On 10 and 11 May 1970, in an interview given to journalist Georges Suffert, Jean Monnet, Commissioner-General of the French National Planning Board in 1950, describes how the French plan for a coal and steel pool was developed and outlines his working method.

During the Second World War, Jean Monnet, a member of the French Committee for National Liberation in Algiers, reflects on how to restore lasting peace and ensure the economic reconstruction of Europe once the war is over.

From 1950, the Frenchman Jean Monnet, Commissioner-General of the French National Planning Board, played an active role in the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), serving as President of the ECSC High Authority in Luxembourg from 1952 to 1955.

On 3 May 1950, Jean Monnet drafts a discussion paper on the need for France to initiate cooperation between the countries of Europe.

Portrait of Jean Monnet.

In extracts from Jacques Delors’ foreword to the book by Pascal Fontaine, Jean Monnet, l’Inspirateur, published in 1988, the former President of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995 pays tribute to Jean Monnet, considered as the founding father of a united Europe.

‘Shh! Schuman is thinking “Europe”!’ In August 1949, referring to the first meeting of the Council of Europe, the French cartoonist, Pinatel, takes an ironic look at the thoughts of Robert Schuman, French Foreign Minister, on the need for a united Europe (in the background: Vincent Auriol, President of the French Republic).