described really happened, this round of plague will probably take more lives, which I cannot accept."

The senior government officials saw that the president's will could not be changed, so they stopped struggling and asked: "Mr. President, what should we do?"

Although Clemenceau's future is bleak, it is undeniable that he is still the top leader of France, and he was known for his tough measures during the war, so no one in the government dared to provoke Clemenceau's emotions and do things that were lip service and sly disobedience.

Seeing that morale was good, Clemenceau said with relief: "Everyone, let's fight for France again this time. As for our reputation after death, let future generations judge us! We just need to do it with a clear conscience this time."

"Pass my order, France has entered a state of emergency. From now on, the government will return to the wartime state and strictly control the country's materials, especially medical resources."

"All French people must carry out production and life activities under the arrangement of the government. For the hardest-hit areas of the epidemic, strict control will be implemented, and registration and filing work will be done well."

"The health department, the army, the police station and other relevant organizations will carry out large-scale disinfection work across the country under the unified command of the government."

"Especially the ruins in the war and the bodies on the battlefield must be professionally handled to prevent the formation of new sources of infection and be vigilant against the emergence of other plagues..."

The Western Front was also the main battlefield in France, especially in northern France, which also led to the destruction of a large number of buildings in artillery fire and a large number of casualties.

In some ruins and battlefields, there is a high probability that there will be bodies that have not been cleaned up in time, so Clemenceau emphasized this point.

"Strictly control the flow of medicines and crack down on illegal elements who drive up prices. At this time, if anyone dares to go against the government, he will be punished for treason."

"Inventory the materials stored in the warehouses requisitioned by the government and the military during the war, and strictly investigate the reselling of materials. Although the war is over, fighting the plague is a new war. I don't want to hear bad news flowing into my ears..."

France has stockpiled a large amount of materials for the war, and now these materials are still piled up in the warehouse because of the end of the war. Clemenceau plans to recycle them.

"Implement special governance measures for the epidemic-stricken areas. Before the crisis is resolved, strictly implement the isolation system. The government will coordinate the national medical and health resources and the transportation and operation of daily necessities..."

Clemenceau arranged various tasks in an orderly manner, but other government personnel became more and more frightened as they listened.

Nothing else, as France is an old sports area in the world, the rulers of France also know best how difficult it is to serve the French people.

You have to know that France has just emerged from the war, and the French people have been suppressed for five years. Now Clemenceau's orders are tantamount to shrouding France in the haze again.

It's just that before it was the haze of war, and now it is the haze of plague. In the case that the destructive power of this round of epidemic cannot be fully confirmed, Clemenceau's series of measures are tantamount to telling the French that this epidemic crisis is no less serious than the war.

If the development of the epidemic is as Clemenceau expected, it would be fine. If it just ends hastily, then the image of Clemenceau's government in the hearts of the French people will really be impossible to wash away.

Moreover, whether the French government has the ability to suppress the plague within a controllable range by its own efforts is also a question mark. If it is really like the Black Death era, it is helpless through various means, and it will be even more impossible to end.

For this reason, someone asked President Clemenceau with trepidation: "Mr. President, is this a bit of an exaggeration? If the situation exceeds our expectations and control, I am afraid that all of us will not be able to explain to the people."

President Clemenceau waved his hand and said: "Don't persuade me anymore. No matter how bad the situation is, it can't be that bad! You don't need to worry, just follow my orders. I will bear all the consequences in the end, even if it is a bad name, I will bear it!"

Seeing that the president's attitude was very firm and he took the initiative to take responsibility, others did not dare to say more.

In fact, up to now, although Clemenceau's reputation among the French people has dropped significantly, his power has not been shaken at all.

Please...you...collect_6Ⅰ9Ⅰ书Ⅰ吧 (六\\\\\\九\\\\\\书\\\\\\吧!)

The so-called "blessings are the result of misfortunes, and misfortunes are the result of blessings". It is precisely because France is a mess now that Clemenceau's competitors are unwilling to take over. Clemenceau's power has not been damaged at all, which also makes him more confident to implement his own policies.

In early 1920, when East Africa was on high alert and ready to deal with the plague, France followed suit and opened a nationwide curfew.

The actions of the two governments were naturally seen by other countries in the world, and there were many discussions. Some countries supported the attitudes of the two countries, but many countries sneered at the practices of the two countries, and even had the idea of ​​watching the show.

Countries outside Europe thought that it was none of their business and kept aloof. Many of them did not realize the destructive power of the plague. In addition to the delayed news and insufficient cognition, many people did not think that the plague would spread so quickly.

What's more, there has never been a plague of such a scale in the world before. After all, the world pattern today is very different from that before the 19th century. Now the world market has taken shape, which has also led to increasingly frequent exchanges in trade, culture, and military between continents and regions.

This has also intensified the exchanges of people between countries and regions, and the frequent exchanges of people naturally mean that if a large-scale infectious disease breaks out, the possibility of its development into a global disease will be greatly increased.

This was the case with the Spanish flu in the previous life. At that time, almost half of the world's 1.8 billion people were affected.

There are even data estimates that during the Spanish flu pandemic from 1918 to 1919, 50 million to 100 million people died in the world.

If this data is true, it even far exceeds the number of casualties in the entire First World War.