Le Figaro, 3 December 1974: imminent Citroën-Peugeot and Berliet-Saviem mergers

In this document

Automotive: state aid expected

The main article, signed by Alain Souské, announces that the terms of state aid to the French automotive industry should be known "today" (3 December 1974), following a meeting of the "Interministerial Committee for Industrial Structure Planning" p. 5. The newspaper indicates that "the official announcement of the Berliet-Saviem merger is now imminent, while that of the Peugeot-Citroën marriage should not be long in coming" p. 5.

A box, titled "A gratuitous act?", questions the purpose of this public aid: to avoid the bankruptcy of the "second largest French passenger car manufacturer" and the dismissal of "55,000 employees" p. 5, while questioning why the State would rescue Citroën rather than "these multiple medium-sized companies" in difficulty.

A brief note mentions "significant transactions" on the Kléber-Colombes stock, in connection with rumors of a Citroën-Peugeot merger, and the fact that Michelin would indirectly control Kléber-Colombes via the Semkar company p. 5. A humorous sketch shows a lion (Peugeot) attached to a chevron logo (Citroën) p. 5.

Other economic news on the page

The same page covers, without direct link to Citroën, the steel industry (offer from Denain-Nord-Est-Longwy for Marine-Firminy, p. 5), the Fiat-unions agreement in Italy p. 5, the acquisition of 14.6% of the capital of Daimler-Benz by Kuwait p. 5, the upcoming opening of a Marks and Spencer store in Paris p. 5, and a VEC automatic transport system tested at the Fnac-Montparnasse car park p. 5.

Page 6 is an advertisement for Bernardaud porcelain ("Modern Style"), unrelated to the automotive industry p. 6.

Context

In the autumn of 1974, France was hit by the first oil shock, which severely weakened the automotive industry. Citroën, a subsidiary of Michelin since 1935, was going through a serious financial crisis, aggravated by the difficulties of the Comotor rotary project and disappointing sales of certain models.

The merger between Peugeot and Citroën, mentioned here as imminent, would effectively be made official a few days later, in December 1974, with Peugeot taking a stake in Citroën — a prelude to the full merger in 1976 under the aegis of PSA. This movement was part of a wider wave of industrial concentrations encouraged by the State (Berliet-Saviem in heavy goods vehicles, Denain-Nord-Est-Longwy in the steel industry), in order to build national groups capable of resisting the crisis.

This period coincides precisely with the retirement of Paul Magès, who left Citroën in September 1974 after a 49-year career (photographs of Paul Magès' retirement; letter from Mr. Meignan). He then retired to Ramatuelle, in the Var, where he became a municipal councillor in 1977 and then 2nd deputy mayor in 1983 (list of members of the Ramatuelle municipal council).

Archivist's perspective

This press clipping does not mention Paul Magès by name, but it documents a pivotal moment in the history of Citroën that directly affected his work as an engineer: the merger with Peugeot, on which the very survival of the brand and therefore the continuation of research into hydropneumatic suspension depended.

The worried tone of the article — which questions the legitimacy of public aid and the future of the "55,000 employees" p. 5 — illustrates the atmosphere of crisis in which industrial decisions were then being made at Citroën. This document usefully complements the message from François Rollier of 24 June 1974, which already announced this merger internally, as well as the following day's clipping, Le Figaro of 4 December 1974, which confirms its officialization.

This piece was kept by Magès not for its technical content, but as a witness to the economic and social environment in which his career was then ending — at the very moment he was leaving Citroën after 49 years of service, in a climate of uncertainty about the very future of the company.