- published: 12 May 2013
- views: 100201
Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ mɔnɛ]; 9 November 1888 – 16 March 1979) was a French political economist and diplomat. He is regarded by many as a chief architect of European Unity and is regarded as one of its founding fathers. Never elected to public office, Monnet worked behind the scenes of American and European governments as a well-connected pragmatic internationalist.
Monnet was born in Cognac, Charente, into a family of cognac merchants. At the age of sixteen, he abandoned his university-entrance examinations part way through and moved to London where he spent some years in the City of London with Mr. Chaplin, the agent of his father's company. Subsequently, he traveled widely – to Scandinavia, Russia, Egypt, Canada, and the United States – for the family business.
Monnet believed that the only path that would lead to an Allied victory lay in the merging of France and Britain's war efforts and he reflected on a concept that would co-ordinate war resources. In 1914, young Monnet was allowed to meet French Premier René Viviani on this issue. The French government agreed in principle upon his plans. During the first years of the war Monnet had not much success, promoting and pressing internationally for a better organization of the allied economic cooperation. However, finally, stronger combines like the Wheat Executive (end of 1916) and the Allied Maritime Transport Council (end of 1917) were set into work and had a big share[citation needed] in winning the war.
Actors: Jean Musy (composer), Fabien Pondevaux (miscellaneous crew), Vania Vilers (actor), Fritz von Friedl (actor), Perrine Fontaine (miscellaneous crew), Patrick Pechoux (miscellaneous crew), Hans Meyer (actor), Marc Chapiteau (actor), François Marthouret (actor), Yves Pignot (actor), Arnauld de Battice (producer), Christine Boisson (actress), Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu (actor), Joelle Tercinet (miscellaneous crew), Yves Swennen (producer),
Plot: It's May 1950, just before the now-famous Robert Schuman Declaration. Schuman was the French Foreign Minister, who brokered friendly Franco-German Relations after 3 large-scale wars between the two European powers within 70 years brought havoc to Europe regularly. A year after the German Federal Republic (West) was established with Anglo-Franco-American agreement in 1949, the 1950 Declaration, which included the Benelux countries as well, created a West European Customs & Trade Zone. They later added a few more countries to become the European Economic Community, then after two enlargements in the 1980s and 1990s became the EU - the European Union, now expanded significantly larger in area, population, and in economic unity. In the first decade of this century, the EU has again been enlarged twice - the last in 2007 adding Romania and Bulgaria. This story of the EU's origins is told through the chance encounter of a young couple: Jean Monnet, a journalist from the Stuttgarter Zeitung, and the French Marie. They believe in a Union of Western Europe, and help in their own ways to bring the idea about,and change Europe's history forever - up to today, in any case. Later on, Monnet would be Robert Schuman's ally in the quest for peace and reconciliation across the continent. This film by Franck Apprederis was produced as part of the 50th Anniversary Commemorations of the European Union.
Keywords: european-union, journalist, post-world-war-two