PARIS BROKERS GIVE UP THEIR QUILL PENS
Like the furniture in his office, Bernard de Compiegne, broker on the Paris Bourse, has a look of stately immobility. French brokers have had the monopoly on securities trading since 1807, a monopoly sustained by law. The office of agent de change is conferred by the government and can be passed down through the family or sold.
De Compiegne inherited. A brass plate on his door declares: "Agent de change: successor to his father and his grandfather." Two years from retirement., de Compiegne has never had to trade on narrow spreads. His cut or courtage was until recently a matter of law. In the hall a lithograph from 1965 shows the main trading floor of the Bourse filled with his confreres. To a man they are wearing satisfied smiles. Maybe there was less trading then, but the work was easier.
Until 1967 it was forbidden to solicit clients or to advertise. You sat back, took the clients' orders, and then strolled down to the magnificent Palais de la Bourse to trade. Under the high, frescoed roof, you bought and solf for a session which went from 12.30