Haussmannian Paris

March 28th, 2018

Under Napoleon III in the latter part of the 19th century (known as the Second Empire), a massive public works project was undertaken to transform Paris.  At the time, water and sewer systems were inadequate and transportation was difficult, in part because Paris was made up of many small and crowded medieval enclaves.  Baron Haussmann, under orders from Napoleon, bulldozed wide swathes of the city, building Les Grandes Boulevards lined with generous sidewalks and six-story residential buildings with shops and restaurants on the ground floor.  Haussmann placed quite specific restrictions on the buildings, in terms of height, design, and function.  These iconic boulevards and buildings are the Paris we know today.  Some older landmarks survived the project---the Louvre, Notre Dame, Luxembourg Palace, etc.---and some neighborhoods survived somewhat intact---the Marais and the Quartier Latin, for instance---but the typical Paris street scene or architectural photo exhibits a strong Haussmann influence.

There is reason to believe that another motive, beyond improving sanitation and transportation, drove this project.  Napoleon, apparently, was concerned that Paris would be too difficult to control in the case of an uprising because of its narrow, warren-like streets.  So the project was likely also an attempt to gain military advantage over the unruly residents of France's largest city.  In any case, thousands were displaced from their homes, driven to the outskirts of Paris unable to afford accommodations in the modern, grand, and clean Paris.  The legacy continues today, with central Paris being beautiful, well-kept, and too expensive for most residents of the area.  Only one-fifth of the 10 million people in the Paris metropolitan area live within the city limits, and they tend to be mostly the wealthiest 2 million.     

Here is a map indicating the new boulevards built in the Second Empire in red and the ones built in the Third Republic, but part of the same ambitious project, in blue.  

The map below zooms in on our neighborhood.  (We live near rue de Medicis, right in the middle of the map.)
  

  
Some of the areas between boulevard Saint Germain and the river and between rue Monge and rue Gay-Lussac were largely untouched and retain some of their medieval feel, as well as 17th and 18th century buildings.  I took some photos trying to illustrate the contrast between the older Paris and the Haussmannian Paris.  These were all taken in the vicinity of Saint Severin, between blvd Saint Germain and Ile de la Cite.  Here are some older streets and buildings.

Here are two particular pre-second empire buildings.

Here are the Second Empire ones.

The buildings are more uniform and quite a bit more elaborate.  The mansard roof is very much in evidence.  (Apparently, the mansard roof was developed to allow an extra floor of apartments while still adhering to Haussmann's maximum height, which was stated in terms of the height of the eaves.  So a very tall roof with low eaves was developed.)  They all have businesses on the ground floor, wide sidewalks in front, and wide boulevards with lots of cars.  

The Second Empire boulevards are beautiful, but I'm very glad that Haussmann's vision of an entirely modernized Paris never was realized.  Although not as practical, I like older Paris, too, perhaps even more.