Ernst was generally satisfied with the work of the Hohenzollern Conglomerate's Marseille branch. At the very least, he could give it an eight out of ten.
But rewards had to be given where deserved, punishments meted out where necessary. After commending and rewarding several outstanding employees, he also made adjustments to some of the branch's shortcomings.
Other than the company's operations, there was nothing in Marseille that Ernst particularly wanted to see.
After briefly touring some of Marseille's distinctive sights the next day, Ernst and his party departed.
Traveling north along the railway, Ernst first arrived in Lyon, France's textile city, then changed routes there for Paris.
October 18, 1868.
Paris, France.
In this era, it was utterly impossible to find another city in Europe whose scale and quality could compare with Paris—though that was merely Ernst's personal view.
London in Britain, during the same period, with its black-smoking chimneys and rivers running dark with filth, was suffocating.
Vienna and Berlin had fairly good environments, but neither stood out in scale.
Saint Petersburg, meanwhile, exuded an air of gloom and oppression everywhere.
Napoleon III had carried out massive renovations and reconstruction in Paris's old quarters, filling the city with vitality while also giving it artistic value.
Of course, Parisian residents at the time had little fondness for this new city. The French condemned it with pen and tongue alike, their general complaint being that it had destroyed old Paris's unique flavor.
Ernst, viewing Paris through the eyes of his previous life, rather appreciated it and naturally could not understand their way of thinking.
Of course, that did not stop Parisian residents of the era from hating the new city, and many of its critics were elites, including writers and artists.
In the end, pressured by public opinion, Napoleon III's designer