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L'invention du luxe à la française | The invention of French luxury
On the eve of the French Revolution, all of Europe flocked to the luxury capital to stock up on fine linens, Sèvres porcelain, Saint-Gobain mirrors, Lyon silks, Alençon lace and other dazzling testimonies of a know-how admired in all the courts of the continent. More than two centuries later, France remains an international symbol of luxury, between haute couture, cosmetics and great wines, but we have forgotten that it owes it to the ambition of Louis XIV and the vision of his minister Colbert, who have created from scratch a sophisticated industrial apparatus to set out to conquer markets. Because in 1665, the kingdom was bloodless. The military budget is drying up finances already strained by a severe economic crisis. While it is becoming essential to create jobs, France imports twice as much as it exports. From China to Venice via the Netherlands, each region carefully guards the secret of its specialty. Faced with these difficulties, the Sun King resolutely innovates, choosing to develop exceptional industries. Spearheading the mercantilist policy of the government, luxury developed through the royal factories thanks to technical and scientific innovation and new forms of know-how and work. But its rise is also based on less avowed methods: industrial espionage, systematic poaching and, if necessary, pure and simple kidnapping.