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The article “Poudre et explosifs” signed by senator and professor of chemistry Louis Tissier, published in 1926, highlighted the national effort made by the French chemical industry during World War I. Prior to this, the French chemical sector had ranked far behind Germany; yet France subsequently succeeded in building a new technical system designed for war, based on a combination of committed French businesses and Anglo-Saxon imports that were begun as early as September 1914. The appointment of Albert Thomas as junior minister in May 1915 coincided with a reorientation of the armaments policy that included the large-scale building of explosives and chemical products factories, cooperation with allies and a desire to conquer foreign markets. However, the submarine war launched by the German navy partly ruined this program. Thus the Allied decided collectively to replace the nitrates and other commodities imported from Chile with massive supplies of US powder and explosives. At this point, private French businesses began to orient their production towards the civilian markets. During these years, close links were built between the army and some private companies, both French and Anglo-Saxons, in the field of dyestuffs and nitrogen. Their sustainability in the post-war period is a political question raised by Louis Tissier.