CHAPTER 388: CHAPTER 382: SAY NO TO HIGH HOUSING PRICES!

Jerome Bonaparte’s suggestion was like a wake-up call for Georges Haussmann. All along, Haussmann had always focused too much on the theoretical aspects of renovation, never inquiring into the details of the renovation process.

Many specific issues regarding housing prices were delegated to his subordinates, who only provided him with the per square meter subsidy prices for houses in an area, after which he allocated funds from the City’s finances. This certainly saved a lot of time, but it rendered Haussmann unable to control the intermediate stages.

If any mistake occurred in the intermediate stages, such as inflated house purchase prices, collusion between civil servants and landlords to inflate unit prices, or putting valuables that did not belong to them in the house to falsely claim it’s their belongings, thus maliciously inflating purchase prices, the results would exceed the original estimates.

Overextending the financial capacity of the City Hall would also give those councilors at City Hall who were trying to counter-attack a chance.

It must be known that there were not many true supporters of Haussmann’s renovation plans in the entire City Hall; the majority were opposed to Haussmann’s radical policies.

If it were not for the Emperor’s solid backing, Haussmann would not even be able to pass through the City Hall’s gate.

Haussmann also understood that the Emperor’s support and trust in him rose alongside his achievements in the renovation of Paris, and if Haussmann could not satisfy the Emperor’s demands in this regard, the Emperor might very well replace him.

In essence, the whole of Paris was the Emperor’s examination for Haussmann. Success would grant him the opportunity to aim for Minister of Public Affairs or Minister of State. Failure would leave him with nothing.

Haussmann, who valued his political life almost as much as his own life, absolutely would not allow anyone to interfere in this aspect. From when he started overseeing the Paris renovation till now, there were dozens, including some high-ranking ministers, who tried to leverage connections through him.

Apart from a few ministers he could not refuse (such as: Minister of Internal Affairs Percy, Minister of the Seal Mornay, and Minister of State Fuld) seeking information, Haussmann had tried to decline the others, as he really did not want these matters to lower his standing in the Emperor’s view.

This Emperor, compared to his uncle Emperor Napoleon or the Kings of the previous two dynasties (Louis XVIII, Charles X, Louis Philippe), was astonishingly frugal, with rather harsh demands on the efficiency of the Empire’s operations.

If not for the Empire still bearing the name of an Empire, and Jerome Bonaparte himself holding the title of Emperor, Haussmann almost felt like he was back in the Republic period.

Frugal as he might be, Haussmann also noticed this Emperor’s enthusiasm and generosity towards steel, construction, hospitals, factories, and his extraordinary compassion for the poor.

In the months following the Emperor’s marriage, the formal balls held were fewer than the times the Emperor and Empress spent in welfare homes, almshouses, and charitable hospitals. The meetings with the nobility were even less frequent than Jerome Bonaparte’s encounters with the sans-culottes.

There were at least eight charitable hospitals in Paris named after the Emperor and Empress, resembling a stingy yet generous father.

Only, this "father" seemed overly attentive to his impoverished children.

Under the rounds of promotion by the Emperor and Empress, all of Paris was also swept up in a fervor for the lower class; ladies surrounding the Empress eagerly built welfare homes and charitable hospitals to stay by her side.

As a result, the number of charitable hospitals in Paris exceeded the city’s reserve of medical staff.

Even those members of the Republican Faction opposing the Empire had to remain silent on this phenomenon.

If the First Empire left an impression of opulent upstarts, then the Second Empire was renowned for frugality and charity.

Under such influence, how could the Ottoman Empire dare to voluntarily invite trouble?

[PS: Historically, Ossman was sued by the Republicans for budget overspending, but no clear evidence of corruption was found after he stepped down. He was one of the few who did not engage in embezzlement as a public official.]

As an idealistic senior official, Haussmann swore that he would not fall due to corruption.

That said, although Haussmann himself did not have a strong desire for money, he underestimated his subordinates and the people around him.

After Jerome Bonaparte’s "reminder," Haussmann suddenly realized that there might be some problems in the intermediate stages.

"Your Majesty, please wait a moment!" Haussmann said to Jerome Bonaparte with a flustered expression.

"Hmm!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded slightly.

In Jerome Bonaparte’s view, Haussmann hurriedly left the governor’s office, nearly tripping over himself in the process.

Haussmann’s behavior led Jerome Bonaparte to believe that Haussmann might have been swindled by internal and external collusion in the previous renovations.

"Hopefully, the amount isn’t too large!" Jerome Bonaparte said flatly.

After a short while, Haussmann returned to the governor’s office, looking inexplicably pale, his cheeks visibly trembling.

In his hand were those housing quote forms from the first phase of the city renovation.

Haussmann staggered to Jerome Bonaparte’s side and said with a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, these are the reports from the last round of city renovation!"

After speaking, Haussmann placed the city renovation forms in front of Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte looked through the housing information on the forms one by one and quickly noticed the anomalies within the housing information.

Many rooms were not very large; the compensation amounts should not have been high, but the furniture inside was absurdly expensive, which directly elevated the overall subsidy price of a housing unit by a notch.

More critically, the styles of the expensive furniture in many rooms were exactly the same. Apart from the unrealistic assumption that all Parisians had identical taste, there was only one possibility.

The landlords of the streets that needed renovation rented a set of expensive furniture in advance from the market to deal with negotiators.

Once the funds were determined, all the rented expensive furniture would be returned.

This way, they could increase the value of the houses they owned.

However, the only ones capable of such schemes besides insiders were the ministers who had previously contacted Haussmann.

These ministers, upon receiving news from Haussmann, would pre-emptively purchase houses at low prices from some individuals, then hold onto them and sell them when suitable at a price thirty percent higher than the purchase price.

The inconsistent prices on the reports and the detailed information on the property owners suggested that the acquisition was likely leaked by insiders at City Hall, leading people in the area to intentionally inflate prices with the advantage of a time gap.

"Sigh!" Jerome Bonaparte placed the report on the table, crossed and laid his hands flat, and said to Haussmann, who was standing before him, "Be more careful next time!"

"Yes!" Haussmann, originally willing to accept punishment, felt relieved upon hearing Jerome Bonaparte’s relaxed attitude and secretly vowed to locate the damned insiders.

"Also, it would be best for you to establish a real estate inspection committee directly under your control, preferably staffed by people from the Outer Province, to sever their associations with the local influences in Seine, and then conduct advance surveys on the areas you need to renovate! This way, perhaps less funding would be required!" Jerome Bonaparte once again offered some suggestions to Haussmann, suggesting that if those not deeply affiliated with and possibly even hostile to local interests (those from outside Paris and native forces) were to serve on the real estate inspection committee, they would surely provide the Parisians with a special "surprise": "Another thing, after each inspection! It’s best to disband the existing committee members and replace them with a new batch before conducting another inspection!"

"Yes!" Haussmann responded once more, inwardly admiring Jerome Bonaparte.

Some seemingly simple issues were ones most people wouldn’t think of at all.

Jerome Bonaparte’s insights stemmed from his previous efforts to deploy police forces from the Outer Province to clean up the black and evil forces’ protective umbrella in Paris.

Only those unfamiliar with Parisian local affairs could come to govern Paris; this was an eternal truth.

"Oh! One more thing!" Suddenly recalling the purpose of his visit, Jerome Bonaparte rose quickly, approaching the map and pointing to the broadly defined suburbs of Paris (beyond the Paris 12th District) and said to Haussmann, "If I were to establish a ’worker housing district’ capable of accommodating hundreds of thousands of Parisian workers here, would the Paris City Government approve this land for me?"

"Accommodate hundreds of thousands of Parisian workers!" Haussmann was shocked at Jerome Bonaparte’s words.

The renovation within the city of Paris had not yet been completed, and the Emperor was already thinking about redevelopment outside the city.

Haussmann was uncertain whether to praise the Emperor’s forward-thinking or accuse him of being overly anxious.

"Your Majesty, these lands are not under the jurisdiction of the Seine Province!" Baron Haussmann quickly responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Rest assured! It won’t be long before this becomes your administrative division! I plan to relocate all of Paris’s factories to the suburbs! Factories and workers should be closely linked!" Jerome Bonaparte said, pointing to the map of Paris: "And the original areas of Paris will become zones for attracting global residents for tourism and vacation."