"THESE GRAND STRATEGIC ARTERIES WILL PUSH BACK THE WORKERS AND ALSO HELP CONTAIN THEM..."
-- The Baron Haussmann,
cited in The Atlas of Haussmannien Paris by Pierre Pinon, 2002, p. 93 (slightly abbreviated, in French)
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The Empereur appoints Haussmann (upper part of a painting at the Musée Carnavalet) |
The metamorphosis continues until at least 1925...
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Piercing the boulevard Haussmann in 1925 / zoom |
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The artery that cuts through the city let troops rushed from the frontiers march quickly to the center, without the obstacle of tiny streets:
The Eastern Station. The Northern Station is a few steps away.
Adapted from a Google map
Rue du Chat qui pêche, steps from Notre-Dame
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Demolition covered the entire territory east of rue Saint-Denis, where the June barricades clustered:
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| Adapted from a document at the National Library / zoom |
Avoiding workers' presence explains why Parisian railway stations are on the outskirts, in contrast to London and New York.*
*Except the Northern and Eastern stations, which predate the June insurrection, and the former Gare d'Orsay, built in 1898 when strikes had replaced revolts.
"In that way the workers were pushed back toward the outskirts; and as one easily understands, that change influenced in a positive way order and public safety."
-- Général Moltke visiting Paris, cited in Atlas du Paris haussmannien, p. 93
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Those demolitions explain the rarity of medieval remains, the dreariness of much of the center and the harmony due to demolishing and rebuilding in a homogeneous style...
The Etienne Marcel crossroad
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1 Boulevard Poissonnière, 9th, Internet, photographer not named |
Wherever that style appears,
barricades stood.
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