Financial Frauds and Speculation

The Humbert Affair revealed Belle Époque France's gullibility before confident fraudsters. Thérèse Humbert, daughter of peasants, created elaborate fiction about an American inheritance locked in a safe. For twenty years, she borrowed millions against this nonexistent fortune, living lavishly while creditors waited for the safe's opening.

The deception's scale astounded. Humbert convinced bankers, politicians, and aristocrats to lend money. She hosted brilliant salons where powerful men fell under her spell. The safe, displayed prominently in her mansion, became Paris myth—everyone knew someone who'd seen it. When finally opened in 1902, it contained nothing but bricks and old newspapers.

The scandal ruined prominent figures who'd guaranteed Humbert's loans. Senator Gustave Humbert (no relation despite the name) committed suicide. Banks failed. The investigation revealed how social connections trumped due diligence, how appearance substituted for reality in Belle Époque finance.

The Rochette Affair of 1908-1910 showed systemic financial corruption. Henri Rochette created phantom companies, manipulated stock prices, and bribed journalists for favorable coverage. His arrest revealed protection networks reaching the highest government levels. The Finance Minister resigned; the Prime Minister barely survived confidence votes.

These financial scandals particularly affected women investors. Excluded from business networks where warnings circulated, dependent on male advisors who often profited from their ignorance, women disproportionately fell for fraudulent schemes. The feminist press demanded financial education for women, arguing economic independence required financial literacy.