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Georges-Étienne Bonnet (22/23 July 1889 – 18 June 1973) was a French politician and leading figure in the Radical Party. == Early career == Bonnet was born in Bassillac, Dordogne, the son of a lawyer.〔Adamthwaite, Anthony ''France and the Coming of the Second World War 1936–1939'', London: Frank Cass, 1977 page 98.〕 He studied law and political science at the École Libre des Sciences Politiques and Sorbonne, and then went to work as an ''auditeur'' at the ''Conseil d'état''.〔 In 1911, he launched a political career after marrying Odette Pelletan, the granddaughter of Eugene Pelletan.〔 Bonnet's wife, often known as Madame Soutien-Georges, ran a salon, and had great ambitions for her husband; one contemporary reported that Madame Bonnet was "so wildly ambitious for her husband that when a new ministry was being formed he was afraid to go home at night unless he had captured a post for himself."〔Adamthwaite, Anthony ''France and the Coming of the Second World War 1936–1939'', London: Frank Cass, 1977 page 104.〕 Many privately mocked Bonnet for the way in which his wife dominated him.〔May, Ernest ''Strange Victory'', New York: Hill & Wang, 2000 page 160.〕 The moniker "Madame Soutien-Georges" directed towards her was a French pun on the word for "brassiere" (''soutien-gorge'') and was both a reference to Bonnet and to the size of her breasts.〔 In 1914, Bonnet joined the French Army and in 1918 served as director of demobilization.〔 During his service in World War I, Bonnet was a much-decorated soldier who won the ''Croix de guerre'' medal for bravery under fire.〔Young, Robert ''France and the Origins of the Second World War'', New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996 page 146.〕 In 1919, Bonnet served as a secretary to the French delegation at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 and wrote a book, ''Lettres á un Bourgeois de 1914'', that called for widespread social reforms.〔 Bonnet served in the Chamber of Deputies from 1924 to 1928 and again from 1929 to 1940. He was appointed undersecretary of state in 1925, the first in a series of high ministerial positions throughout the 1920s and 1930s. During his time as in the Chamber, Bonnet was regarded as a leading expert in financial and economic matters.〔 As a minister, Bonnet had a reputation for hard work, always well prepared in parliamentary debates and excelling at political intrigue.〔 In 1932, Bonnet headed the French delegation at the Lausanne Conference.〔Adamthwaite, Anthony ''France and the Coming of the Second World War 1936–1939'', London: Frank Cass, 1977 page 99.〕 During the Lausanne Conference, British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, commenting on Bonnet's abilities, asked: "Why isn't he in the Cabinet?".〔 In 1933, Bonnet was a prominent member of the French delegation to the London Conference, where he was a leading critic of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's actions during the conference.〔Morrison, Rodney "The London Monetary and Economic Conference of 1933: A Public Goods Analysis" ''American Journal of Economics and Sociology'', Volume 52, Number. 3, July 1993 pages 312 & 314.〕 In 1936, Bonnet emerged as the leader of 18 Radical deputies who objected to their party's participation in the ''Front Populaire''. As a result, the French Premier Léon Blum effectively exiled Bonnet in January 1937 by appointing him Ambassador to the United States, even though Bonnet did not speak English.〔 Upon hearing of Bonnet's appointment, the American Ambassador to France, William Christian Bullitt, Jr. wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt about Bonnet: I don't think you'll like him. He is extremely intelligent and competent on economic and financial matters, but he's not a man of character. You may remember that he led the French delegation to the London economic conference where he led the attacks against you.〔Duroselle, Jean-Baptiste ''France and the Nazi Threat'', New York: Enigma Books, 2004 page 254.〕Despite his short stay in the United States and his inability to speak English, Bonnet thereafter and for the rest of his life claimed to be an expert on all things American.〔Lacaze, Yvon "Daladier, Bonnet and the Decision-Making Process During the Munich Crisis, 1938" pages 215–233 from ''French Foreign and Defence Policy, 1918–1940'' pages 224–225〕 On 28 June 1937, Bonnet returned to France when the Premier Camille Chautemps appointed him Finance Minister.〔Duroselle, Jean-Baptiste ''France and the Nazi Threat'', New York: Enigma Books, 2004 page 251.〕 Bonnet's first major act as Finance Minister was to oversee the devaluation of the franc (the second devaluation in less than nine months), with the value of the franc going from 110.8 francs per British pound to 147.20.〔 The devaluation was forced on Bonnet by the fact that the 10 billion francs that had been set aside in September 1936 in a Currency Reserve Fund to defend the value of the franc following the devaluation of that year had been spent by the middle of 1937.〔 As Finance Minister, Bonnet imposed sharp cuts in military spending.〔Frankstein, Robert "French Appeasement Polices" pages 236–245 from ''The Fascist Challenge and the Policy of Appeasement'' edited by Wolfgang Mommsen & Lothar Kettenacker, George Allen & Unwin: London, United Kingdom, 1983 pages 240–242.〕 Bonnet felt that the costs of the arms race with Germany were such that it was better for France to reach an understanding that might end the arms race than continue to spend gargantuan sums on the military.〔Frankstein, Robert "French Appeasement Polices" pages 236–245 from ''The Fascist Challenge and the Policy of Appeasement'' edited by Wolfgang Mommsen & Lothar Kettenacker, George Allen & Unwin: London, United Kingdom, 1983 page 240.〕 Besides for the economic problems associated with budgetary stability and his attempts to maintain the value of the franc against currency speculation, Bonnet was concerned with the social conflict caused by the need for increased taxation and decreased social services to pay for arms.〔Frankstein, Robert "French Appeasement Polices" pages 236–245 from ''The Fascist Challenge and the Policy of Appeasement'' edited by Wolfgang Mommsen & Lothar Kettenacker, George Allen & Unwin: London, United Kingdom, 1983 pages 242–244.〕 In a meeting with Franz von Papen, the German Ambassador to Austria, in November 1937, Bonnet and Chautemps expressed the hope that an understanding might be reached in which France might accept Central and Eastern Europe as Germany's sphere of influence in return for German acceptance of Western Europe as France's sphere of influence.〔Frankstein, Robert "French Appeasement Polices" pages 236–245 from ''The Fascist Challenge and the Policy of Appeasement'' edited by Wolfgang Mommsen & Lothar Kettenacker, George Allen & Unwin: London, United Kingdom, 1983 page 241.〕 Moreover, Bonnet became the leading spokesman within the French Cabinet for the idea that the French alliance system in Eastern Europe, the so-called ''cordon sanitaire'', was a net liability that only served to embroil France in conflicts with Germany.〔Frankstein, Robert "French Appeasement Polices" pages 236–245 from ''The Fascist Challenge and the Policy of Appeasement'' edited by Wolfgang Mommsen & Lothar Lettenacke, George Allen & Unwin: London, United Kingdom, 1983 page 240.〕 Throughout his career, Bonnet was noted as an advocate of "sacred egoism" and that France must do what helped French interests over any other country's.〔Duroselle, Jean-Baptiste ''France and the Nazi Threat'', New York: Enigma Books, 2004 page 272.〕 Bonnet regarded himself as a "realist", and his thinking on foreign policy tended to be colored in equal measure by pragmatism and insularity.〔Overy, Richard & Wheatcroft, Andrew ''The Road to War'', London: Macmillan, 1989 page 130.〕 Bonnet's cuts in military spending led to a clash with War Minister Édouard Daladier. Daladier persuaded the Cabinet to rescind the most severe cuts to the French Army budget, pointing out that in the current international climate, the Army needed more funding, not less.〔Frankstein, Robert "French Appeasement Polices" pages 236–245 from ''The Fascist Challenge and the Policy of Appeasement'' edited by Wolfgang Mommsen & Lothar Lettenacke, George Allen & Unwin: London, United Kingdom, 1983 pages 241–242.〕 Since the Ministers of the Air and the Marine were not as substantial personalities as Daladier, the French Navy and French Air Force were not able to reverse the Finance Minister's cuts.〔Frankstein, Robert "French Appeasement Polices" pages 236–245 from ''The Fascist Challenge and the Policy of Appeasement'' edited by Wolfgang Mommsen & Lothar Lettenacke, George Allen & Unwin: London, United Kingdom, 1983 page 242.〕 In January 1938, following the fall of Chautemps's government, Bonnet made a serious effort to form a new government, but in the end, had to content himself with being appointed Minister of State.〔Adamthwaite, Anthony ''France and the Coming of the Second World War 1936–1939'', London: Frank Cass, 1977 pages 99–100.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Georges Bonnet」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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