Laissez-vous guider - La folle aventure du Paris haussmannien - Reconstitution historique 3D - MG

You see, Lorànt, that’s Haussmann. That's Haussmann, but if you look there, it's also Haussmann. Yes, but this is even more Haussmann. That’s even more Haussmann. That’s really Haussmann. This is what we imagine when we think of Haussmann. It's there, it's Haussmann. No, you're right, but you know, they always say that Rome wasn't built in a day. Neither does Paris. It took 17 years for Paris to have this face. Perseverance is required in great works. And Haussmann, in fact, he was very perseverant. Look at her. Look at the result. And even, he was a bit rigid.

Yes, but at least look. You see, that’s Haussmann, it went straight. It’s certain that with Haussmann, there isn’t a single piece sticking out. It's right. There is nothing more righteous. It's quite straight. Stéphane Bern and Lorànt Deutsch take you this evening on an incredible journey through Paris. You will discover how one man, Baron Haussmann, carried out the most titanic of missions and brought the city of Paris to posterity. People were afraid of going out into the streets of Paris at night, for fear of being attacked. A magical stroll that will bring to life the most

extravagant constructions of the time which have now disappeared. Look, it looked like this. It's colossal. It is enormous. And you immerse yourself in the spectacular atmosphere of Napoleon III's second empire with its tasty anecdotes. Who can suspect that there is this in the middle of the buildings of the 16th arrondissement. There will be an increase of almost 300% in rent. For us, it was a stab in the face, saying “It’s not possible. You can’t kill the heart of a city like that.” She threw him away, he committed suicide, poor guy. It's horrible what you're saying

there. Let yourself be guided straight away into the crazy history of Haussmannian Paris like you've never seen it before. Stéphane, you know that we like to start our walks with quite unusual places. Today, I had the idea of ​​taking you to the roofs of the Opéra Garnier. It's an admirable view of the Avenue de l'Opéra, but I'm sure that if you brought me here, it's because you want to show me something. It's true. First of all, because it's sublime, it's unique, it's magical and then it's this splendid view of Haussmann's Paris that the whole world

envies us. Moreover, this is why millions of tourists come to Paris every year. It’s to see this Paris. Imagine that it looked like this 160 years ago. Amazing. Yes. This is what the Opera district looked like before the work of Baron Haussmann. That's crazy. And when you see that, you imagine a little more the scale of this work, you know, the famous work of Haussmann which, for around twenty years, roughly from 1853 to 1870, will transform Paris in depth, completely upset Paris. It was mind-blowing, it was titanic. Yes, then there were no materials today. There

is no crane, there is no crane with plows. No no. You know, today, Parisians complain about the work being done in the capital, but imagine what it was like at the time. Paris, under Haussmann, was an open-air construction site. It was noisy, it was dusty, it was dangerous. It took tens of thousands of workers who came to work for years all day, tirelessly, in extremely precarious conditions. Accidents were daily, there were deaths. In short, all these sacrifices have created this formidable Paris which will be completely and profoundly disrupted. You have to imagine that we are

going to demolish nearly 20,000 buildings to build 30,000. We are going to double the surface area of ​​the capital. We will go from 12 districts to 20 districts. And the entire urbanization of the city will be rethought, completely restructured. Transport, streets, roads, boulevards, public lighting, sewers. We are going to create stations. In the north, we will create the Gare du Nord. To the south, we will create the Gare de Lyon. Everything is changed. We will also create green spaces. Green spaces. The Bois de Boulogne, the Bois de Vincennes, 80,000 trees planted all the same. It's

not nothing. No, it's not nothing. Obviously, there is the whole water revolution, since running water is imported everywhere in Paris. Then it will completely popularize the idea of ​​modernizing the cities of France. From Paris, it will spread everywhere. Bordeaux, Marseille, Avignon, Lyon will be transformed and even Buenos Aires in Argentina. The world changes. I don't want to say that it is from Paris, that would perhaps be a little chauvinistic, but all the same, from this period, the Second Empire, the middle of the 19th century, we are in full industrial revolution. There are going to be

innovations, there are engineers, we are inventing everything we can. It is a period of further technical, scientific, material and human upheaval and we have money. This is a period that has been called the golden age of capitalism. So, there is money to do this work, but let us give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. Of course, when we think of great works we naturally think of Baron Haussmann, but in fact, there were two of them. Of course, there was Haussmann, he was the executioner of the bases of the work, I want to say, but

there was also, above him - The Thinking Head. The thinking head, the visionary who orchestrated everything , who wanted to prepare Paris for the challenges of the future, for the challenges of modernity, was Emperor Napoleon III who, by a decree in 1852, signed the decree of death of old Paris. It is a Haussmann conductor, and the score was written by Napoleon III. Because Napoleon III knows very precisely what he wants. Wide sidewalks, huge parks and an efficient sewage system , modern ideas inspired by his stays abroad. Seeing the modern cities of London and New York,

he realized that he had to do exactly what the Roman emperors had done, building large roads precisely to make life easier. Napoleon III's program for Paris is contained in three verbs: clean up, enlarge, beautify. A program that he brought to fruition thanks to the support of a man, one of the greatest civil servants of the State, then stationed in Bordeaux, the prefect Eugène Haussmann. Napoleon III called him into his study and showed him a large map of Paris with streets drawn in different colors, red, blue, yellow, green. Afterwards, it's up to Haussmann to do the

work, so to speak. It's up to him to do the job. The heart of this old Paris, cloaked, dark, with unhealthy, sordid shacks , winding streets, Haussmann knows that by heart. He knows Paris better than Napoleon and this tandem, it will really match and it will produce sparks that we know. A close relationship that lasted for 17 years between an emperor who had all the powers and an inflexible prefect who brought down old Paris, sometimes brutally. Affectively, sentimentally, he has no qualms. Haussmann, from the moment Napoleon III commands, he executes. The fall of the Empire

in 1870 killed this pair. We then only remember the name of Haussmann and we still speak today of Haussmannian works. But let's go back to the start of this great adventure where this tandem of builders is preparing to transform more than 60% of the French capital. Yes, you know, we are under the Second Empire with Napoleon III, so he has lots of ideas. Above all, he has the financial and political means to achieve them. Who says empire, says full power. So we will begin our visit to the Paris of Haussmann and Napoleon III with the

Opera district, truly emblematic of this period. It’s a bit like a showroom for me. It’s truly the calling card of Haussmannian Paris. And in the Opera district, obviously, there is the Opéra Garnier which is under our feet and which I suggest you visit now. Listen, with joy, Lorànt. Let's find the Paris of today. You follow me ? Let's go. The Opéra Garnier is one of the most spectacular buildings of the Napoleon III period. The Opera district, located in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, was completely transformed to accommodate this building, both sumptuous and noisy. With the

Opera, Napoleon III exhibited the prosperity of the State and allowed the high society who frequented it to outrageously display their social success. The construction of the Paris Opera will take place over around fifteen years and will mobilize 550 workers. During the work, we will hide the building with a scaffolding of boards and glass roofs so that the surprise is truly complete once finished. And do you know why we are going to build the Opera in this precise location? Because in fact, in 1858, Napoleon III, who was going to the Opera, in the old opera house

which was rue Le Peltier, narrowly escaped an attack. As a result, we will decide to build a more modern opera house, in a safer, more open location. And besides, the emperor himself will have his own entrance, personal, secure, an access ramp where you can access the Opera by carriage. Unfortunately, he will never use it since the Opera will be completed in 1875, five years after the fall of the Empire. The fact remains that when Charles Garnier, the architect of the Paris Opera, is asked about the style used to erect this building, he will say “It’s

from Napoleon III. » as truly the Opera was emblematic of the Second Empire and the dream, the desire and ambition that Napoleon III had for Paris. Stéphane, let's get to the point straight away. The performance hall, the Opéra Garnier hall which is quite magnificent, it is grandiose. And look at the dome. It is obviously later since this dome was painted in 1960 by Marc Chagall, but it is still sumptuous and phenomenal. That's wonderful. It is magic. It's still amazing. Look how this room is designed. It was designed in the shape of a horseshoe. For what

? Obviously, to allow the audience to see what is happening on stage, but also to allow the audience to see what is happening in the room. We came to see and be seen. Exactly. The show is not only on stage, it is also in the room. It is a place of representation. It's a worldly place. During the performances, there is back and forth, there is discussion. The boxes in the first three rows have back rooms, back lounges. There are curtains, we could draw the curtains to chat. We entertained in the dressing room. We could receive

and discuss in peace. It was truly a place of performance. There is one thing that always fascinates me here. Do you see, this is the empress's box, this is the emperor's box. And we distinguish them by a detail. The emperor's box, he looked straight ahead at the empress's box and the caryatids, with their bare breasts. While Empress Eugénie, who was a very Catholic, very prudish woman, she demanded that the chests of the caryatids be covered. And that's why she saw clothed women in the emperor's box. That's a beautiful story. And another thing we owe to

Charles Garnier. It's what ? It's the color red in theaters. It's true that red is a symbol of theater. Exactly. It was Charles Garnier who imposed red because in the past, it was white, blue, green, but Charles Garnier noticed that it was more flattering for ladies' complexions. And so since- But is it true? But yes. But red suits you very well. It's good ? It's amazing. Yes, it's true. Besides, I have another story too. You know, when we talk about the Opera, we cannot not talk about this legend that accompanies it, namely the Phantom of

the Opera. Does the Phantom of the Opera mean something to you? Do you know this story? In fact, the legend of the Phantom of the Opera began in 1873. There was a young pianist called Ernest who composed in the old Paris Opera, which was on the rue Le Peletier side, a wedding march because he was going to marry an Opera dancer. Unfortunately, there is a fire which will devastate the Opéra Le Peletier. Ernest, who composed there, narrowly escaped. His fiancée will die in the flames. Filled with pain, our Ernest will then take refuge in the

construction site of the New Opera, here, in the basement, and he will complete the wedding march that he was composing for his marriage which will never take place. Little by little, the technicians, the dancers, the operators of the Paris Opera will begin to hear musical notes, piano notes, in the New Opera. These notes are obviously this wedding march which will end in the basement. He will come and finish it here, supposedly, according to legend. We will even begin to see shadows, ghosts, a disfigured man because he would have been disfigured by the flames of the

fire. We don't pay much attention to it, until strange things really start to happen in the Opera. On May 20, 1896, the counterweight of the enormous chandelier at the Opera came loose and killed the spectator seated in seat number 13 and the tragedies followed one another. We are going to have a ballerina who is going to fall from the gallery, she is going to fall on the 13th step. One day a machinist was found strangled. We say hanged, but in fact, there is no rope. There are no murder weapons, there are no explanations. We don't

know how, we don't know why. We also don't know why the young soprano singer, Christina Nielsen, was bewitched by a voice. We are going to have a soprano who will say that she hears voices every night, that he invites you to move around, that he calls to her like a siren in the corridors. Myths or reality, these various facts fascinate the writer Gaston Leroux. He made it the subject of his novel The Phantom of the Opera in 1910. Ernest, the young 19th century composer, becomes Éric, this evil ghost who hides in the basement of the

Opera. Basically, the counterweight of the chandelier may fall by accident, but no, with it, it will be the diabolical hand of the Phantom of the Opera and all the misfortunes that will happen to the Palais Garnier have this character as their author. These strange phenomena even disrupted, years later, the various performances of the musical The Phantom of the Opera around the world. Cancellations, technical problems, fires, so much so that we are starting to speak of a curse. The Phantom of the Opera is to the Paris Opera what Quasimodo is to Notre Dame. This monstrous, hidden

character, who is one with the building, who is its spirit, both malevolent and benevolent. Even in the Opera hall, there is this legend of the ghost of the Opera, because you can imagine that in this box number 5, every evening, there is a mysterious, enigmatic character, who presented himself as the ghost of the Opera, who reserved box 5 for the performances. And he ransomed the director. He demanded 20,000 francs. And if we didn't pay him, he threatened to kill people who were going to attend the performance. In fact, what's great about legends is that there

is some truth, some falsehood, but it makes for wonderful stories. They tell stories well. Ernest, it's thanks to Ernest. Thank you, well done. Come on. I'll pass a hat around here if anyone has a hat. There you go, look. Welcome to the big home. The architect of the Opera, Charles Garnier, will design this large foyer a bit like a gallery of castles. We have the feeling of being at the Louvre, of being at the Tuileries or at Versailles, right? In Versailles, with mirrors, chandeliers, there is everything. Exactly, it’s a very worldly place where we show

ourselves, it’s spectacular, again. Look at the chandeliers. Garnier will position them so that they can be visible from the street. It's a place of ceremony, it's a place where we show off, it's dazzling, it must be sensational, it must impress. It's amazing. Look, here, Charles Garnier. It's there, right in the center. The architect, the guy who builds, you see? He built the opera. Are you French too? Charles Garnier, that’s him. You know he's not just there. Do you know where else in the household Charles Garnier is? Look, there he is, the golden bust at the

top. It's him. In Apollo. I have better to show you. Come, follow me. Sorry, sir, excuse me, don't move. Look, can you see up there? He's hiding in the skylight. Do you see the little angel there? Behind the cherub, he is stuck, he is painted with his thin little mustache. Do you see it ? It's in the shadows a little bit. He was represented by Paul Baudry. Lorànt, do you know that this is the first time in the history of architecture that an architect signed his work with his name? In the rotunda of subscribers, he

engraved his name. Jean-louis Charles Garnier, architect 1861-1875. It’s true that it’s a bit everywhere all the same. It's everywhere, yes. And what a perspective! Did you see a little? Look at the view of the Louvre. Here, let's go see, let's see. Let's go to the balcony. In any case, at the Opera, you have to be seen, you have to show yourself. You have to go to the balcony. Still, what an extraordinary architect for such an extraordinary building. And you know, the craziest thing about this story is when it was inaugurated in 1875, after the fall

of Napoleon III, Charles Garnier was not invited. He had to pay for his ticket to the inauguration of his opera, because he was, in a way, made to pay the price for his loyalty to Napoleon III and the Second Empire. In any case, when you see the Opera and its splendor, you imagine what the Second Empire was like. It is a period where the most terrible poverty, unfortunately, rubs shoulders with the most exuberant wealth. It must be said that Haussmann looked everywhere for funding for his major works. So real estate speculation is going strong, with

people who will make fortunes in an instant, with a snap of their fingers. We bet a lot and we won a lot under the Second Empire. In 17 years of work, a new economy has been established. Hello to modern capitalism. Before Haussmann, Paris was in the public domain. It's a big city. It is managed with public funds. After Haussmann, Paris is a business. Because to finance the work, Paris is seeking 1.4 billion francs, or 14 billion euros today. And if the banks that we know saw the light of land credit, the Lyon credit or the

Société Générale, Haussmann borrowed above all, from a bank which has now disappeared, the furniture loan. The sums of money required are so large that it is necessary to create a special bank which will make it possible to find the capital. Once we have built quality buildings, the price per square meter will inevitably increase. There, we are talking about 3 million, 4 million, 10 million which become 30 million or 50 million. Behind this bank, there are two brothers, Émile and Isaac Pereire. These railway pioneer businessmen put the Paris Saint-Germain en Laye and Bordeaux Bayonne lines on

rail. The modernization of Paris is an opportunity to make this rail business grow. The Pereires have every interest in having the journey from one station to another shortened by means of a straight avenue. So, the Pereires will really contribute alongside Haussmann to the building of the new town. Because their fortune of 200 million francs or a jackpot of more than half a billion today, allows them to build the rue de Rivoli and transform the Monceau plain. Around the Opéra Garnier, the Pereire brothers' cash finances the Grand Hôtel, one of the largest palaces in Paris, inaugurated

with great fanfare by Empress Eugénie in 1862. With its restaurant, the Café de la Paix, the The establishment quickly became a crossroads of artistic life in the 19th century and still bears the traces of this golden age where fortunes were made, to the rhythm of this flamboyant capitalism. The Opera district, formerly intended for the middle classes, was massively destroyed and rebuilt in 1864, according to the plans of Prefect Haussmann. These titanic works, which will last 15 years, lead to significant expropriations and give rise to a new type of housing, the Haussmannian building. With his brand

new housing, Haussmann imposes his vision of the city, but also of the social rules that Lorànt will introduce to Stéphane through an extraordinary experience. There you are, avenue de l’Opéra. We are really in pure and hard Haussmann. This avenue is beautiful, it is very wide. It’s the neighborhood’s Champs-Élysées. Because Haussmann wanted a sublime perspective which led from the Palais Garnier, the Opera, to another palace, the Louvre. Where he lived in the Tuileries. Exactly. If he was able to implement this incredible, pharaonic project, it is because he was able to literally clear the neighborhood and clear

everyone. He expropriated all the owners of the premises with this famous decree of 1852. So, of course, the people who were expropriated were compensated, but that did not prevent human tragedies. Today, no one questions Haussmann's great works. They were necessary. But it’s true that the tragedy that all these people experienced, what they experienced, is still terrible. But Haussmann didn't care. He had a vision for Paris. Moreover, he himself will not hesitate to destroy the house in which he grew up as a child, near Boulevard Haussmann. It was necessary. And when you see the result, it's

still not bad. What is immediately striking when you are on Avenue de l'Opéra is above all the alignment of the walls, the regularity of the heights with Haussmann. We will make sure to build according to the width of the streets, that is to say that the wider the street, the taller the buildings. Originally, this avenue was not Avenue de l'Opéra, but it was Avenue Napoléon, in honor of Napoleon III. It was his avenue. So what did I want to show you? Where is he ? I don't know. There you go, look. This is a typical

Haussmann building. There, that’s it, it’s Haussmann. It was not Haussmann who invented furniture of this type, Haussmannian. He will codify them and he will generalize them. For everything he builds, it will be in this style. And it's really typical for the time. First we have the use of cut stone. Then, on the second floor we have continuous balconies. We also find them on the fourth and fifth floor, sometimes, to ensure the harmony of the building, of the whole. We also see the use of zinc. A great novelty for the time, zinc. The exterior is extremely

codified, but so is the interior. And there, I imagine you want to say to me “What was it like inside?” What was it like inside, Lorànt? What was it like inside? Yes, what was it like inside? Shall we raise the curtain? We can ? Look at. Look at this. Behind the scenes. This is how it was inside. How do you manage to open the buildings? A little magic. -amazing. -Inside too, as I told you, it’s codified. There is a real social hierarchy depending on the floors. The occupants are not the same from one floor to

another. We have the ground floor reserved for traders, the mezzanine or the first floor, also reserved for traders. It's sort of their back shop. The second floor, the famous second floor. The noble floor. The wealthiest bourgeois who settle there. This is the greatest height under the ceiling. We can also see the apartment. It's much brighter. Yes of course. It's much bigger. There is the long balcony. This is where there is the most light, etc. Then, the more height you gain, the poorer it gets. For what ? Because at the time. there is no elevator yet.

You can go up to the second floor without getting too tired, but after that it starts to be a little harder, so it's cheaper. What's crazy is that depending on the floor you live on, you are judged socially. Exactly. And it ends up in the attic with the servants, the household staff who worked for the noble floors below. Hence the expression “maid’s rooms”. Exactly, it's there. The staff lived in the attic. Now, people have combined the maids' rooms to make apartments under the roof. But look back then, it was just a room. They were small

monk cells, of course. It's incredible. Be careful, because what was cruel was that the servants didn't have access to the main stairs. The main staircase no, no, no, no. The rich bourgeois who occupied the noble floors, the guests, etc., when you entertained, you should not cross paths with the servants. So, we are going to create the back staircase which led directly to the maid's rooms. -from the attic, the maid's rooms, to the kitchens of the noble floors. You see, everything is hierarchical, everything is extremely structured and this restructuring of the intimacy of people's daily lives

at home will really upset all the habits of the French under the Second Empire. Behind this facade lies a social revolution. There are no more buildings allocated to the rich or the poor. Everyone finds themselves in the same neighborhood and under the same roof. Each building brings together several families from different social classes. This social mixing is unprecedented. In the Middle Ages, you had neighborhoods where trades or corporations were grouped together. The Haussmannian building is also synonymous with modernity and comfort. Little by little, homes will be equipped with running water. A disruption of habits, because

before Haussmann, water was a luxury that had to be achieved with the strength of the wrist. We have to carry it into the buildings, we have it carried up the floors, it’s very expensive. In all Parisian houses, we have a cat toilet, we have seen it in period films, the Zola, we have a bro and a toilet. The arrival of drinking water is a revolution because the water comes to the tap. Trivially, we serve ourselves inside our house. There is no longer a water seller, we go to his kitchen, we open the tap and we

have water. At the start of the empire, roughly one house in five had running water. In the end, it's one in two houses. The inhabitants also abandoned cooking with wood fires and lighting with candles, with the arrival of gas. At first, reserved for the richest, they gradually spread to all floors. And all this progress made the Haussmann building a standard that inspired the following decades. By the way, Stéphane, do you know of a measure that dates from this time and the famous decree of 1852? It concerns Haussmannian buildings. It can actually be a little bit

and often grating. Do you know what it is? It concerns buildings. It doesn't feel good. Especially not to the owners. Obligations ? Obligations. Works ? Work concerns buildings. There, we don't see it because we are inside. We can no longer see the facade. Facade renovation. Facade renovation. It dates from that time. Haussmann, he wanted a clean, pure, cleansed, weathered Paris. It also concerns the buildings that needed to be cleaned. And as a result, owners don't like it because it's an additional cost. Tenants don't like it either because it leads to an increase in rent. There

will be an increase in rent in Paris of almost 300%. The pressure is so strong that it will drive the poorest households out of city centers and reach the outskirts. People will protest, we will complain, we will contest, but let's not forget that we will when we are under the Empire. And who says empire says full power. The challenge is extremely limited. The newspapers, the press, when we protested, freedom of the press is like football. When a measure of the emperor was challenged, bing! Warning, yellow card. Are you challenging the emperor again? Red card. Red

card. Red card. The newspaper is suspended. No, it wasn't a joke at the time. Moreover, Haussmann, in his memoirs, will justify this totalitarianism by saying that he really favored the quality of public space. Yes, but at the same time, it is true that it is an immense project which is colossal, which is innovative. Obviously, that creates opposition. There are people who are resistant. And one of the most famous opponents is Jules Ferry, who had also written, alluding to Hoffmann's tales, The Fantastic Tales of Haussmann. Because he obviously contested his budgets, his sums which were incredible.

In short, there was a lot of opposition. Shall we have a little coffee? If you want. I invite you. I would like you to invite me. For once. Look, let's sit down at this table. I'm going to take this place. Exactly, since we're talking about the Opera district, do you know that in the district, there is a building that will have phenomenal success? What is this ? Spring. Spring is an innovation. Department stores were a practice that became widespread under the Second Empire. There had already been the Bon Marché on the left bank. Of course.

It's the first. It's the first. Here, on the right bank, Printemps was created in 1865. It's a gentleman called Jules Jaluzot, who is going to make the crazy bet of setting up a department store here, in the Opera district. Why is this a crazy bet? Because at the time, here, it's a little out of the way. We are not in historic, prestigious Paris, it is a little far away. In addition, as I said, it is under construction. But hey, Jaluzot, he's betting on the neighborhood and he's right because he guesses that it's going to become

the epicenter of Haussmann's prestigious Paris. He knows that this neighborhood will attract crowds of tourists, middle-class people, rich people, etc. Very quickly, it will be a hit and it will have incredible success. Where there is a social revolution nonetheless is that women can also move freely. They are accompanied by their husbands, of course, but they can move freely in the department store while the husbands have a reserved lounge where they can read their newspaper while the ladies can try on and choose. Exactly. The department stores will also cause a sensation with another novelty which dates

from this period and which will still be a hit today when the sales arrive. If the first sales appeared with Simon Manouri, the owner of the store Le Petit Saint-Thomas, they then became popular in the department stores of Paris thanks to AAristide Boucicaut, the owner of Le Bon Marché, who organized sales at reduced prices just after Christmas . He realizes that his customers have spent so much that they desert his store a little in January. All the white stuff will be taken out of the reserves, that is to say the sheets, the household linen, the

tablecloths, even the curtains, the curtains. And we don't sell it expensively. This household linen sold at low prices launches the white week, but it is Jules Jaluzot, the founder of the Le Printemps department store , who makes the sales a real commercial innovation. Rather than hiding out-of-fashion or worn-out products, he sells them at knockdown prices twice a year. The department store was the beginning of mass consumption and mass consumption gave birth to all the marketing attitudes we know today. Success is immediate. Wealthy or modest clients love the idea of ​​Jaluzot. And Printemps became one of

the temples of Parisian commerce, followed shortly after by the La Fayette galleries. But this custom born in the golden age of capitalism also produces its first victims. This is the first time that upper-middle-class women have ruined themselves through consumerism, because it's outrageous shopping. What creates their downfall is buying, buying, buying, because they have a fever, shopping fever. A fever which, more than 150 years later, still grips customers twice a year. Department stores will also bring lots of innovations, such as the arrival of electricity. First for department stores, before it becomes widespread. The electricity fairy, as

we call her. The elevator. Yes, the elevator. The elevator. To the ladies' happiness, Zola, he is fascinated by the arrival of the elevator. It starts in department stores. You know that in the 19th century, there was a whole host of technological innovations, as you are right to point out, but above all there was one revolution, the Universal Exhibition. And I would really like to take you now, if you agree, to the Champs de Mars, to show you an extraordinary building which was created especially for the Universal Exhibition of 1867. Would you like to see it?

I follow you. How are we going there ? We're going there by metro, I have a ticket. To discover this extraordinary building, head to the Champ de Mars, between the Eiffel Tower and the École Militaire, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It is here that Napoleon III chose to build the gigantic palace which hosted the Universal Exhibition of 1867. A palace of disproportionate proportions, living up to the emperor's ambitions and which Stéphane is preparing to revive. I love these gardens. These are magnificent gardens. This is where the second largest universal exhibition in France took place.

There was that of 1855 and that of 1867, desired by Napoleon III as a grandiose event. It must be said that a universal exhibition was still a wonderful event. The whole world paraded in Paris, we showed all the innovations. Paris became the world capital. Especially since it was good because Paris had been completely transformed by Baron Haussmann. And to complete his work, Napoleon III decided to hold the Universal Exhibition here. And an incredible monument is being built for the occasion. Do you want to see this grandiose building that made all Parisians dream in 1877? It's

not just Parisians, the whole world. Yes, I would be delighted. Where is it ? Look at. There, there, there, there. Here it is. Impressive. It's colossal. It is enormous. Look at. The proportion is twice the Stade de France. It's as if you have two Stades de France stuck next to each other. It is an oval building which is 490 meters wide and 380 long. Did that fit into the Champ de Mars? The Champ de Mars at the time was not the same. There, today, what you see, the Champ de Mars, is 24 hectares. At the

time, it was 67 hectares. Try to imagine this place without the Eiffel Tower, without the avenues on each side of the Champ de Mars. All this was not subdivided, it was a huge field, really, hence its name Field of Mars. Imagine that in just two years, we built this incredible oval palace for the Universal Exhibition. But it still took 26,000 workers to build it. This Omnibus Palace is impressive. Why was it called Omnibus? Do you see the proximity of the Seine? Every ten minutes, there were boats returning, bringing visitors. There were also horse-drawn carriages, so

it was called, as it stopped everywhere, Omnibus. After the Palais des Sports, the Palais des Transports. It is the Palais Omnibus of all records. 35,000 tons of steel with millions of rivets. There were 74 kilometers of aisles, galleries, 32 countries represented, 50,000 exhibitors, including 16,000 French. Did you see that exterior corridor that goes around the entire building? It is very impressive. We had to impress the world, obviously. All because of 1851. That's where it all begins. 1851, Napoleon III is a guest of Queen Victoria. He's going to London. We are creating the Crystal Palace, which

you have certainly heard of. He wants to compete. He therefore created the 1855 Universal Exhibition. But you know that it was a close call. Because the English fired first. They are the ones who had the first universal exhibition? Sorry, if there had been no opposition, I can tell you that frankly, the prize would go to us. We are the first country to have imagined the Universal Exhibition. Before the English? Before the English. In France, the day after the Revolution, a huge fair was created with public exhibitions of the products of French industry. Their objective ?

Become the showcase for the country’s innovations. The first time we proposed it and had the idea of ​​doing an exhibition of this type, it was in 1798, it was under the directorate. It's a French idea. 50 years later, the French government launched the idea of ​​an international exhibition, but manufacturers were too afraid of espionage and refused to see foreign products in their aisles. The English are more daring. The English were quite impressed by the 11th exhibition of French industrial products which took place in 1849. They immediately had the idea of ​​reproducing it in England, but

of making it an international event. They rush and they launch, if you like, the concept of the universal exhibition with that of London. For this first universal exhibition in history, the English built the Crystal Palace, a revolutionary building, a monster of more than 4,000 tons of cast iron and glass which accommodated a quarter of the British population. Faced with this colossal success, Napoleon III ordered the construction of the Palais de l'Industrie on the Champs-Élysées for the first universal exhibition in France. The Palais de l'Industrie is a place that is both extraordinary from a technical point

of view, since there is an iron and cast iron span which is completely new, which has never been seen before. previously imagined. But this Palace of Industry is less ambitious, less beautiful and above all half as large as the Crystal Palace. So much so that Napoleon III had to urgently build a new gallery named after the Seine to accommodate locomotives, steamboats and other turbines. For the second French edition, Napoleon III requires the directors of the exhibition to surpass themselves. The projects followed one another and that of the Champs de Mars ended up winning against all

expectations. Napoleon III was not very satisfied with the first exhibition on the Champs-Élysées in 1855. He wanted something more grandiose. Hence this Omnibus Palace. In any case, he was not enthusiastic about the projects of 1867. There was one of the two directors of the universal exhibition called Le Play, who had to fight like hell because the people opposite , at the imperial commission, they did not find it convincing. Neither Napoleon III and especially not Haussmann. Haussmann was opposed to it. He thought it was too expensive, the location was wrong, etc. In short, Le Play will

have to really fight to win its case. This is what will be the case. It will see the light of day and it is said that it is from this time that Haussmann himself will no longer set foot on the imperial commission. It's a bit of a symbol - Haussmann was wrong, look. Haussmann was initially wrong, against all expectations. It’s a huge success. This Palais Omnibus attracts a crazy crowd and above all, it first of all reveals French know-how. And you know, there was this Franco-English war on ceramics, on textiles, lace which exploded, it became

formidable. The first washing machines. They are born there. That's what was good about the universal exhibitions, is that there was a little excavation fair side. They competed in audacity, discovery, ingenuity. It was a bit crazy. It was a happy mess inside, though. It is the place of all experiences. Imagine that there was even an aquarium in which a diver dived among 800 fish. This is what inspired Jules Verne for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. And likewise, you know that as Haussmann built tall buildings, well, Otis presents his first elevator in the Palais-Omnibus. It's a

detonator, an idea detonator. What is also incredible is that the Universal Exhibition obviously allows not only the whole world to come and see Paris, but Parisians to discover the world. whole, because we didn't travel the way we travel today. And so, they went from one pavilion to another, they discovered the whole world arriving here in Paris. During the Universal Exhibition of 1867, Paris became the center of the world for several months. Seven million visitors flock there and among them, 57 heads of state. All the crowned heads meet in Paris. We find both the future emperor

William, we find Franz Josephus, we also find the Shah of Persia. Even the future king of England comes here because it's the place to be. Around the Omnibus Palace, the public discovers the very first pavilions in history which present the culture and architecture of each country. The Champ de Mars is thus transformed into a walk through the world. There is the Siam pavilion which offers a Buddhist pagoda. We see exactly what is happening with the Sultan in Constantinople, with the Shah of Persia. A completely new world is opening up. Visitors stare at the eight sphinxes

of the Egyptian palace, admire the Tunisian Palace and the Chinese Theater and enter these adorable little isbas, the traditional dwellings of Russian peasants. What is also extraordinary during this 1867 exhibition is that we discover gastronomy that comes from all over the world. We are discovering dishes that come, for example, from Africa that we had never discovered before, tea. There are certain plantations that come from Asia, from China. And the Japanese delegation caused a sensation when it presented the very first tea ceremony in France. Ceremony which earned him a silver medal hand-delivered by Napoleon III. Still

beautiful. And here, I want to ask you the ritual question. Why isn't it there anymore? Why did he disappear? It's called the Champ de Mars. Mars is the god of war. This land belonged to the army and the army wanted to recover this military maneuvering field. That said, it's true that it has always been the center of exhibitions. For example, you remember, 1878, we saw it. Yes, with the Trocadéro. Exactly. You remember, we even did a program on the 1900 exhibition with this famous door. Of course. I passed over 1889 in silence with old Mademoiselle

who is above us. So, we always come back to the field of Mars, ultimately. Yes, it really was the spice of the world fairs. You know that what's a shame is that the last French universal exhibition took place in 1937 and nothing since. We know that 2020 will happen in Dubai. In 2025, it's in Osaka. Except that in 2025, we, France, were candidates. Exactly, do you know that we had a fantastic ambassador for the French bid for the Universal Exhibition? It's Cedric Villani. Hello Cedric. Hello Stéphane. Hello Cedric. Hello Lorànt. Why the Universal Exhibition? This

is how important it is, Cedric. For what ? The Universal Exhibition is universal. This is the moment when you invite the whole world into your home, together, to think, to show the future, what tomorrow will be like. Everyone is proud to present these latest innovations. Not too disappointed for 2025? I am sure that France will be keen to put a great project back on track. France needs to reaffirm its pride. France is the country firmly convinced that it has a duty to show the road to the future to other countries. There is one incredible thing

and I don't know if you agree with me, Lorànt, which is that- I often agree with you. These are the foreign flags. What fascinates me about universal exhibitions is that each country creates a pavilion to show - It's strange. It's a window at the back, it's a showroom. For 2020 in Dubai, we have a pavilion which reflects our desire to move towards sustainable development, towards ecology. A French pavilion. First of all, what is special is that it is lined with photovoltaic cells. It has little impressionist touches like Claude Monet. Not bad. Yes, and what's more,

there is an artistic reminder of the water lilies, so they emphasize art, French tradition, refinement. It's true that Dubai, for example, now the universal exhibitions are born ex nihilo. That is to say, it is an oil field that we find, it is the desert that we transform into a city to welcome the world. But what's a bit of a shame, Cédric, is that look, this omnibus palace, it was in the heart of the city after all. Now we are leaving the cities. So in Dubai, it's more in the city. In Osaka, it will also be

outside. What we also need to see is that in 1867, we were still under the empire. It was easy to modify, to turn everything upside down. Haussmann, for 17 years or something like that in a row, he turned everything upside down, opened everything, destroyed everything. We owe him 60% of current Paris, of course. I hope that one day we will represent each other. We are going to represent France's candidacy. I hope so. It’s so much a part of France’s identity. Try doing that while Lorànt and I are alive. That's all we ask of you. We

will try. You hurry to Stéphane. Thank you Cedric. See you soon. It's incredible though. You look good again. Yes, but in 30 years. With the universal exhibitions, Paris becomes the center of the world and must face an exceptional influence of visitors. An innovation is emerging and will change the habits of the French. With the Universal Exhibition and the transformation of Paris under the Second Empire with Baron Haussmann, the avenues were much wider. To transport people and to go faster, we are creating a new means of transport. This is the Imperial Horsemobile. The horse-drawn carriage? Yes,

come on, there's one passing by. Come. Good morning. Good morning. Look at. You see, Lorànt, that’s an imperial horse-drawn carriage. It was Alphonse Loubat who installed the first horse-drawn tram line in Paris. It was Madeleine-Bastille. It was wildly successful. Via the main boulevards. Do you also know, you are an actor, you have done a lot of theater. When we say “shit” before a show, do you know where it comes from? Of course, it was horse droppings in front of the theater, which meant it was crowded. I wish you the world, so shit. Full of shit

at a theater, that means there were people there, so a lot of cabs. Hello, I have my ticket. Yes, that's what you gave me earlier. I did not understand. Do you want to keep it as a souvenir? Yes, if you don't mind. THANKS. I keep it as a souvenir, it's still nice. We're going to go and settle down. Shall we sit upstairs? She's on the imperial terrace anyway. It's a bit narrow. Still, we are talking about Napoleon III. We took a seat in an imperial horse-drawn carriage which also belongs to the Draft Horse Museum. And

then, we are well surrounded, these ladies and gentlemen who are part of a group called Outre-temps, Outre-danse. What's great is that at the time, when you were born in a village, you lived there all your life, you got married there and you died there. It was the same thing in Paris. We were born in a district and we traveled very little. People have never crossed the Seine. Thanks, precisely, to the Hippomobile, there has been mobility among Parisians since the Second Empire. It's true that at the time, there was no shortage of ideas and, moreover, Napoleon

III's big idea for Paris, at the time of Haussmann, was to create a triumphal entry into Paris, really to bluff people, new arrivals, like that, seduced, stunned by the beauty of the capital. It needed a prestigious, grandiose entrance. This is where I propose to go now, my dear Stéphane, because this entrance is still there and, moreover, it is today one of the most famous places in Paris. And this unmissable place in the capital is the Champs-Élysées, the most beautiful avenue in the world. With Napoleon III and Haussmann, the district was transformed from top to bottom

and gradually became the cradle of the luxury of private mansions and sumptuous parties. To show Stéphane the extent of the work carried out, Lorànt imagined a breathtaking experience. It is not well ? We're really good. What I like about you is that we always gain a little height. Yes, I have the feeling of being on top of the world. It is the most beautiful avenue in the world. Every year, more than 100 million visitors come to see it. It’s still sublime. It is also one of the most expensive. With Bond Street in London and 5th

Avenue in New York. And there, the Place de l’Etoile. Originally, it was even called the Butte de l'Étoile. Then it was called the Butte de Chaillot, then the Barriere de Neuilly. And finally, from 1970, it was officially named Place Charles de Gaulle. But unfortunately, this name did not catch on very well. We are still on Place de l’Etoile. But do you know what will push Napoleon III to highlight both the Place de l'Etoile and especially the Avenue des Champs-Élysées? He will want to highlight the Arc de Triomphe decided by his uncle Napoleon I. It will

open up, offer a sublime perspective. And little by little, this Place de l'Etoile will become a triumphal gateway to reach the Tuileries Palace where Napoleon III lives. It's going to be totally turned upside down. Would you like to see what the Champs-Élysées looked like before the restructuring of Napoleon III. Are you capable of doing this? Of course you know I won't stop at anything. Look, it looked like this. Yeah. It's very green. In the 17th century, the Champs-Élysées was only a line of flight, a perspective from the Louvre Palace, orchestrated by the famous gardener of

Louis XIV, Le Nôtre, who, towards the west, offered at Roi Soleil a sublime panorama towards the sunset. That was the Champs-Élysées, a breakthrough, a line of flight in the middle of the trees. There are very few houses. There is nothing, it's deserted, it's completely deserted. We don't walk around there. However, from the end of the 18th century, with the expansion of Paris which will be circumscribed within the so-called general farmers' enclosure, we will be here, on the Arc de Triomphe, at a grant barrier. The grant barriers, they made it possible to control - It's like

customs. It was the entry of goods into the capital. You had to pay every time you entered Paris. There were 57. On either side of the Arc de Triomphe, you had two customs pavilions which, unfortunately, today have disappeared. But we find one which is similar on the France Comté side in Arc-et-Senans towards Salins, there is one which has reached us. Because here, on the Champs-Élysées, they will have been destroyed. You have to know that there are lots of things that are going to happen here. We're even going to build a racetrack. No. But if. But

there was a racetrack here. For about ten years, I believe between 1845 and 1855, there was a racetrack located there. You know Stéphane, it is with Napoleon III and his architect Jacques Hittorff that the Place de l'Étoile will go from four avenues to 12 openings. We're going to add eight. And you know, breakthrough is really a term, an emblematic word of Haussmann, these large streets like that which break through, bleed, cross, make cities more fluid. Twelve avenues, one star, 12 openings, the openings so dear to Haussmann. In 17 years of work, more than 200 kilometers

of new tracks have been laid. Imagine, this is the distance between Paris and Le Havre and these new streets are organized around a central axis. The first axis of Haussmann's work is a North-South axis. This is the axis that will connect Boulevard de Sébastopol to Boulevard Saint-Michel. And at this height, almost, there will be a crossing. That is to say at the height of Châtelet and rue de Rivoli. Thanks to this crossing from North to South and from East to West, we can now cross the capital without detour. From this axis, new routes were gradually

opened between 1852 and 1869. These large avenues encourage commerce and trade by connecting the stations to each other. And Haussmann, who had a cult of perspective, used the great monuments of Paris. It is not enough to draw infinite rectilinear openings so that we can move easily around the city. We still need to know where we are going. And Haussmann, very intelligently, will use monuments as signage. He will inaugurate what today would be called the target monument. It's impossible to get lost in this new Paris thanks to the monuments that you see at the ends of

the avenues. And when they interfere with Haussmann's prospects, they are demolished. It is said that the hospital tower of Saint-Jean-de-Latran and the Bretonvilliers hotel disappear under the cobblestones. There is a price to pay for this modern and organized Paris to emerge. There is another little anecdote that dates from that time. Do you know why the districts of Paris are organized in the shape of a snail? Have you noticed that it's like that? Yes, absolutely. It radiates like that from the inside to the outside. Because at the time, there were not 20. First, there were 12.

There were 12. Precisely, in the Second Empire, when we went from 12 to 20 arrondissements, figure - you that the 13th arrondissement must have been in the west, in very rich areas, Auteuil, Passy obviously, the 13th brings bad luck. They didn't want to hear about the 13th. In addition, there was a popular expression at the time which said that when we got married at the town hall on the 13th, it was because we weren't really officially married, it was is that we were living together. As a result, they preferred a snail-like system where it is

towards the poorer neighborhoods, towards the east, the South-East of the capital, that the inhabitants will find themselves decked out in the 13th century. I'm not superstitious. I like the XIII too. In any case, it brings bad luck, I lived there, it didn't necessarily bring me very good luck all the time. Since you like riddles, I have another one for you. Do you know that this Arc de Triomphe was not planned here? That, I didn't know. It was planned for another location. Maybe closer to the Tuileries? Bastille's Place. Of course. Close to Place de la Bastille.

Except that, because of the basements of the Bastille - It was too heavy. It's too heavy. 100,000 tons. It couldn't hold. It's a behemoth we put it there. Let's return to the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. In 1800, there were only six houses, still not many. Gradually, it will become the fashionable place. We walk there and little by little, we have to show ourselves there, we have to be there. We are going to settle there and we are going to build private mansions. There were plenty of them. But now, if you don't mind, let's go back to

2020, our famous mansions of the Second Empire, they have all disappeared. It's quite unfortunate. When you look, you always find a little something. There is a private mansion from this period which has come down to us. It is quite spectacular, mysterious, as was its owner. I suggest you go with me to find out. Alright. You know, there is a rumor that says that if the bourgeois and the rich settled in the west of Paris in the 19th century, during the industrial revolution, it was because of the wind. Because in fact, the prevailing winds in Paris

go from west to east and therefore, in the west, you are sheltered from the smoke from factory chimneys. That's not really true. In fact, for 500 years, the rich have been heading to the west of Paris. If factories were established in the east, it was above all to take advantage of transport networks, particularly train stations. Gare du Nord, Gare de l'Est, Gare Saint-Lazare and the Ourcq canal but hey, if we are on the Champs-Élysées, it is to talk about the Second Empire and especially a period that we called the imperial holiday. Because with all these

reconstructions, the new streets, the new buildings, there were inaugurations which took place with great fanfare. It was from that moment on that the Avenue des Champs-Élysées became the place of social life par excellence, of worldliness. Many people met there. This is the place to show up and be seen. If there is a political regime in the history of France that can be compared to celebration, it is truly the Second Empire. Because under the Second Empire, each military victory, each visit by a foreign sovereign, each new avenue was a pretext for sumptuous celebrations. Napoleon III in

person with the Empress came directly to inaugurate these grand boulevards. Paris is a continual celebration of both the works, of course, but also the successive inaugurations. There's more to it than just frivolity. There is really a political will to show that France is a very prosperous country. The high-ranking officers of the Empire who trace these immense avenues by day, are dizzy in celebration and luxury at night. All the great dignitaries of the State are handsomely paid and have representation expenses. They are asked to spend every last penny. Moreover, Haussmann himself agreed to be able to

appear, to be able to party. There will therefore be cafes, cabarets, a whole bunch of establishments which contribute to bringing crowds of people to Paris who want to have fun, to enjoy life. For 17 years, in defiance of a poverty which oppresses the most modest, the balls of the Palais des Tuileries brought together all the European aristocracy in the capital. Do you want to know what is rarest in Paris? They are the Parisians, they said at the time. It's an era, a sort of enchanted parenthesis, an incredible breath of life like our country has not

known many. Stéphane, to give you an idea of ​​the luxury in which the best-off people lived during the Second Empire, I suggest you come and visit with me now the last private mansion of the time on the Champs-Élysées which has come down to us. Where is he ? It's over there, look. It's here ? Yes. THANKS. It is superb. Take a look. Come, Maria. Wait, I'm enjoying it. The exterior is quite discreet. Look at the beauty of this mansion. It feels like a Renaissance palace in Italy. No ? It is classified, it is a historical

monument. Today, it belongs to a private club, but upon reservation, you can visit. It's accessible. And there, when you come in, monumental staircase, it sets the tone. There, we are in very, very luxury. The masterful bronze torchieres. Look, all the statues are amazing. And the ramp, the ramp. A yellow onyx banister from Algeria. Honestly, we want to go down on it. Honestly, it's magnificent. Upstairs, you have a bathroom with a nine hundred kilo silver bathtub with three faucets. Cold, hot, chill. The third, it seems, no, champagne. Come on, shall we continue? That's crazy. Look, there,

you say to yourself where did I fall? I am in Versailles, I am in Vaux-le-Vicomte. It's a palace. Wow, look at the living room. To decorate her private mansion, the owner of the place, yes. It's a woman. Well, a woman in question will call on the greatest decorators of the time. If you look at the ceiling, look at the beautiful fresco up there. It reminds you of something, doesn't it? Yes, the home of the Paris Opera. Exactly. It is the same painter, Paul Baudry, who will create this painting. It represents day chasing away night. The

model that represents the night is none other than the owner of the place. Her name was Esther Lachmann, she was nicknamed La Paiva. In fact, to tell us about it, I asked Virginie Giraud. Hello Virginie, are you okay? Historian to tell us about it, because she was not a princess, she was not a queen, she was quite simply a casserole. Yes, and the cocottes were what we call high-flying prostitutes who had extremely wealthy clients and the paiva was one of the most famous of the 19th century. Cocottes were a kind of escort girl, who were

very popular during the Second Empire. She sometimes made colossal fortunes with the men she literally stole. Was it enough for her to pluck one or more? No, several. It took several. And besides, she has a very, very long history since it all began for her in 1819, in the Moscow ghetto. She comes from a poor family, but she will say that she is the daughter of the poet Puszkine or a Romanov, for that matter. The Czars family is pretty good. And in fact, she marries a French tailor with whom she has a child. She is

unhappy, she dreams of the high life, so she leaves. This is to say that she still had audacity in her time. She abandons her child. Absolutely, yes. Yes, but she had better things to do, it seems. And so it goes through Constantinople. It was there that she learned a little about erotic art, since it was the great capital of orientalist harems. And then she arrives in Paris, where she is completely penniless. And so she prostitutes herself. She first cheated the Marquis de la Paiva, whose name she took and which allowed her to enter the big

world this time, since she became a marquise. And once she plucked it, she threw it away. He committed suicide, poor guy. It's horrible what you're saying there. He was heartbroken. But hey, she quickly turned around since she found a man. It was an old habit. And finally, she found a big fish. Exactly. An even richer man, Count Von Donnersmarck, who was much younger than her and over whom she built a sort of psychic and sexual influence. And she's going to take a lot of money from him to build this magnificent mansion. What's incredible is that

she must have had a certain level because obviously, her casserole dishes weren't just horizontal. She also had to hold a living room. Here, I imagine that she received the whole earth. Everyone made fun of her. Besides, there was an expression at the time, we said “La Paiva, he who pays goes there.” But everyone wanted to be there. In fact, we come to her house because we absolutely have to come there. She must have been superbly pretty. She had to be magnificent and then she still had to have a certain elegance. Elegance, yes. It had to

hit anyway. Wasn't she pretty? I'm a little afraid of disappointing you, but no, she wasn't very beautiful, actually. The beauty is elsewhere. Or maybe she was very good. So that’s for sure. On the other hand, we don't know his specialties. We know that she did not frequent women to relax from men, in particular, while other girls did so. But what is certain is that she drove men absolutely crazy. And besides, Donnersmarck, her husband, was so in love with her that when she died at the age of 65 in 1884, he couldn't get rid of her.

He preserved her body in a glass coffin in alcohol. Incredible, this story. I have a hard time imagining the picture. La Paiva in a jar. But it is certain in any case that living at the time with a socialite during the Second Empire was not something contemptible. On the contrary, it was an outward sign of wealth. There were very famous people like I think Manet. He had a demi socialite on his arms. They were truly the queens of Paris, the cocottes. Some of them have even become real icons. Under the Second Empire, they were called

lionesses. They make men roar, but not at any cost. You should know that a night with, for example, Blanche d'Antigny, costs at least 500 francs. So that’s a little over €50,000 today. Because these women only target rich, very rich men, Cora Pearl, the famous demi-socialite of English origin, counts among her clients the Duke of Morny, the half-brother of Napoleon III. Thanks to their lovers' money, they take revenge on life. They are women of pleasure, but their goal is really to get rich. There are no feelings. Blanche d'Antigny starts literally on the sidewalk, she is going

to steal a Russian prince, she is really going to dominate Paris. So, these are romantic destinies. These extravagant women, who are often true artists, dancers or singers, have immense power over men. La Belle Otero once received a man who was prepared to spend a fortune to spend half an hour in her room. She receives him, she talks to him, she makes him admire the works of art. Monsieur is very happy and then the half hour has passed. He owes several thousand francs, but it's over. You must leave without having consumed. This world where luxury, money

and sex mix excessively also fascinates writers. Women like Blanche d'Antigny or Valtesse de La Bigne will inspire Nana, Zola's famous novel. And so they will become legendary characters even though they are very real women of the flesh. For their advertising and to make men fantasize, they also use a terribly modern tool, photography. Cléo de Mérode or Émilienne d’Alençon even distributed small photographic cards throughout Paris. Welcome to the winter garden. That's wonderful. It's crazy all the same, all these demi-socialites, the little girls. It was literally celebrities in the 19th century. Quite. Moreover, I believe that many

of them served as muses for the great painters of the 19th century. Exactly. The painters loved having them pose for them and they loved passing on to posterity in this way. And there is one whose crotch we know better than her face. I have an idea. You have an idea ? This is the origin of the world. Exactly. by Courbet. Yes, in the 1860s, a Turkish-Egyptian diplomat called Khalil Bey visited Paris. He falls in love with a beautiful opera dancer who is also a hottie. They usually do both. And as he loves to play, he

often takes it with him. He even calls her his little lucky charm, if that isn't cute. And to keep a little souvenir, he asked Gustave Courbet to paint the most intimate part of his body. And then, as the years went by, we ended up forgetting who the model was. Except that some time ago, a historian who delved into the papers of Georges Sand and Alexandre Dumas fils discovered something that no one had seen before him. Alexandre Dumas fils writes that the interior of Mademoiselle Quéniaux was painted and that is how the mystery was solved. We

know the face of the origin of the world. Her name is Constance Quéniaux. We are going to come precisely to Alexandre Dumas fils because the expression “demi-mondaine” comes to us from him. A comedy, Le demi-monde, which described all its equivocal characters, its women without husbands, its prostitutes who led a high life, who made money, etc. There is another expression that comes to us from this time, it is the term “coconut”. It comes to us from casseroles, because it was precisely a reference to perfumes. She wore perfume very strongly, a lot, etc. Heady perfumes. And so,

Madam, the wife, could spot the unfaithful husband when he came home afterwards. He smells like a casserole. And so the expression “cocoter” comes from there. Virginie, thank you very much. It was very informative. It was impressive. We, Stéphane, are going to stay in the imperial celebration, this frenetic festive spirit which characterizes the Second Empire, but we are going to be interested in a slightly more popular aspect of Haussmann's Paris at the time, and that is over there. I follow you. To the right. I love the party. There, you will be served. This unbridled sensuality which

is displayed in the posh salons is gradually reaching the more modest classes. In the performance halls and public balls of this brand new Paris, enthusiastic crowds flock to discover a new kind of dance, a slightly ribald dance that the whole world envies us today. So you see, a lot of girls were actresses. And if they were so famous, it's because the theater, the show, the representations, had enormous success during the Second Empire. It was also at this time that a show was created and imagined and today, it is globally associated with the image of Paris.

It is obviously the famous French Cancan. If we know the French Cancan, it came from there, it started from the Second Empire. Rather than telling you about it, I'm going to show it to you, obviously with the dancers from the Moulin Rouge. Good morning. Good morning. Thank you so much. Fantastic. Mathilde, Olga, sorry, this is Lorànt. Impressive. How are you ? Are you a little too out of breath? No, we're always a little out of breath after the French cancan, it's a very technical dance, very... -acrobatic. -traditional, acrobatic, for me, personally, there is a lot

of energy. Steps are very important. Before, it was a popular dance, everyone could dance the French cancan. Today, it has become much more professional. That's it, the figures, the steps were created to make fun of the power in place. There are some figures we can show you. For example, there is the cathedral which makes fun of the church. Our two legs symbolize... Ah yes. The roof of a... The roof of a cathedral. -what about a church? -of a cathedral. There is also, for example, the carrying of weapons. Carrying weapons. It shows a soldier with his

rifle. You have to be very flexible, Olga. You have to be very flexible. I'm not sure I can... Shall we try? No, it's not okay anymore. And are there other figures like that? There is the famous ass shot that I love. The ass kick? Stand back. What is the ass kick? It was the time of the emancipation of women, women took responsibility for themselves. These are the feminists of the time. Exactly. It’s Ah there you go! And in fact, it's a dance of women's emancipation at that time. It was very shocking. You should know that

at the time, girls didn't even show their ankles. And that was something very revolutionary. It's extremely irreverent, but we ask for more of this irreverence, we demand it. It's very French. But does that mean “French cancan”? Actually, is it “cancan”? It’s “quack-quack” at first. It's the quack quack. Besides, it was invented by a French dancer, Céleste Mogador. It was she who invented this eccentric cancan, therefore this very acrobatic, very technical, wild dance. All of Paris will love it and even the whole world, since it will then be taken up by an English producer who will

really bring the cancan to posterity in the form of French cancan. A dance that was based on the tunes of operettas like La Vie parisienne by Offenbach, the star composer of the time. In any case, it was great. Awesome, thank you very much. Thank you Mathilde, thank you Olga. Thank you to all the dancers at the Moulin Rouge. Thank you so much. Not bad. In fact, our stroll through Haussmann's Paris continues now, but in another universe. We are going to find the belly of Paris. Do you know where I'm taking you? We're going to the

Halles. The Halls of Baltar. Lets' go. With Haussmann's major works, another district will be transformed from top to bottom, that of Les Halles, in the heart of Paris. It is here that Napoleon III decided to build a legendary building, a masterpiece that has now disappeared, which many French people still remember with nostalgia. The Baltar Halls. Stéphane is about to give Lorànt a pure moment of magic. See, there, imagine that 900 years ago, there was a swamp called the place called Champs-Eau. Then, it was a place of commerce which had kept its appearance from the Middle

Ages. Besides, there was a hygiene and traffic problem. At the beginning of the 19th century, there was a project to make market halls. Except that when Napoleon III came to power, he rejected the first project of the architect Victor Baltar. He doesn't find it modern enough. And then, you know that with her wife, Empress Eugénie was very impressed by the Crystal Palace in London. All in transparency, iron, glass, these were modern materials. And so, he asked Victor Balta for a second project, but a project that really marked the history of the neighborhood. Do you want

to see it? I didn't dare ask you. Look, it's easy to do. Look at. Here are the Halles Baltar looks. Impressive, right? Ten pavilions interspersed with covered streets. With the same slot structure covered with glazing. It occupies 33 hectares. You have to imagine that this technical and technological feat fascinated contemporaries. A masterpiece of transparency, of lightness, so that you understand the structure. Look at. Harry Potter. It is magic. This is called industrial architecture. Baron Haussmann wanted the capital to change its face and that, in a way, iron and glass would bring hygiene. This structure was

duplicated on the stations, on the buildings of the Universal Exhibition. You see, for example, the shutters, they are made of frosted crystal, this allowed the air to be regulated and at the same time to provide natural lighting. It is truly a technical feat for its time. It is a revolution in architecture. It's amazing. So what ? In these 33 hectares, you had all kinds of businesses. Each pavilion has 350 businesses. And each pavilion was lit with gas lamps and had a water supply. There was water. There was the pavilion, you see, for meats and tripe.

There, there was game, poultry, fish and oysters. Oysters, very important for Paris. Cheese. Cheese. Butter, eggs. You can't have a pavilion without cheese. Where was the cheese pavilion? He was over there, a little further away. Yes OK. It must have smelled very strong. It was a very popular neighborhood. When goods arrived around 9 p.m., until 8 a.m., it was bustling, small traders came to help themselves. Do you know that it served as the setting for one of Émile Zola's most famous novels? The belly of Paris? The belly of Paris. Because Émile Zola is fascinated by

the bustling life that animates his brand new halls. His hero Florent, a starving man who has just arrived in Paris, arrives under his flags and it's a shock. He, who is very thin, admires his stalls which are overflowing with food. Les Halles is a thriving world where nothing exists except food. This vast market which feeds Paris is invaded every night by 2,600 carts of goods. Under Zola's pen, these ten pavilions become a monster that swallows five million tons of goods per day. The belly of Paris carries its expression well. On this site, there is still

a population of a million and a half people who live and who go to eat every day, from housewives to restaurateurs. In the morning, the pavilions are transformed into a theater where everyone is bustling. The merchants, the forts of Les Halles recognizable thanks to their large leather hats, the neighborhood kids like Cadine and Marjolin, the children in Zola's novel who grow up among cabbages, apples and oranges. Everyone is running and screaming. It's a nameless din. Such animation is rare, such banter there wasn't that much. There is merchandise trafficking with food. There are people who come

to buy wholesale, people who come to buy retail. Because this world is a place apart in Paris which has its language, its culture and its habits. A world where wads of banknotes pass from hand to hand, where goods overflow from pavilions onto the sidewalks, when prostitutes wait in one of the 17 brothels in the area. Then there are the poor, for whom this is obviously one of the neighborhoods where they can feed themselves, because there is always waste in a big market. By the mid-19th century, this sprawling market was already a city within a city.

Here at the time, Lorànt, there were all kinds of small jobs. There were the cabocheurs. They were butchers who specialized in extracting brains which then sold to tripe makers. There were butter kneaders and there were also, I love, egg counters. Do you know what egg candling counters are? These are people who check the quality of the eggs. It's awesome. There were also the sweaters. The sweaters? Sweaters like knitting. Initially, at the Halles, the sweaters were the wing sellers. It was from the wing sellers that we made the word “sweater” because the sweater was the outfit

worn by the wing sellers. Wings merchant, sweater. But I really liked the cabocheurs. You know, there is another profession which gave birth to a very well-known expression, “arranger”. She speaks like a market arranger, they say. She is a somewhat rude woman who speaks loudly. You know that there is a language that we really spoke here, in the Halles district, which was the uncorked language and which we called “louchebème”. Can talk about it, because I don't speak Louchebème. We have an appointment with Étienne Jojo. Hello Étienne. Good morning. We feel the fort of Les Halles, that's

it, here we go. Yes, that's it, the forts of Les Halles. You've been a butcher for six generations in your family, haven't you? Butcher restaurateur, absolutely. I believe your dad provided the meat for General de Gaulle's table. Yes, at the time, that was correct. It was the butchery of the Élysée, the butchery of the presidency. Really, greetings. My pleasure. Explain to us how louchebem works. Earlier, when introducing myself, I said to you “Hello, Lecieum.” It means “Hello, Sir.” In fact, it is a corporate code reserved for butchers to speak in front of customers and among

themselves. So, it's a linguistic code. The butchers talk among themselves so the customers don't understand. I think there's an L at the beginning, right? Yes. The basic principle is to remove the first letter, put it at the end and replace this first letter that we put at the end with an “l”, always. So, “sir”, phonetically, you remove the “m”, you put it at the end, you replace it with “l”, it makes “lesieum”. Lesieum. And then there needs to be an ending. I'm going to buy the lamp from Loulangebem. Not bad. Not bad. Not bad. The

Loulangebem is the baker. Tell me, I would like a piece of meat. It's easy. I would like... Loudrem, loudrem, loudresem. Verbs strictly. a lorceaumic. a lorceaumic. Lorceaumique., a piece. Of liandem? Of liandve of liandve. SO ? Yes. I'm not very good at languages. Yes, however, it’s simple. Yes, it's simple. For example, a chicken. A chicken. We remove Father Lou-le-pe-m. Lou-le-pe-m. Perfect, you understand. It's not simple. This is what we called jargon, it was “largonji”. “Largonji” or “larguemuche”. Moreover, we also find it in expressions, in Parisian toponyms, for example, “Menilmontant”, we say “Menilmuche”. You know that

there is, for example, a guy who is goofy. A guy who is goofy? Has it entered everyday language? It has become part of everyday language. Crazy, that's it. He's a crazy guy. Absolutely. And in Loucedé. People who do things in Loucedé. It comes from there. That's it. It's louchebem. Étienne, have you known these markets? What a beauty. What a beauty ! What a beauty ! It was a shame to have everything razed, but in fact, everything had to be changed at that time. Now we would have kept it, I think. How was it ? It

was impressive. Your dad knew, right? My father's work was more on the left, where there were the butchers' halls. Oh yes. Butchers' pavilion afterwards, there were fruits and vegetables. And the fishmongers? The fishmongers on the right. To the right. Tell us, what was the atmosphere like? It was an atmosphere of both workers and night owls, therefore the strong points of Les Halles for the professional part. They were very strong. They were very strong. All you have to do is shake your hand, we understand. I still have the hand that says bravo look. Do you know

where the expression “forts des Halles” comes from? Shake the gentleman's hand. No, it's not just that, because the forts of Les Halles had the force of law. One, because they knew how to read, write and count. There was a short exam to take in reading and writing and accounting. And two, because they were strong enough to be able to carry a load of, I believe at the time, 90 kilos for 25 meters on one shoulder. What was the role of the Halles forts? In fact, they had a supervisory role. And a lot of times, when

there was a little problem in a restaurant or a fight or whatever, we often called "the butcher", so the guys were strong and fought a little against the pimps and the thugs. There is another tradition, it was the gratinée des halles. Onion soup from Les Halles, absolutely. Onion soup. Besides, I prepared exactly that for you. Great ! Larçonguche, please. What do you call it? -Larçonguche, it means boy. -Larçonguche. -Larçonguche. I'm learning louchebèm, but I'm not there yet. And as they say soup? The lousepsème? The lousepème. The lousépème, a lousépème. I take, I take. -THANKS. -THANKS.

Mercimuche. Breathe a little bit anyway. It's perfect. Oh dear ! Tell us about the tradition of this gratinée. It's to die for. It was breakfast for the people who worked at Les Halles, at Les Halles forts. It's so good. Breakfast at Forts des Halles at 2 a.m. and at the same time, for night owls, a way to... End the evening. To blot a little. To mop up a little, that's it. She is lonebem. She is longbem. She is longbem, the Lopesem. It's incredible. Without cheating, it's super good. No kidding, it's really good. And you still

serve it? We still serve it, of course. It's a restaurant dish. Thank you so much. Mercimuche. Mercimuche. And don't forget the lourboirepa. No, I'm not thirsty. lourboirepa is the tip. Mercimuche. Mercimuche. And thank you, Étienne, for this Louchebem course. In any case, thank you for continuing to keep Les Halles alive. Thank you very much, Étienne. THANKS. Mercimuche. Hand gaffe. Do you know who I saw today? Yes, I saw Étienne Jojond. And you ? It is a fort in Les Halles. It's still sad to see these markets which are going to disappear. This is missing in

the Parisian landscape. I find that nothing has succeeded in replacing them. Yes, but a century after its construction, the Halles Baltar were no longer up to standard, neither for safety nor for hygiene. And above all, at the beginning, it met the expectations of a million and a half inhabitants. With the population explosion. It doubled. And so, we moved Les Halles to Rungis. But you know it was a real controversy at the time. There were petitions, people mobilized, even John Lennon. Conceived. It was truly a controversy to defend the Baltar pavilions of the Halles de Paris.

Just a few days after the market left for Rungis, hundreds of artists took over the now empty pavilions. I counted more than 200,000 people who came to see shows, of all kinds. There was a Picasso exhibition, there were Béjar ballets, there was an artificial ski slope. These artistic creations and the large crowds who flock there help to raise awareness about these pavilions whose future is uncertain. But the effect was short-lived, because the Pompidou government announced the demolition of Baltar and the creation of a shopping center and an RER station. It is incredible to want to

destroy anything. We must reconvert the neighborhood for cultural purposes and not for economic purposes. For us, it was a stab in the face saying, “It’s not possible. You can’t kill the heart of a city like that.” Opinion is growing, petitions are multiplying and mobilization is crossing borders. After George Brassens and Yves Montand, it is John Lennon's turn to rebel against this destruction. With him, the scandalous Les Halles affair took on an international dimension. A rich American banker even offered to buy back the pavilions for 30 million francs. We intend to save the Halles and if

necessary, take them elsewhere. Take them somewhere else, what do you mean by that? In the United States, perhaps. Georges Pompidou remains inflexible and ratifies the death sentence of the Halles-Baltar, one of the rare emblematic constructions of Haussmannian Paris to have been destroyed. Despite the pressure from cultural circles, despite the controversy and then the mobilizations, the Baltar pavilions will be destroyed. And this destruction lasted three years. AIE Aie Aie ! How to die slowly? This destruction is still upsetting. Of the buildings of Halle Baltard, there remains one element, a pavilion, pavilion number 8 for poultry and

eggs which was dismantled and then reassembled in Nogent sur Marne. I know this one. The Baltar Pavilion. The Baltar Pavilion, yes, it is known. But then, more surprisingly, there is another in Japan, in Yokohama, at the foot of Harbourview Park. And there, it is an iron structure which was at the top of the Baltar pavilions of the Halles de Paris. In Yokohama? In Yokohama, Japan. You're teaching me that. I now suggest that we go to another district of Paris, where Baron Haussmann has also opened a huge construction site. This is a neighborhood that has been

talked about a lot in recent months. I suggest you follow me to the Île de la Cité. Come on, come on. Here we go. The Île de la Cité, the historic heart of Paris, was one of Baron Haussmann's most important projects, and also the most contested, because almost the entirety of this old medieval district was razed. It was in the midst of this tumult that a certain Viollet-le-Duc completed the renovation work on the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, which was threatening to collapse. A duty that falls to us today after the tragedy that shocked France and

the entire world. From 1843 and throughout major works, there is an emblematic monument, a jewel of our heritage which must be restored and highlighted. I obviously want to talk about the cathedral of cathedrals, Notre-Dame de Paris. What's crazy is that 175 years later, it is reliving the same tragedy, that is to say that it absolutely must be restored, saved since the fire of April 15 , 2019 which obviously completely destroyed the 13th century framework that we called the forest, but also the roof and the vault which collapsed. In short, it is truly a national catastrophe.

But I suggest you go back to the 19th century. Already at the time, Viollet le Duc had to decide whether or not he had the right to use modern materials to restore Notre-Dame de Paris. And he's going to somehow transform the cathedral in a move that's going to be controversial. The building is so dilapidated that there are even plans to demolish it. For more than 20 years, Viollet le Duc restored this ancient cathedral, more than 600 years old, with a very modern renovation project, using materials such as glass and cast iron. He will also work

on all of the gargoyles. He will try to create a somewhat fantastical, but unified universe, which was not the case in the Middle Ages. The architect took great liberties with the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris and then proposed rebuilding the original spire. He’s going to say “Listen, this 13th century arrow, basically, it wasn’t great. I'm going to make you a much better one." He will propose his spire which rose to 96 meters, therefore an enormous structure which comes out of the cathedral. I think there's about 40 meters outside the roof. This very modern and too

heavy spire forces Viollet-le-Duc to thoroughly review the structure of the frame and the crossing of the transept. He will even add, few people see it, enormous pillars that he stuck in the corners of the cathedral outside this time. So, there is a real intervention which modifies the original architecture in the service of its arrow, to such an extent that it has extremely fierce adversaries. It was not at all a calm affair at the time, because there was a debate and Viollet-le-Duc was very criticized. And among the most publicized critics, there is the writer Victor Hugo,

who does not like these restorations at all. He says that he feels like a kind of rape, that is to say that deep down, it is not the cathedral that he tried to resurrect, but it is a building that is treated in such a way. too violent. He said, “Our times should not allow such things to happen. » And it was precisely at this time, once the work was completed and to avoid future architectural freedoms, that Notre-Dame was classified. I don't know what you think about it, but I am of the opinion that the people

who finance the restoration of Notre-Dame and the French have mobilized, they want to see Notre-Dame de Paris as it was, as it was was classified. We have to rebuild it identically, that's my point of view. I don't completely agree. Ah good ? Yes, because rebuilding it identically, in some way, is to deny its history, that is to say that the fire of Notre-Dame in 2019 is now part of its history. Obviously, we would have to restore it as best as possible to regain its sublime, incomparable silhouette, but we can perhaps add more modern elements which

will recall, like a stigma, like a scar, this terrible event which was the fire in 2019. It's part of its history, the fire. Visually, we must find Notre-Dame de Paris as it was, because we misinterpret the architectural gesture of Viollet le Duc. Viollet le Duc completed the work of the builders of the Middle Ages, that is to say he interpreted the Middle Ages, but because he is the great specialist of the Middle Ages. He gave an arrow which rebalances the whole building. It wasn't the building. He fantasized it, he magnified it, he restored it to

the state in which it had never been. As it should have been. It’s true that he has been criticized. It has been said that its architectural daring was downright outrageous. Today, no one disputes the legitimacy of this famous arrow of Viollet le Duc. Above all, you see what has changed, it is the emotion of heritage. When Victor Hugo wrote Notre-Dame de Paris in 1831, no one was yet aware of the importance of heritage. It is he who will trigger this appetite of the French for heritage. Because at the time, we didn't keep anything? We didn't

keep anything, I know. The notion of safeguarding did not exist before Victor Hugo, before Notre-Dame de Paris. Our national heritage owes a proud debt to Quasimodo. Victor Hugo won the battle for public opinion. He considered Haussmann as Attila, the Attila, expropriator. He called him the destructive baron. Take for example this Île de la Cité. The island of the medieval city was completely destroyed in a certain way, Notre-Dame, and the remainder of everything is all that remains of the island of the city. Yes, but there was a dilemma for him. He wanted to prepare Paris for

the challenges of the future, of modernity, and so yes, he sacrificed a large part of Parisian civil heritage to try, on the other hand, to protect historical heritage. He attacked all the working-class neighborhoods. And attacking all the working-class neighborhoods, he had a reason which was very political. By creating large avenues, we can better control population flows. And control popular anger. Exactly. These working classes are concentrated to the east of the capital, around Place de la République. The theaters on Boulevard du Temple bring together between 10 and 20,000 people every evening. It is the artistic heart

of Parisian life. It is a popular Paris, disruptive, rebellious, which meets, which reflects and which above all imagines that we can overthrow successive governments, as was the case in the time of Charles X or Louis-Philippe. Louis-napoléon is wary of it. The emperor was seriously suspicious of it and the expansion of the Place de la République gave him the opportunity to demolish all his theaters. To quickly encircle the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, which had already seen the rise of social revolts, he erected the largest barracks in Paris, the current Barracks Vérine, and pierced the immense Boulevard Richard le

Noir. We are truly in the heart of popular Paris. Boulevard Richard-Le-Noir, in particular the two side streets on either side of this central parterre, ensures that the troops are able to intervene quickly if the Bastille district or Boulevard Saint-Antoine were to revolt. . The dilapidated houses of the popular district of Little Poland in the 8th arrondissement are swept away to make way for wide avenues. But the district which experienced the greatest transformation under Haussmann was Île-de-la-Cité. The Île-de-la-Cité is a bit like Haussmann's imprescriptible crime. There were nearly 25,000 inhabitants in 1853, more than 5,000 in

1870. The population that was there was literally driven out by destroying the places where they lived. The modern and secure Paris of the Second Empire paid a high price for the death of old Paris, so dear to Victor Hugo. Victor Hugo, who already, in 1832, had published La Guerre au Démolisseur, became the real political adversary of Napoleon III since the coup d'état of December 2, 1851. He will also go into exile for 20 years. He did not return to France until 1871. And during all this time, he kept all his writings against Napoleon III under

wraps. He was very vindictive against major projects and as he was very popular, to give you an idea... There was an event in history which brought together more Parisians than the World Cup. football in 1998, which attracted a million and a half people. Yes, it's Victor Hugo's funeral. Yes, the funeral of Victor Hugo which brought together two million people. He was an immense writer and yet there was still a need, as we saw, to transform the city, particularly here. You see, we are in rue des Ursins. It is one of the last remaining streets of

medieval Paris, of this Paris before the transformations of Baron Haussmann. There were plenty of streets like that. It's true that when we see the charm of this little rue des Ursins, we say to ourselves that we would have liked to see more protection of this Paris before Baron Haussmann. Besides, do you know the real reason for the destruction of these historic medieval districts? There are several, but it is true that there was also a question of health. There was healthiness, but also security. It’s true that it was a cutthroat here. I have the text of

a journalist from Le Figaro called Georges Grisant, who says “The city, the hideous city, fell under the pickaxe of the demolitionists and with it disappeared this network of infamous alleys where, in vile places, teeming with a filthy population. » You have to imagine that it was a bit like the alleys of crime here. There was all that. We didn't walk around like we do now. To tell us about the atmosphere that reigned in this Paris of the Second Empire, we now have an appointment with Dominique Rizet. That's great. Hello Dominique. Mr. Rizet. So, this atmosphere...

Hello. I'm doing well ? Are you okay, Dominique? This atmosphere under the Second Empire, crime was everywhere in these alleys. But it's even worse than that. People were afraid of going out into the streets of Paris at night, for fear of being attacked. And once again, a real legitimate fear in the eyes of the whole world, the Paris of the 19th century is the Paris of insecurity. It was something very present and even more so this maze of streets, alleys and paths in the Île de la Cité, obscure, disturbing, tortuous. It is the den of

beggars, it is the den of vagabonds, of public sons, of thieves. So, in fact, the interest in these major works by Baron Haussmann is precisely the security of Parisians. He writes it in his memoirs. “By tearing up these old blocks of houses and bringing in the air and the sun, we have not only brought health, we have moralized these neighborhoods by chasing away the criminals who no longer find anywhere to hide. By changing Paris, Baron Haussmann wanted to uproot the roots of evil which nourished all these places at risk, all these places of vice and

danger. In fact, Haussmann is a visionary. He understood before others that security is a global concept. There were major criminal cases that rocked like that at that time. Yes, facts, facts, facts. Come to the point. The affair that hit the headlines during the Second Empire was the Troppmann affair. It happened in 1869. In the last years of the reign of Napoleon III, the bodies of a woman and her five children were discovered in the north-east of Paris, in Pantin, in a wasteland . And then, shortly after, we find her husband and her eldest son killed

in the same circumstances. Eight people from the same family, the Kinck family, murdered. Quite quickly, suspicion will fall on a young man who is 20 years old and whose name is Jean-Baptiste Troppmann. We are interested in him because the driver of the cab who dropped off Madame Kinck and her children in Pantin remembers that they were accompanied by a young man. He gives a description and we will identify him as Jean-Baptiste Troppmann. We look for him everywhere. It takes several weeks to find him and we arrest him just as he sets sail. He tries to

embark for the Americas. His luggage was searched and the personal effects, jewelry, cheeks and money of the Kinck family were discovered in his luggage. Was the motive theft? It's a heinous crime. It will take him two months to confess. Trompmann wanted Mr. Kinck's money to go to America. He poisoned him, he killed him, he stole from him and he eliminated all the witnesses, Mrs. Kinck and the six children. It was a case that had an incredible impact at the time. Even more than that, because it’s the time of the Petit Journal. It is 1860, the

news item has just been born. He was born a little earlier, at the start of the Second Empire, in 1838, but there, it was the height of the news item which became romantic, literary. Le Petit Journal is going to get a kick out of this affair. Print runs increase from 200,000 to 500,000 copies. Yes, because it's serialized. The affair lasts four months. So, first there is the discovery of the bodies, the mystery, who killed, why? Troppmann's confession and then his execution. January 19, 1870, Place de la Roquette, Troppmann was guillotined. And it was the explosion

of news items, since in 1890, sales of the Petit Journal increased to one million and at the dawn of the 20th century, to two million. A whole bunch of newspapers will follow suit. Of course, news items are becoming commonplace. What we can say is that under the Second Empire, in these streets that were destroyed to build the new Paris, the first news items were born. The first major news stories reported, magnified by the press. Thank you very much, Dominique. It was passionate. It is exciting. I still have chills. And especially now that everything has calmed

down, that the Île de la Cité district is much more reassuring. Maybe. Thank you Dominique. See you soon. Good afternoon. Thank you Dominique. Bye. You see all the same, Lorànt, what is incredible is that the city has been transformed, but not just Paris. There is a whole movement in France which is moving towards a complete renovation of French cities. French cities that Napoleon III knows very well. In 1852, accompanied by his wife Eugénie, he was the first head of state to travel across France. The province matters a lot from the point of view of public

opinion. Large cities also make it possible to encourage construction, development and, above all, investment. Everywhere in France, Haussmannian transformations are being undertaken, such as in Toulouse, Nantes or Lyon, where the Tête d'Or park is inspired by the Bois de Boulogne. In Marseille, the famous Canebière was widened while the La Major cathedral, the Notre-Dame de la Garde basilica and Grandes Artères were built. Rue de la République is one of the real, very wide axes of the city of Marseille, directly inspired by this obsession with the straight line. Spa towns like Vittel and Contrexéville developed thanks to

Napoleon III, who also made Vichy the city of water queens. The emperor did not forget Plombières-les-Bains either. He built a hospital, he built a large church neo-Gothic and whose plans he entrusted to Viollet le Duc. And more broadly, he built modern, structured baths, including the Napoleonic baths. On the coast, Arcachon is home to luxurious villas, a casino and metal footbridges designed by Gustave Eiffel and the half-brother of Napoleon III, the Duke of Morny, brought Deauville out of the sand. It's a Deauville desert, there is nothing. There is absolutely nothing. There is nothing except the Duke

of Morny. He’s a charter operator like we’ve rarely seen. It will therefore make a city successful through three things. A casino, a racecourse and a coastline. And this is how a village with nothing at all becomes a terribly fashionable place that will quickly be nicknamed the 21st arrondissement of Paris. In just a few years, more than thirty towns throughout France have been transformed. Upon his appointment as prefect of Seine, Baron Haussmann surrounded himself with a truly elite team to carry out his major projects. Among his men, there was a certain Eugène Belgrand, a talented engineer

responsible for designing the immense water network of Paris. One of its many achievements is located in the 16th arrondissement, hidden from the view of passers-by. Lorànt guides Stéphane in visiting this unusual place. Stéphane, if I brought you here, it's because I'm sure you have no idea what's hidden behind these walls. No, what's going on? You'll see, you'll be amazed. Come with me. The great revolution that will accompany the Second Empire for Paris, apart from all the transformations in terms of town planning, is the arrival of hygiene. Because previously, in Paris for centuries, it was a

real cesspool in the streets. It's disgusting. Clearly, it stinks, there are odors, there are livestock everywhere , calves, cows, pigs. There are rats wandering the streets, bringing diseases. We throw away our garbage, we throw away sewage, etc. And even people, they wash very little. For what ? Because we had to go get water. And therefore Napoleon III's priority for developing hygiene was to make water accessible to all. And water accessible to all is what happens there. Do they come here to get water? You'll see, you'll understand. All right. Welcome to the Passy non-potable water reservoir.

Amazing. This is one of the main reservoirs of non-potable water in the capital. Who can suspect that there is this in the middle of the buildings of the 16th arrondissement? There is a rural, bucolic side, you are anything but Paris. You hear the seagulls. Imagine the point of view for people. They really have the feeling of being in a second home. There are carp, it seems. Yes, there are tiles. Look at. It's starting to be quite a beast, that. This was the first pool, but there are others to see. There are three outdoor pools like

this. Well, take a look at this one. This pool is truly spectacular. Did you see that ? This is Lake Geneva. Here, and now, I would like to introduce you to someone, Estelle, who is an engineer at Paris waters. Hello Estelle. Hello Estelle. Tell us a little more about this tank. You are actually here at the Passy non-potable water reservoir, a reservoir which includes six basins. We don't see them all because they are on two levels. And the first pools were finished building in 1858 under the direction of Eugène Belgrand. Today, we still use Haussmann's

heritage. We only use two basins, in fact, which are the two basins that you see there, the Bel-Air basin and the Copernicus basin. And from these two basins, non-potable water is supplied to the western districts of Paris. I don't know if everyone knows it, but in Paris, we have a particularity, we have two networks. We have the drinking water network that everyone knows well and which provides housing and offices for Parisians, and the non- potable water network for uses less noble than food and hygiene, which allows in particular to clean the sewers and clean the

streets. When you see water flowing along the gutters - Yes, for example, when you see the agents lifting the grate like that. Absolutely, it's a wash mouth. A washing vent and it flows into the Parisian gutters. That's water that comes from here, in any case, as far as the west of Paris is concerned. You have 13,000 washing vents in Paris, which are planted there. 13,000 washing vents, did you know that? No, I have no idea, but now I... I will look at them differently, thanks to you, Estelle. I won't see them the same again. This

non-potable water also makes it possible to water large parks and gardens and in particular supplies the ponds and rivers of the Bois de Boulogne. The Bois de Boulogne waterfall is water from the Passy reservoir. On the other hand, for the Bois de Vincennes, it is another reservoir. Exactly, it is a reservoir which is located east of Paris. But then, wait, where does this water come from? Does she come from the Seine? This water comes partly from the Seine and partly from the Ourcq canal. You mean that from the Ourcq canal, the water passes through pipes

which were built under the Second Empire to here, in the west of Paris, in the 16th arrondissement. Exactly. Yes. It's crazy, there are ducks. There are ducks, exactly. You have a body of water in the middle of Paris, it gives them a recreational space. They actually appreciate it. It's very, very deep. How many are there? There must be three or four meters there. Four meters high. That's crazy. Thank you very much Estelle, it was very enlightening. It was nothing. Thank you for the explanations. Do you realize that this reservoir is not the only one in

Paris? No. There are lots of them that we owe to Eugène Belgrand and his engineering teams. To bring perfectly healthy spring water to the taps of Parisians, the engineer has an ingenious idea. It is to look for sources far from Paris, because they present much lower health risks of disease. He will even pick them up several hundred kilometers from the capital. Passionate about Roman architecture, Eugène Belgrand imagined a system of immense aqueducts still visible today, to pump into the Duy and Vane rivers. It creates six modern reservoirs on the highest points of Passy, ​​Ménilmontant, Belleville,

Les Buttes Chaumont, Charonne and Montsouris, to store this water which then arrives in the apartments thanks to the 840 kilometers of pipes. But Eugène Belgrand is faced with another problem. We must not only think about giving water to Parisians, we must think about evacuating their dirty water. And the dirty water of a city of 1 million, 1,200,000, 1,500,000 inhabitants, soon 1,800,000 inhabitants, is colossal. Belgrand is therefore gutting Paris on all sides to create more than 580 kilometers of sewer. A revolution for the city and the inhabitants who discover a previously unknown underground world. It’s becoming

an absolute must to visit the Sewers. There is not a major personality, a European person under the Second Empire who does not ask to visit the Sewers with its masonry walls and vast corridors, with barges that push the rubbish. The titanic work of Jeanne Belgrand in Paris aroused the admiration of her contemporaries and served as a model for other major French cities. Well, by the way, for the record, Eugène Belgrand is one of the 72 names of scientists who appear on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower and who were the main engineers, the great

inventors, the great scientists of the Paris of the second part of the 19th century. It wasn't just anyone. The arrival of water in the daily lives of Parisians is one of the great contributions of Haussmann's work. It's really something which, moreover, will revolutionize, which will improve the lives of Parisians, the daily lives of Parisians, but which will also shake up behavior and consciences. We will start paying attention to hygiene. We are right in the middle of Pasteur's work. The discovery of microbes by Pasteur was one of the most famous pages in the history of science

in the 1870s. At the beginning of the Second Empire, a certain Louis Pasteur, a very young chemist, was interested in the microbes that we then calls animalcules. He notices that there are microbes in the earth. He notices that there are some in the air. He is truly aware that microbes are at the origin of many biological phenomena that until then had not been explained. The first to believe in Pasteur was Napoleon III who gave him a scholarship. If Napoleon III supported him financially, Empress Eugénie, passionate about the scientist's experiments, encouraged him to patent his discoveries.

Eugénie is fascinated by everything that involves microscopy. Pasteur's daily use of these devices, of course, pleases him enormously. She likes him to describe to her what can be seen under the slides of a microscope. And under his microscope, Pasteur studies the transmission of microbes to animals, then to humans. His fight against rabies has begun. He vaccinates his first patients and gives advice on limiting the spread of microbes. This is the beginning of hygiene awareness. Pastor not only wanted to heal people, but he also wanted to give them advice. The advice is we wash our hands,

we are you the instruments we used to do surgery, but we also clean the instruments we used to do cooking. Recommendations that bear fruit. We are seeing a significant drop in the mortality rate in France and an innovation is entering our daily lives. He was obsessed with hygiene. He washed his hands several times and then he washed his soap and washed his hands again. Soap, a shock weapon to fight germs. At the end of the Second Empire, more than 12,500 tonnes were produced per year. This mania for hygiene so dear to Napoleon III, he perhaps

owed it to his uncle. Who was a property freak too? Napoleon I, yes. You should know that Napoleon I spent an hour every day in his bathroom. One hour is still a record for the time. Especially when you know everything he had to do. Joséphine, his wife, two hours a day to wash. As soon as Napoleon went on campaign, on a trip, to war, to the front, he always left with a small box which contained a comb, a toothbrush, a nail file, scissors. A travel toiletry kit. Exactly. You know, Lorànt, there is another thing that

has changed considerably in the living conditions of Parisians and therefore of the French under Baron Haussmann? Tell me everything. Green spaces. I now offer to take you to a completely imagined place by Haussmann and created the Buttes-Chaumont from scratch. Let's go. It was on an immense 25-hectare wasteland, located between Belleville and La Villette in the 19th arrondissement, that Haussmann decided to create the most surprising of the Parisian parks of the Second Empire, that of Buttes-Chaumont. Inaugurated during the Universal Exhibition of 1867, it remains one of the largest parks in Paris more than 150 years later.

You see, Lorànt, this beautiful park in the 19th arrondissement is a place that Parisians really like today. There are people jogging, we walk the children, we lie on the lawns, but that hasn't always been the case. Formerly, it was one of the most disreputable places in Paris. Besides, do you know why it’s called Buttes Chaumont? Because “chaumont” comes from “bat-mont”. It was Bald Mountain, there was nothing. Nothing could grow, not even grass. The land was so arid, so barren that nothing grew here. And then he had a very bad reputation. Firstly because until the Revolution,

there was the gallows of royal justice here. And so, we didn't come except for the executions. And finally, it was frequented by bandits. There were public dumps there. This is where horses and animals were rendered. So, there was a pestilential smell in this area. And it was then that Baron Haussmann and Napoleon III had the idea of ​​offering the active population, the working population of the North-East of Paris, a park, a green space. And we entrust the work to Alphand. Alphand, who was also called the artistic engineer, had the idea of ​​creating an English-style park

from scratch, with different spaces. And besides, it is he who arranges the streams and the waterfalls. It is also the gateway that we owe to a certain Gustave Eiffel. At the beginning, obviously, the inauguration of Buttes-Chaumont was a huge success and very quickly, as it was a little out of the way compared to the somewhat rich neighborhoods of western Paris, the bourgeoisie did not come to Buttes-Chaumont. This will be reserved for the working classes of Paris who live in these working-class neighborhoods. But you know, the Buttes-Chaumont park is just one example among all the green

spaces that will be developed by Baron Haussmann. And it's true that all of a sudden, Paris will breathe. Never in so few years has a city experienced such an important green revolution. The idea of ​​creating squares, of creating large parks, even woods, is to allow all Parisians to be less than a quarter of an hour from their place of employment or their place of life. . The construction of new streets frees up spaces that must be converted into gardens. To carry out this task entrusted by Haussmann, Adolphe Alphand specially created the walks and plantations department.

Almost everywhere in the capital, it is not uncommon to see whole carts of mature trees passing by. In total, more than 80,000 trees are planted. This is the time when Paris is covered with chestnut trees, maple trees, etc. From now on, it is the city that offers itself to vegetation. 24 squares, four gardens, four parks and two woods, more than 2,000 hectares of greenery invade the capital. The Bois de Boulogne is transformed. The forest is adorned with artificial lakes and paths. And the Bois de Vincennes is covered with 300 hectares of lawn, real little paradises.

Napoleon III made it possible to have places to walk that were pleasing to the eye. We find a cave, we find a garden, we find a Grove, we even find a sort of ruin. New, highly codified street furniture is also created. Lampposts, tree grates, water fountains and public benches are the same everywhere, with a few exceptions. This street furniture is not entirely uniform. It is somewhat hierarchical, particularly the grids, whose quality of work denotes a certain hierarchy between the public squares of wealthy neighborhoods and those of working-class neighborhoods. Very identifiable gardens and street furniture which

have become symbols of Paris. Before all these new green spaces that Baron Haussmann imposed in Paris, there were very few places where Parisians could find shade. There were the Tuileries, the Luxembourg Gardens, there was the Jardin des Plantes, there was the Royal Palace. In short, they were only parks that belonged to the Crown. And in fact, there, finally, there are popular parks. It's crazy to think that all this was created, was manufactured, that it's not natural. Even the hill, the pools, the plouzes. It's crazy, it's awesome. Do you know the first consequence of these new

green spaces? We will develop the practice of sport. People will start to, I'm not saying jogging, that wasn't really the time, but we're starting to use, in particular, velosipeds. The bike, of course. Hey, look, in front of the lake pavilion, we have cycling friends. Yes, but I'm sorry, cycling is prohibited in a park. You are absolutely right, but exceptionally, for us, we were able to have these velocipedes. -Good morning. -Good morning. Hello, how are you ? Good morning. -hello, gentlemen. -Good morning. I'm doing well ? Good morning. It's incredible, it was under the Second Empire

that these wonders, the little queen, were obviously born. Yes quite. She doesn't have the little queen's name yet. No, we call them Velocipedes. There is a race that remains in the memory, that is to say that the fashion for the six- bolt bicycle is 1867, with the first Paris-Versailles race, is that it? Quite. Organized by Amory's ancestors. Oh no. Yes quite. The Olivier brothers. Yes, the famous Olivier brothers. In fact, in 1868, they joined forces with Pierre Michaux, who had invented the pedal, and they industrialized it in 1868, first creating the Michaux company, then the

Parisian company, which was the main company that manufactured and who marketed the velocipede and they organized events, the Paris-Versailles. There was the Paris-Versailles of 1867. And then, 150 years later, you participated in the 2017 Paris-Versailles. Absolutely. For the birthday. There were about twenty of us. All with their bikes. It must have been superb. It was wonderful. But then, what is incredible, Lorànt, is that under the Second Empire, there was a real velocipedemania. That is to say, everyone starts cycling. It's really becoming fashionable. I went to the very heart of the Empire, since the son of

Emperor Napoleon III, the Prince Imperial, loved cycling and was also called “the little one who pedaled everywhere”. And after the fall of Emperor Napoleon III, his son was called Vélocipède IV. Can we maneuver easily or...? I offer you a journey through time, experience it. Lorànt, do you want to try it yourself? Yes always. Which is the easiest? I'm trying this one. It's the one that's the smallest. You will see that smaller is very relative. We barely touch the ground. Yeah, it doesn't matter. Just go. It stands out. Tremendous. I'm left handed. Come on. Wait, I'm

missing the pedal. Yeah, here we go. Come on. Yes, okay, don't go too hard. And how do you brake? It's gone, I don't hold you. No, no, no need. A very good apprentice. Visibly. It’s the U-turn that’s going to be complicated. I believe Lorànt comes back alive. You have to brake, it's like a motorbike. Except that the motorcycle accelerates and then it brakes. On the other hand, I don't know how to stop. So, I suggest you join me below. Wait, I'm making a move. Do you want me to hold you? So. I park and off

we go. Well done. Wait, is it my eyes or is there one that's much bigger? We have the impression that he doesn't belong to the same family. Maybe not even at the same time. It's not at the same time, actually. This one dates from 1875, so it is after the Second Empire. What is this one called? It's a big bi. A big bi? A grand bi which is short for grand bicycle. Why a Ferris wheel like that? It's impossible to climb on that. There's a step there. It's entirely possible with this step which serves as

a ladder to climb onto the wheel. Look at this. Like this, you have to propel yourself. Be careful, look. Above all, there is a risk of falling forward. It's still much more elegant. That's wonderful. It's airy. And it goes faster. And there, in today's Paris, it's above the exhaust pipes. Well done ! That's wonderful. It's a beautiful object. Thank you gentlemen for this demonstration. In any case, you were perfect. Under the Second Empire, there was obviously the development of the velocipede, but not only that. With the creation of parks and gardens, a whole range of

new activities and leisure activities appeared. The green spaces are gradually being equipped with a whole bunch of small leisure structures, theaters, music kiosks. Let it be said, leisure activities are becoming more democratic. The Longchamp racecourse, inaugurated in 1857, and the horse races, which attracted a crowd of punters and nearly 250 riders, were an unimpeded success. In winter, the imperial couple launched the skating fashion, followed by thousands of curious people on the frozen lakes from Boulogne to La Villette. We skate in the Bois de Boulogne, we skate everywhere. As soon as there is a body of

water, it is transformed into an ice rink in winter. There are even clothing fashion phenomena linked to skating. Another fashion phenomenon, the acclimatization garden. Imagined by the emperor and inaugurated in 1860, it welcomes all levels of society who flock to admire the giraffes, orangutans and ostriches. For the wealthiest, leisure also extends outside the cities. This is the beginning of seaside tourism. These pleasure trains which leave from the Saint-Lazare station or the Gare du Nord allow you to make a round trip in one day to enjoy sea bathing. We see the first little model girls with

their straw hats building Sand castles. This is a fashion that really took off in the 1860s in an extremely spectacular way. A fashion that exploded under the Second Empire thanks to the development of the railways, but also to the Empress herself who often took refuge in Biarritz. The Normandy coast and the Basque coast became the favored destinations of the French aristocracy. My dear Lorànt, it is here, in the Buttes-Chaumont park, that our walk in the Paris of Baron Haussmann, of the Second Empire, ends. But as always, it's a delight to travel through time with you.

It's share. Frankly, I loved all these anecdotes, these sublime reconstructions, the meetings we had too, it was great. And I want to tell you, but why stop there? If we pushed the machine a little, go back in time even further. How far is it? In the middle Ages. In the Middle Ages, at the time of built bridges, of witchcraft, of alchemists, this cannot be missed. Tremendous. Come on, it's in front of us. The Middle Age ? It's over there. Let's go.