The former French Minister of Finance, Charles Alexander de Calonne, smiled and returned the greeting, then spoke loudly: "Thank you, Prince Maximilian, for organizing this banquet for us. And thank you all for coming."
He exchanged a few brief pleasantries, then quickly cut to the chase: "I know everyone is definitely concerned about 'that matter'.
"I also know some of you are muttering to yourselves, 'Calonne is probably a fraud.'"
The crowd played along and laughed.
Calonne gestured westward: "To ease everyone's concerns, I'd like to invite you all to a journey together.
"Yes, the road will be very long, but trust me, the sights along the way will make it absolutely worthwhile.
"And our first stop will be Metz."
Bavaria's Trade Minister Dieterich asked in confusion, "Metz? What's there?"
"Beet fields," Calonne's tone sounded almost poetic, "and France's largest sugar warehouse.
"15% of the sugar delivered on the Paris Futures Exchange comes from there."
