Journal article: This article highlights the role played by financial scandals in explaining why France adopted banking regulations more slowly than other countries in the interwar period. The French press tended to focus on financial scandals that threatened savings when financial intermediaries who issue and underwrite securities go bankrupt. As a result, these were the types of scandals that attract the attention of public opinion and public authorities and little attention was paid to scandals related to bank deposits and lending carried out by bank branches. During this period, therefore, the sharp decline in deposits and loans at branch banks was not a subject of debate. This phenomenon was also partly hidden by the lack of consolidated public statistics. Depositors were not taking funds out of the banking system because they were losing money. They were attracted by the higher levels of security available from savings banks. During debates on bankruptcies and financial difficulties, the main issues raised were the losses incurred by savers who had invested in securities and the shortcomings in the regulation of joint-stock companies. Even in the case of a bankrupt retail bank, the debate focused on the reckless behavior of adventurous directors, to the detriment and without the knowledge of their shareholders and depositors. From the laws of 1930 to the decrees of 1935, Parliament and governments were focused on protecting savings and reforming joint-stock companies to restore confidence and prosperity and defend the Franc, rather than on regulating banking activity.