Abstract
In the aftermath of World War I, a financial war was fought on the battlegrounds of international organizations and financial diplomacy. While the League of Nations’ Economic and Financial Organization tried to ensure the reconstruction of Europe through guaranteed loans and financial reforms, the Great Powers who dominated the League tried to maintain their spheres of influence. The case of the French-Hellenic war debts illustrates those issues: in the 1920s, the Greeks were barred from international capital markets after years of wars and financial mismanagement. A mission was sent to Greece by the League to evaluate the reforms needed before backing the emission of a loan, with several French nationals among the envoys. The French government subsequently tried to take advantage of the ratification process of the loan, by threatening to block its emission if the Greeks did not repay their war debts. Based on private and public archives, I reconstruct this episode, an example of a two-level game played by the French and Greek governments on the domestic and international arenas. This narrative shows that even though the functionaries of the League were serving the interests of their governments, the political process of the international body was still able to protect the rights of small countries.