The debate about the military purposes of Haussmann's boulevards Haussmann's renovation of Paris

during paris commune, communards built impressive fort rue de rivoli met place de la concorde. army used side streets move around it, , captured behind.

some of haussmann s critics said real purpose of haussmann s boulevards make easier army maneuver , suppress armed uprisings; paris had experienced 6 such uprisings between 1830 , 1848, in narrow, crowded streets in center , east of paris , on left bank around pantheon. these critics argued small number of large, open intersections allowed easy control small force. in addition, buildings set center of street not used fortifications. emile zola repeated argument in novel, la curée; paris sliced strokes of saber: veins opened, nourishing 1 hundred thousand earth movers , stone masons; criss-crossed admirable strategic routes, placing forts in heart of old neighborhoods.

some real-estate owners demanded large, straight avenues troops manoeuvre. argument boulevards designed troop movements repeated 20th century critics, including french historian, rené hérron de villefosse, wrote, larger part of piercing of avenues had reason desire avoid popular insurrections , barricades. strategic conception. argument popularized american architectural critic, lewis mumford.

haussmann himself did not deny military value of wider streets. in memoires, wrote new boulevard sebastopol resulted in gutting of old paris, of quarter of riots , barricades. admitted used argument parliament justify high cost of projects, arguing national defense , should paid for, @ least partially, state. wrote: but, me, promoter of these additions made original project, declare never thought in least, in adding them, of greater or lesser strategic value. paris urban historian patrice de moncan wrote: see works created haussmann , napoleon iii perspective of strategic value reductive. emperor convinced follower of saint-simon. desire make paris, economic capital of france, more open, more healthy city, not upper classes workers, cannot denied, , should recognised primary motivation.

there 1 armed uprising in paris after haussmann, paris commune march through may 1871, , boulevards played no important role. communards seized power easily, because french army absent, defeated , captured prussians. communards took advantage of boulevards build few large forts of paving stones wide fields of fire @ strategic points, such meeting point of rue de rivoli , place de la concorde. when newly organized army arrived @ end of may, avoided main boulevards, advanced , methodically avoid casualties, worked way around barricades, , took them behind. communards defeated in 1 week not because of haussmann s boulevards, because outnumbered 5 one, had fewer weapons , fewer men trained use them, had no hope of getting support outside paris, had no plan defense of city; had few experienced officers; there no single commander; , each neighborhood left defend itself.

as paris historian patrice de moncan observed, of haussmann s projects had little or no strategic or military value; purpose of building new sewers, aqueducts, parks, hospitals, schools, city halls, theaters, churches, markets , other public buildings was, haussmann stated, employ thousands of workers, , make city more healthy, less congested, , more beautiful.