Life of Being a Crown Prince in France-Chapter 1495 - 1401: Financial Center

Joseph continued along this train of thought.

A "Medical Laboratory Under the Health Department" could be established, charging a unified fee to the nobles for the latest technology physical examinations. It could also include a series of subsequent drug and equipment treatments, as well as health tracking and maintenance as value-added services.

He then shook his head; this name is awkward and forgettable without any flair.

Hmm, let’s call it the "Royal Sanatorium".

The location can’t be in a remote place like Montreuil—surrounded by broken-down countryside, which clearly doesn’t match the expensive inspection service fees.

But the laboratory cannot be built in Paris City, so what location is suitable?

Joseph thought for a moment and quickly locked in the best location—Chateau de Fontainebleau.

This is a royal vacation palace, 55 kilometers southeast of Paris, built starting from Louis VI, with buildings and gardens occupying over a hundred hectares.

Louis XVI occasionally came here for a few days of relaxation when he was young, but later, due to financial difficulties in France, he essentially sealed it off.

The environment here is beautiful, with thousands of rooms inside the palace, making it perfect for developing into a luxury sanatorium.

Additionally, there are vast amounts of vacant land nearby, connected to Paris by the King’s Avenue, which might even allow for future real estate development.

Thinking of this, he smiled at Lemoine: "Mr. Lemoine, perhaps you can ’vacation’ by conducting experiments by the side of Fontainebleau."

"Ah?"

"In the future, all medical laboratories will be moved to the south side of Chateau de Fontainebleau. I’ll dispatch someone to manage those ’enthusiastic’ nobles. Of course, you can also bring some students to do this; I assure you the rewards will be very generous."

He briefly explained the concept of the "health monitoring institution" to the doctor and instructed him to prepare. Meanwhile, Eman was getting anxious, quietly reminding: "Your Highness, moving to Fontainebleau, such a distant location, might cost 200,000 francs..."

Joseph winked at the loyal butler and whispered: "Don’t worry, the minimum charge for a check-up is 800 francs."

Eman widened his eyes immediately and silently retreated to the doorway.

Even at a third of that profit margin, hosting seven or eight hundred people would break even.

In fact, the checkup is the least profitable aspect.

Once a health issue is discovered, treatment fees, prescription fees, etc., can easily cost thousands of francs.

Even if no issues are found, simply breathing the fresh air at Chateau de Fontainebleau, engaging in health and wellness activities, and buying some health products, can cost similar amounts.

Accommodation fees, service fees, plus health product costs can easily total several thousand francs.

It’s crucial to understand that health checks aren’t a one-time deal. Those who can afford it usually have a check-up every year to responsibly look after their health.

Especially in a place like the Palace of Versailles, where social competition is prevalent, a noble visiting the sanatorium at Fontainebleau every two years and meeting another who goes every six months might feel awkward having a conversation.

Once the sanatorium becomes successful, building vacation villas around it and selling just a dozen or so can recover all the invested thousands of francs directed to the medical laboratory.

After Doctor Lemoyne excused himself, Joseph resumed discussions with the two ministers about the European Settlement Bank’s location.

This time, as soon as he started discussing, he was reminded of the medical laboratory’s struggles to find footing in Paris, and his eyes brightened.

The Settlement Bank can certainly follow the Royal Sanatorium’s model.

Who says the Settlement Bank must be built in Paris?

Paris is unbearably crowded, and as the Settlement Bank becomes Europe’s settlement center, it’ll undoubtedly bring people from various countries to conduct business, adding to Paris’s pressure.

It would be better to place the Settlement Bank in another province, which would attract more foot traffic there and stimulate the economy.

Joseph was about to voice his proposal when a bright idea struck him.

The scope wasn’t big enough. Why only the Settlement Bank? Why not relocate the Paris Stock Exchange, agricultural futures market, or even the Bank of France Reserve entirely to one city and build it into France’s financial center?

Paris, France’s only political, economic, and cultural center, siphons vast national resources but its development is increasingly sluggish—an excessively concentrated population causes cities to become bloated, leading to rapid increases in living, transportation, land, and raw material costs.

Currently, investing ten parts of resources in Paris only yields three parts in return.

Yet, both government and investors must continuously pump resources into Paris, as numerous irreplaceable national services reside there.

Moving financial institutions to other cities would transfer vast resources — quickly in years, and more slowly in a decade or so, creating a new core region whose output efficiency will undoubtedly far surpass Paris’s!

Joseph then thought of utilizing this opportunity to solve France’s "unipolar imbalance" problem.

Due to historical reasons, France overly relies on the Grand Paris area, leading to the national saying that "France has only two provinces—Paris and the others."

This has resulted in difficulty for areas outside Paris to develop while also concentrating national services, which poses substantial risks.

Historically, any problem in Paris was akin to the sky falling across the whole nation.

Facing external enemies, once Paris falls, France immediately loses all combat capability.

Moreover, many industries that aren’t suited to Paris had no choice but to establish on its periphery due to financing or market issues.

These are significantly unfavorable to national development.

As for which location is suitable to become the new financial center?

Joseph quickly shortlisted several cities—Marseille, Lille, Cologne, Bordeaux.

Cologne, close to the Rhine River, was swiftly eliminated; should a war break out, placing the national financial center on the frontline is too risky.

Bordeaux, deep inland with limited development potential, was also dismissed.

Among the remaining, Lille relies on Calais Port, which can reach from Brussels to the middle and lower sections of the Rhine River, impacting nearly half of Germany.

Meanwhile, Port of Marseille is the hub for Mediterranean trade, reflecting Italy, North Africa, Spain, and even the Ottoman region.

Each has its advantages and disadvantages.

Joseph quickly realized, however, that although Calais Port faces the English Channel, it remains under threat from the British fleet for now.

The Mediterranean has virtually become France’s inner sea, far safer than Lille.

Although the market and trade volume surrounding the Mediterranean is temporarily below the north—which faces Europe nations such as England, Austria, Prussia, and Russia whose economic magnitude cannot be rivaled by Italy and the Ottoman Empire—Joseph knows, once the Suez Canal opens, the scenario will be drastically altered.