Haussmann's Paris Seen as Defense Against Revolution
From the 1860s to the present many critics of Haussman's reconstruction of Paris have charged that the talk about making the city more beautiful and more liveable was just a cover for Napoleon III real agenda -- making Paris safe from revolution. Here is an early example of that accusation.
It must be said that what are called the embellishments of Paris are basically nothing but a general system of offensive and defensive armament against uprising, a precaution against future revolutions, which has been pursued for twelve years with an indefatigable perseverance without the ingenuous Parisian’s appearing to suspect a thing.
|
Horace Vernet, La barricade de la rue Soufflot, 1848-1850 |
|---|
