Production
The economic activity of the Paris region collapsed with the exodus but limped along at a slow pace for several months. An economic revival began in late winter 1940 that was an outgrowth of the mutual dependency of the organizational committees created by Vichy and the occupying forces. In addition to the constraints and costs imposed by the armistice and Nazi conduct of the war, matters were made worse by shortages of raw materials, requisitions, legalized looting, and a reduced labor pool. Laborers were encouraged to work in Germany well before they conscription and mandatory labor were implemented, later under the STO (Service du travail obligatoire) [Obligatory Labor Service]. After that, the industrial and commercial fabric of the capital was reshaped around the interests and needs of the occupying forces. The economic sectors that did not function went through a deep period of crisis. Construction, "articles de Paris" [Paris items], and retail commerce, as well as other businesses judged "inconsistent with the economic needs of the occupying forces" were sometimes arbitrarily forced to close or deprived of raw materials or solvent clients, causing economic stagnation, loss of business, and bankruptcy. The collapse of shipping in the Port of Paris and the volume of foodstuffs and fuel declared for import duty were evidence of the broadly diminished economic activity and the deepening misery of Parisians.
The sectors considered strategic by the Reich operated at full capacity, leading to workweeks that sometimes exceeded sixty hours. These sectors were open to German capital and had priority in obtaining raw materials that were otherwise scarce; they were not subject to the requisitioning of laborers, and they were often highly profitable. What was true for war industry was also true on a smaller scale of certain luxury industries and high-end hotels. The cinema industry, which was sheltered from American competition, also benefited from the Occupation. During the Occupation, 171,000 Parisians left for Germany to work, 71,000 worked directly for the occupying forces in Paris, and 350,000 were indirectly employed by them.
