A single death shook a republic. The truth was never meant to survive. In January 1934, Serge Alexandre Stavisky-financier, fraudster, political insider-was found dead in an Alpine chalet. Authorities ruled it suicide. France called it murder. What followed was not merely a financial scandal, but a political explosion that nearly destroyed the French Republic. Fraudulent municipal bonds wiped out investors. Judges delayed prosecutions. Politicians closed ranks. Newspapers fueled outrage. And the streets of Paris erupted in violence. In The Stavisky Affair, bestselling author Evan Blackmoor delivers a gripping, cinematic investigation into one of the most explosive corruption scandals in European history. You'll discover: - How a massive bond fraud fooled thousands and infiltrated elite financial circles - The political and judicial protection that kept Stavisky untouchable - Why his sudden death triggered national disbelief - How media revelations ignited riots and bloodshed in Paris - The extremist movements that gained power from the chaos - How corruption erodes democracy long before it collapses More than history, this is a warning. For readers of political thrillers, financial crime exposés, and scandal-driven history, The Stavisky Affair reveals how democracies fall-not in a single dramatic coup, but through denial, compromise, and the slow corrosion of public trust. Volume III in The French Scandal Files. If you read The Panama Scandal or The Dreyfus Affair, this is where the Republic begins to fracture.