On July 6, 2026, La Poste (the French postal service) issued a block of stamps in honor of André Citroën, a major figure in French industrial engineering.
Born to a Dutch father and a Polish mother, André Citroën (1878-1935) became a French citizen at the age of 18 to attend the École Polytechnique. He married an Italian woman, forming a European family. In 1900, in Poland, he discovered an invention: gears with chevron-shaped teeth (which would become the logo of his automobile brand). He bought the patent and founded his first company: Engrenages Citroën (Citroën Gears). World War I broke out. In the trenches, he witnessed the French army's shortage of ammunition. He took the initiative to propose to the government the immediate construction of a shell factory. In four months, he built it, staffed it, organized it, and in June 1915, mass production began. Initially employing 3,500 people, the company grew to 13,000 by 1918, benefiting from unprecedented social advantages, particularly for women, who made up the majority of the workforce.
With peace restored, he transformed his factory to produce automobiles on a large scale, and therefore at affordable prices, to provide mobility for the population. After observing new industrial methods (Taylorism) in the United States, he organized production accordingly, implementing a pioneering social policy. Starting from scratch in 1919, he became, within ten years, the leading European manufacturer and the second largest in the world.
To sell so many cars, he invented marketing and created modern advertising. His name displayed on the Eiffel Tower for ten years and the major expeditions across Africa (the Black Cruise) and Asia (the Yellow Cruise) are examples of his creativity. The objective given to his teams: to be more than five years ahead of the competition. This mindset would endure after his death. So many iconic cars have made Citroën the most collected brand in the world.
Visionary, optimistic, charismatic, humanist, and determined, André Citroën left his mark on industry, the economy, and society. "Citroën, a genius ahead of his time," as one of his biographers put it.
