Citroën internal information note no. 032: "The Citroën-Fiat agreements" (3 June 1970)

In this document

This internal note no. 032, dated 3 June 1970, responds to "comments from journalists in the written and broadcast press" regarding the relationship between Citroën and Fiat p. 31. It aims to rectify interpretations by recalling the facts and the exact content of the agreements.

History of the agreements

The note recalls that in October 1968, Citroën S.A. had concluded an agreement with Fiat to coordinate their activities (research, investments, production, supplies, commercial network) while respecting the independence of both groups. This agreement included two parts: an industrial agreement (a research and coordination company with equal capital) and a financial agreement, notably including a 15% stake by Fiat in the capital of Citroën S.A. during the capital increase of December 1968 p. 31.

The holding company and the Michelin-Fiat press release

The note specifies that the creation of a French holding company, bringing together the shares of the French and Italian groups, is "currently underway," with the French group remaining the majority shareholder p. 32. It quotes in full the Michelin-Fiat signed press release of 31 May 1970, which denies "any takeover of Citroën by Fiat" and confirms that Michelin would hold the majority of this holding company p. 32.

Modification of the Board of Directors

Due to the end of the terms of office of Messrs. Robert and Victor Puiseux, the General Meeting of 24 June 1970 will have to appoint as directors: Raymond Ravenel (CEO of Citroën and Société commerciale Citroën), François Rollier (Michelin manager), and Jean Reyre (former CEO of the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas). To represent Fiat: Giovanni Nasi (Vice-President) and Francesco Rota (Director and co-managing director) p. 33. The Board would then bring together, with the four incumbent directors — Pierre Bercot, Antoine Bruéder, René Marais, Paul Berliet — a total of nine members p. 33.

Context

Historically, the 1968 Citroën-Fiat agreement was part of a period when Citroën, in financial difficulty, was seeking powerful industrial partners. Michelin, then the majority shareholder of Citroën, would play a pivotal role in this capital structure. The alliance with Fiat would eventually be broken in 1973, under pressure notably from French authorities concerned with preserving the national independence of the automotive industry — an outcome subsequent to this note and not mentioned by it.

Archivist's perspective

The presence of a handwritten annotation "M. Magès" at the top of the first page p. 31 suggests that this information note, of a purely administrative and strategic nature, was distributed as far as the chief suspension engineer, no doubt to keep technical executives informed of the group's capital developments.

This document illustrates the climate of industrial uncertainty surrounding Citroën at the dawn of the 1970s, a period during which Paul Magès was also continuing his work on passive safety, as evidenced by the notes on the braking effort formula dated 1973.