Companies

Louis Loucheur (Founder)

SGE

Louis Loucheur was born in 1872 to a protestant family based in Roubaix. Like his partner Alexandre Giros, he was a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique and in addition to his professional activities, was very involved in politics. Loucheur was noticed for his organisational talents and his knowledge of the weapons sector and, in 1916, he was appointed Under-Secretary of State in charge of artillery and munitions, a vital job in war time. In 1917, he replace Albert Thomas as Minister of Armament, and gave priority to intensifying production.
At the end of the war, he was appointed Minister of Industrial Reconstruction, then Minister of the Liberated Regions. He played a major role in the settlement of German reparations, though the surrounding dispute led to his resignation in 1922. In 1928, Loucheur, who always supported progressive policies, succeeded in getting the so-called Loucheur law voted. The law called for the construction of 200,000 low-cost housing units over a period of five years. The basis for increased government involvement in the sector was thus established. Louis Loucheur devoted the last years of his life in pursuit of the European ideal, albeit in vain. He died in 1931.