Download about Paris Capitale Royale

PARIS – CAPITALE ROYALE
Paris was founded in the 3rd century B.C. on île de la Cité by a community of Celts. They were a group of tribal
fishermen called the Parisii who, pushed by emigration towards the banks of the Seine, made a permanent
settlement there and profited from the area’s fertility and temperate climate. Furthermore, the islands on the
Seine seemed the perfect place for this little community to establish their capital.
At the time of the Parisii’s settlement in the area, there were seven islands on the river between what is now
the pont d'Austerlitz and the pont des Arts. . In giving them their modern names, the first was the Ile
Louviers (which existed until 1843, when it was reunited with the mainland to become Quai Henri IV), Ile
Saint-Louis was divided into three islets which were successively joined to each other, the same was the case
for Ile de la Cité, which was originally three separate islets.
The collective name of Lutetia is given to the group of habitations that were constructed on the islands,
particularly on Ile de la Cité, but experts have long been divided about the etymology of this name. Some say
that Lutetia (in French Lutèce) comes from the celtic word Loulouchezi; meaning “habitation in the middle of
the waters”, from luth (water) thouèze (middle) and y (dwelling). In something of an enigma, others claim
that it comes from Leug-tec, a Celtic word meaning beautiful stone, although the Parisians of the time built
their homes exclusively from wood!
The settlement was given the name Lutetia by the Romans, and the name Lucotecia by the geographer,
Ptolemy. In the year 52 BC, Lutetia fell to one of Julius Caesar’s lieutenants, Proconsul Labienus. The title of
Civitas Parisorium was then bestowed upon the city, meaning “the city of the Parisii”, the name of Paris was
finally adopted in the 5th century AD, so the first people that could really be called Parisians were Gauls. The
city was fortified and began to expand on to the left bank of the Seine, it was there that the first Roman baths
were built in what is now called Cluny and Arènes de Lutèce. Lutetia had become a commercial axis for the
Roman Empire and over the course of time; its inhabitants were progressively Romanised. In the 3rd century
they became Christians and citizens of the Holy Roman Empire, bringing an end to their persecution.
Threatened by barbarian invasions, the Parisians resisted an attack in 451 by Attila’s Huns. They attributed
their resistance to inspiration from Saint Genvieve and made her the patron saint of the city.
The middle ages is a period of European history that spans from 500-1500 AD. During this millennium, Paris
became the capital of France. This resulted from a long and complicated history of kings, to which each
succeeding dynasty contributed.
King Clovis took Paris in 486, and in 508 made it the capital of the Kingdom of the Francs (Clovis was King of
the Francs, a people who had migrated to the Roman Empire from the East). The city was soon relinquished
and the inhabitants abandoned the left bank, where there remained only religious establishments like the
powerful abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Près.
In 861 Paris passed into the patrimony of the Capetians, who acceded to the throne of France with Hugues
Capet in 987. Paris was originally the capital of a tiny kingdom, which the Capetians forced into expansion by
imposing their will on outlying lords.
Antiquity : Gaul
Even though the site of today’s Paris has been inhabited for 90000 years (Mesolithic period), the city’s history
really began in the 3rd century BC. At this time, the Parisii, a tribe in Gaul, took up residence in this area, a
strategic crossing point towards the north of the country and for the trading route of the Seine river (ou for
the river trade along the Seine river). Aware of the strategic importance of the location, Julius Caesar sent his
troops to crush the Gauls.
This was in 52 BC and is known as the battle of Lutetia, won by the occupying forces. A roman city was then
built on the left bank of the Seine, along the northern slope of Sainte-Geneviève hill.
Lecture delivered by Mr J.Antoun – Ph.D. Vanderbilt University – July 30 th, 2016
Lutetia started to take shape. At the end of the 1st century AD, the “Arènes de Lutèce” amphitheatre and the
Cluny public baths were constructed. The baths were supplied with water from an aqueduct alongside the
Bièvre, a river which has since been buried under the city. These buildings reflect a lifestyle which was
typically Roman.
In the 4th century, Lutetia became a garrison town for troops fighting the Barbarians on the northern and
eastern frontiers of Gaul.. The city moved to the Île de la Cité wich was fortified and renamed Paris.
In 451, an event took place which made the history books: the nun Saint-Geneviève succeeded in diverting the
course of Attila the Hun and his army who wanted to take the city. She became the patron saint of Paris.
The Middle Ages: at the heart of the Kingdom of France
In 508, Clovis, king of the Franks, made Paris the capital of his kingdom. In the 8th century, the centre of the
Carolingian Empire shifted to the Northeast. Yet the city took on a new dimension under Hugues Capet. Capet,
Count of Paris was elected King of France in 987 and founded a new dynsasty, the Capetians. Then Louis VI,
known as Louis the Fat, built a fortification, the Châtelet, around the rebuilt Grand-Pont (currently the Pont
au change).
The construction of Notre-Dame cathedral began in 1163 (and was completed in 1345). Then, Philippe
Auguste, a great urban planner, left his mark on Paris by surrounding it with walls and building the fortress of
the Louvre. Paris is consecrated capital under his reign. In the 13th century, Paris was the most populated
(approximately 200,000 inhabitants) and the richest city in the West. Up to this period the city was governed
by one man, the King’s provost. In 1268, the powerful boatmen’s guild adopted its motto, « Fluctuat nec
mergitur » (the boat is beaten by the waves but does not sink), which later became that of Paris. In the 14th
century, the municipality enjoyed real authority, yet over the following centuries was regularly brought to
heel by the royal powers.
In the 15th century, Paris was occupied by the English for sixteen years.
The modern era: the birth of royal squares
In the middle of the 16th century, under the reign of François 1st, the capital grew in beauty with Renaissance
constructions, such as the new Louvre and the Hôtel de Ville. At this time, several historic buildings were
built, including the Natural History Museum and the Luxembourg Palace. From the reign of King Henri IV, the
city has the role of honouring the sovereign and praising his power. Royal squares were created for this
purpose: Place Dauphine for Henri IV, Place de la Concorde for Louis XV, Place des Vosges for Louis XIII, etc.
1648 saw the beginning of the Frond, a people’s uprising which lasted until 1653. In 1680, Louis XIV left the
Louvre Palace, which was until then the residence of the Kings of France, to take up residence in Versailles, to
the west of Paris. He died there after a 72-year reign.
The Bastille: symbol of the Revolution
On 14 July 1789, Parisians appalled by the King’s pressure on the new assembly formed by the third estate,
took siege of the Bastille fortress, a symbol of absolutism. This event is the start of the French Revolution and
the decline of the divine right of monarchs in France. On 17 July, the national tricolour flag with the colours of
Paris (blue and red) and of the King (white) was adopted at the Hôtel de Ville by Louis XVI. Jean-Sylvain
Bailly, the first Mayor, was elected on 15 July 1789. The Republic was declared for the first time in 1792. In
1793, Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette were executed on the Place de la Concorde. The Reign of Terror
took hold. Then, a coup d’etat by Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory and put an end to the
Revolution.
Prefect Haussmann transforms Paris
Napoleon was crowned emperor in Notre-Dame cathedral in 1804. He gave Paris the Ourcq canal, the
embankments, the creation of the sewerage system, a numbered house system, etc. Later, the barricades went
Lecture delivered by Mr J.Antoun – Ph.D. Vanderbilt University – July 30 th, 2016
up in the capital: the July revolution toppled Charles X in 1830. Six years later, under Louis-Philippe, work is
completed on the Arc de Triomphe. The 1848 Revolution led to the proclamation of the 2nd Republic. In 1852
and during the Second Empire, the capital is transformed under the leadership of Prefect Haussmann. He
doubled the width of traffic lanes, made pavements commonplace, etc. He also created 2,000 hectares of
woodland and planted 90,000 trees along major roads. He developed an approximately 500-km-long
sewerage network. The five train stations were completed in 1847. Between 1855 and 1880, the sales price of
buildings increased by 136%. The 3rd Republic was declared in 1870 at the Hôtel de Ville. The Prussians
invaded Paris. The Paris Commune was crushed during the ‘Semaine sanglante’ (bloody week). The outcome
was 20 to 30,000 victims, a third of the city was burned down and the Hôtel de Ville destroyed. Paris, under
siege, lost its status as capital of France for a time. In 1889, the Eiffel Tower was opened during a universal
exhibition. In 1910, Paris was once again flooded when the Seine burst its banks in its hundred-year cycle.
Paris and the two World Wars
In World War One, Paris was saved from the German offensive by the Battle of the Marne. However, the city
could not escape German occupation from 1940 to 1944. The collaborationist State, governed by Marshal
Pétain, is based in Vichy. In London, the free France organised its forces led by General de Gaulle. In 1942,
12,000 Jews were arrested and gathered together at the Vélodrome d’Hiver to be deported. Paris was
liberated on 25 August 1944. The following day, General de Gaulle paraded down the Champs-Élysées. The
city was saved: the German commander Dietrich von Choltitz, in charge of defence in Paris, disobeyed Hitler’s
order to demolish the capital’s historic buildings.
From Montparnasse tower to the tram’s comeback…
Many tower blocks were built in the city in the 1960s. In May 1968, a student revolution took place around
the Sorbonne University (5th arrondissement). In the early 1970s, the Paris ring road, the Montparnasse
tower and the Palais des Congrès convention centre were completed. In 1977, Jacques Chirac was elected
Mayor of Paris: the first mayor since 1871. Many important buildings continue to flourish: the Opera Bastille,
the Grande Arche de la Défense, the Stade de France, etc. In 2001, the new City Hall team, led by Bertrand
Delanoë, took charge of the city. In December 2006, the tramway made a comeback in the south of Paris: the
first to be operated in the capital in 69 years!
Lecture delivered by Mr J.Antoun – Ph.D. Vanderbilt University – July 30 th, 2016