Scheller was greatly astonished. Though the material of that outfit was ordinary, it had clearly been carefully designed and tailored. It had to be worth at least 3 to 5 Florins—around 10 Francs.
And yet the French Government required such an outfit to be given to workers free of charge. It was simply unbelievable.
Could their King truly have been sent by God to save the French people?
Of course, Joseph had not intended to "save the world."
When he had added the clause requiring work uniforms to the Labor Protection and Safety Decree, it had been entirely to support Lyon's Textile industry. Yes, factories could receive government subsidies for providing free work uniforms, 1 Franc and 3 Sou per set, but they had to be custom-made by Textile mills in France. Afterward, Lyon's Textile mills had all poured effort into designing uniforms and cutting prices as much as possible in order to compete for this enormous order.
In the end, because demand across all of France was immense, the cost of work uniforms became very low. Each set sold for only 3 Francs and 3 Sou.
Moreover, the uniforms were not actually given to the workers. They had to be returned to the factory upon resignation.
Thus, for factories, the expense of ordering uniforms was not particularly great. They could also use them to win over their workers and encourage them to work more diligently, so they could accept the regulation.
At present, in France's major cities, most workers continued wearing their uniforms even after work in order to save money. That was why Madam Scheller had mistaken them for "fashion."
The Scheller couple got off the Light Express. Unwilling to spend money on the city's Public Carriage, they carried their luggage and asked for directions all the way,