Market microstructure and Nazi influence on the Paris stock exchange during World War II

"Whereas studies on the Paris stock exchange are quite numerous, its functioning during the Second World War has so far been overlooked. Based on archives from both the French brokers (Compagnie des Agents de Change) and from the occupying forces, this paper describes the market microstructure, the changes in market organisation and the manipulations of the stock prices by the Nazis. Furthermore, the paper shows that, for economic reasons, some measures imposed by the occupant were kept after the war. Eventually, it suggests that long term analysis (such as indices) should be cautious when including war data as most stocks could not be bought or sold, even though they were quoted at the time."