Plan Commission

The General Planning Commission () was an advisory body reporting to the government of France, extant from 1946 to 2006.

History

The idea of the Commission came from exchanges between Charles de Gaulle and Jean Monnet. It was established by De Gaulle as Chairman of the Provisional Government of the French Republic, on 3 January 1946. Monnet was appointed its first General Commissioner, a position he held until moving to Luxembourg in 1952 as first President of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community.

The General Planning Commission's first plan, the Modernization and Re-equipment Plan, was designed to spur economic reconstruction following World War II. Its aims were: (1) to develop national production and foreign trade, particularly in those fields where France is most favourably placed; (2) to increase productivity; (3) to ensure the full employment of manpower; (4) to raise the standard of living and to improve the environment and the conditions of national life. This plan is commonly known as the Monnet Plan after Jean Monnet, the chief advocate and first head of the General Planning Commission.

In pursuit of its objectives, the General Planning Commission set production targets for 1950 according to the resources that were then expected to be available, starting with six crucial sectors: coal mining, steel, electricity, rail transport, cement, and farm machinery. Later oil, chemicals, fertilizers, synthetic fertilizers, synthetic fibres, shipbuilding and other sectors were added. The Commission's plan emphasized expansion, modernization, efficiency, and modern management practice. It set investment targets, and allocated investment funds.

The plan’s process – focusing, prioritizing, and pointing the way – has been called "indicative planning" to differentiate it from highly directive and rigid Soviet style planning.

The General Planning Commission continued to produce a multi-year plan for France until 2006 when it was succeeded by the Centre d'Analyse Stratégique. In 2013, the successor institution was rebranded France Stratégie. A separate position of was created in 2020.

Location

The ''Plan'' was headquartered in the , a historical property at 18, rue de Martignac in Paris; the name "rue de Martignac" was often use metonymically to refer to the Planning Commission.

The Planning Commission expanded to nearby offices at 30, rue Las Cases and 5, rue Casimir Périer, both vacated by Crédit Agricole when the latter relocated its head office to near the Gare Montparnasse in the 1960s. In 2001–2002, these extensions of the Planning Commission relocated from there to another government building in the same neighborhood at 113, rue de Grenelle.

General Commissioners

* Jean Monnet, 1946–1952
* Étienne Hirsch, 1952–1959
* Pierre Massé, 1959–1966
* François-Xavier Ortoli, 1966–1967
* , 1967–1974
* , 1974–1978
* Michel Albert, 1978–1981
* , 1981–1984
* Henri Guillaume, 1984–1987
* , 1987–1988
* , 1988–1992
* , 1992–1995
* Henri Guaino, 1995–1998
* Jean-Michel Charpin, 1998–2003
* Alain Etchegoyen, 2003–2005
* , 2005–2006

See also

* Haut Commissariat au Plan (Morocco)
* Economic history of France

References

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Government agencies of France
Economic history of France
Economic planning
French economic policy
Government agencies established in 1946
1946 establishments in France
Government agencies established in 2006
2006 disestablishments in France