Pont-à-Mousson in Lorraine that this had "permitted a boycotting of our minette ore these past years." A fresh coal crisis erupted in 1923. The Comité des forges toughened its attitude over the Ruhr. One group wanted ownership of German mines and factories to be ceded to French firms, while another wanted a permanent customs barrier between the Ruhr and the rest of Germany so France could obtain the coal at preferential prices. Pinot combined the various proposals and submitted them to the Poincaré government in mid November, demanding that France acquire majority or total ownership of German firms, not just minority positions. By January 1924 the German economy had stabilized while the franc was rapidly losing value. Poincaré told Pinot nothing could be done before the report of a group of experts on the Ruhr settlement. In May 1924 Pinot softened his position and called for France and Germany to cooperate in industrial policy. He acknowledged the weakness of French metallurgy by calling for a "return to the economic status quo ante bellum. He was not looking for hegemony for French metallurgy or a challenge to British interests, only for French firms to be able to produce for their home market and to compete elsewhere. In 1921 Pinot had asked the president, Francois de Wendel, to make him a vice-president of the Comité des forges. Although Pinot was dedicated and efficient, he had a tendency to take credit for the Committee's actions. He was an employee rather than an owner, and de Wendel made it clear he would only be the most junior of five vice-presidents, with no prospect of becoming president. Pinot did not pretend to be apolitical. He stated in 1924, "industrialists cannot be indifferent to legislative tasks, and they have the right as citizens, a right never contested, to intervene at the moment of elections." Robert Pinot died unexpectedly in 1926. At the time of his death he was Vice-President-Delegate of the Comité des forges. Publications Notes Citations Sources Further reading 1862 births 1926 deaths French businesspeople