Ernest Mercier

Ernest Mercier (1878-1955) was a key figure in the rise of the technical-managerial class in early 20th-century France. A businessman and technocrat, he sought to overhaul the French political and economic system through his work in modernizing the electric power industry and promoting the creation of a native petroleum industry. As head of France's largest utilities syndicate, Mercier was influential within the business and political elite, forming connections with figures like Marshals Foch an