Edouard LAURENS, is a French citizen, residing in Egypt, founder of a tobacco factory on his name and active in this industry since 1888. Residing in Egypt since the 1860s, Édouard LAURENS has been manufacturing cigarettes in Alexandria since at least 1888. He is the only French active in this industry. Looking for a European clientele, he bids to become a supplier of superior Egyptian tobacco cigarettes to the French Régie. The adoption of the product, after intervention by the French consul in Alexandria, is his first success. On June 24, 1896, in order to increase its sales figure, LAURENS transformed the manufacture into a Société anonyme "Le Khédive". This company is distinguished by its plural nature. A Belgian company, it has its head office in Brussels, its administrative headquarters in Paris and its operating headquarters in Alexandria. However, the three-headed leadership is just a formality: the real command center is in Egypt. The choice of a head office in Belgium can be explained by the opening of the Universal Exhibition which was held in Brussels from May to November 1897; a pavilion "Le Khédive" is open there. Its administrative headquarters are in Paris only to be closer to its customers. The transformation into a public limited company produced the desired effect: In one year, it tripled its monthly cigarette sales from 600,000 units to 1,800,000. Its regular clientele includes the French, Austro-Hungarian and Italian agencies, as well as importers. in Europe, the United States and the Transvaal. In October 1906, a new factory was opened and stocks were increased. In 1912 a change took place, announced in the press in obscure language: "As a result of the events of the past year, it was essential that the company be placed under the protection of the laws of England." The English company "Ed. Laurens Ltd", founded in London, is born. The company "Le Khédive" cedes part of its rights to it, including those of the subsidiaries and the Brussels factory. She leases her building to him. All shares in the new company belong to the Belgian company, which creates new subsidiaries in Sweden and Switzerland. In 1915, the new company had a building constructed in the colonial style at 61 route de Chêne in Geneva.The Belgian company is no longer a holding company containing the shares of the company "Ed. Laurens". During and after World War I, tastes in Europe and the United States for Turkish tobacco and Egyptian cigarettes shifted to Virginia tobacco. Healthy but with no particular incentives or new resources, the company is gradually losing market share. What was left of the tobacco industry in Egypt was eventually nationalized after the Egyptian coup of 1952. Cigarettes made in Egypt were subsequently sold only in the Egyptian market and became known elsewhere for their poor quality. and their low price.