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The association of « chemical warfare » and the First World War is not only due to the use of poison gas on the battlefield, but also to the importance of chemistry and chemists in conducting the industrial war. For many chemists involved, the conflict was an opportunity to collaborate in preparing the post-war economy. Between 1917 and 1919, these chemists advocated a technocratic management of the industrial policy. Together with Étienne Clémentel, the Minister of Trade and a key figure in the war economy, they prepared a blueprint for the reconstruction of the French production. Their project was based on the firm conviction that there was no alternative to the path taken by Germany before the war: the rationalisation of industry, the collective organisation as well as the collaboration between scientists, government and industry. This article traces the commitments of these chemists convinced to be part of the rationalisation process of the industrial economy. It focuses on their role in the Advisory Committee on the Arts and Manufactures, the Congress of Civil Engineering, the Society of Industrial Chemistry, and finally their influence on the editors of the general report on the French industry.