A French Prime Minister involved in development challenges and his legacy (1950-2023)[La vision du développement de Pierre Mendès-France]

The former French President of the Council (Prime minister) formulated directly or indirectly an original vision of development, woven more by a method than by a doctrine, which still makes it actual. It is based on two political moments. The first was the Bretton Woods Conference in June 1944. Very early on, convinced of the importance of the role of the international public service, after Bretton Woods, he devoted more than twelve years to responsibilities as a representative of France, with simultaneous mandates that would no longer be possible today. Pierre Mendès-France considers that development is not the business of individual states, but rather of collective processes. Second moment, the conclusion of the Geneva agreements, and shortly after the Carthage Speech where he recognizes the internal autonomy of Tunisia. Without being very committed to independence, Pierre Mendès-France knew that one cannot force a country to remain in a situation of dependence which he considers unbearable and wishes to get rid of. These two political moments constitute the basis of recommendations, which were concretely formulated through the responsibilities taken by the first circle of his entourage. Transmitted and continued by concrete practise as well as intellectual debate, these principles are still pertinent today, when the international sustainable development policy is changing in depth. This article proposes to: i/ describe how, after these two political moments, the vision of the development of Pierre Mendès-France embodied itself in the actions of the members of its entourage and ii/ show how this vision finds a renewed actuality today.