Press clippings of 19 July 1974: the takeover of Citroën by Peugeot and the anger of the executives

In this document

The takeover of Citroën by Peugeot (p. 184)

An article in the "Automobile" section describes the beginning of the merger: Citroën executives "were having lunch on Avenue de la Grande-Armée" and Peugeot S.A. is conducting "study and inventory work" at Citroën, modestly called "reciprocal exchange of information" p. 184. The planned scheme is a share swap making Citroën a subsidiary of Peugeot S.A., with Michelin remaining in the capital p. 184. The article mentions a possible bailout by the State, the banks and Michelin, possibly via the sale of Berliet p. 184.

The concern is focused on management: design engineers feel "the most targeted", and the article mentions a "brain-drain" phenomenon, citing the departure of Claude-Alain Sarre to the Lainière de Roubaix in 1970 p. 184.

Letter from a "group formed of executives" (p. 183)

A second anonymous letter, published after a first one on 17 July, draws up a critical assessment of Citroën's management: lack of internal information, power concentrated around the Michelin family and Mr. Pierre Bercot, models deemed unsellable (the 11 CV, the 2 CV compared to the R4, the DS described as the "Citroën Concorde", the SM), and a "total compartmentalisation of the various departments" where engineers allegedly "sabotaged" a test by the marketing department p. 183.

Letter from the engineers: "graveyard of brains" (p. 185)

A "group of engineers and executives" says they are "deceived and wounded in our pride" to have learned of the takeover "via the radio". They acknowledge having presented options that were "generously optimistic and idealistic" and mention the responsibility of "La Vieillesse du Prince", a book attributed to Mr. Bercot (note 1, p. 185). They say they are "ready to collaborate loyally" with Peugeot "if we are not considered a graveyard of brains" p. 185. The editor's note (NDLR) specifies that the letter is not representative of all "6,000 engineers and executives", many of whom "view the merger with hope" p. 185.

Context

These clippings appear at a time when Citroën, in serious financial difficulty, is being taken over by Peugeot under the impetus of its majority shareholder Michelin, in a context of oil crisis and the end of major costly engineering projects (Wankel rotor, SM). Historically, this merger would give birth to the PSA Peugeot-Citroën group in 1976. Paul Magès, the iconic engineer of the hydropneumatic suspension, belongs precisely to this generation of "design engineers" mentioned in the letters, whose professional future was then uncertain.

Archivist's perspective

This triptych of press clippings occupies a special place in the Magès archives: it is not a technical document, but a testimony to the social and human climate surrounding the industrial turning point of 1974. The underlines and annotations in red felt-tip pen (p. 183, p. 184) suggest an attentive reading, probably by Magès himself or a close collaborator, seeking to identify the passages concerning the engineers and the technical management.

It seems that these articles were kept as a personal trace of a pivotal moment — one where the future of the engineering teams, of which Magès was a part, was suspended on Peugeot's decision. This file is a continuation of the technical documents in the "60-74" folder, such as the Summary of the 60-74 folder, which traces the decisions and projects of the same period, or the Note by Paul Magès on the AP suspension, which illustrates the innovation work that these executive letters feared seeing sacrificed.