Figure 1.--An American amateur photographer captured Parisian street scenes in 1960. At the time, photograohy was stll mostly black and white. The photograph here is of course theArc de Triomphe on the Champs-Elysées. Also photographed were lesser known areas. Click on the image to see the Place du Theatre Montmartre. Photo: Charles Weever Cushman.

The history of France is essentially the history of Paris. And with such a history dating back two millennia. Paris was badly in need of a makeover. France was not as badly damaged by World War II as many other countries, but the center of the city needed some attention. Many areas were looking rundown. France was no longer a major power, but Paris continued to be a cultural powerhouse. World War II leader Charles DeGualle returned to power and created the Fifth Republic (1958). DeGualle was in power for 10 years. And while the powerful French Left hated him, France and Paris achieved rapid economic growth. The French Left likes to talk about distribution, not growth. The decade of growth included building modern new office buildings and housing. One government effort was a face lift for Paris. De Gaulle’s Minister of Culture, André Malraux, orchestrated the rehabilitation and revitalization of historic neighborhoods, especially in in the center of Paris. Le Marais was one of these neighborhoods. There was construction projects, but building facades which were covered with centuries of soot and grime--in a few cases more than a millennium. Malraux ordered the scrubbing of facades. Notre Dame was transformed from black to white. An important part of the rehabilitation focused on the façades and walls intact, but rebuilding the interiors. The program became called the Malraux Law. The effort varied from neighborhood to neighborhood. It involved scrubbing the façades of buildings, cleaning away centuries of soot and dirt. The most visible improvement was the cleaning of the cathedral of Notre Dame, which in a few months turned from black to white. Notice how dirty the Arc de Triomphe here is and this is surely the most beloved symbol of France besides the Eifel Tower (figure 1). (And we have over exposed it which makes it look much clearer than it was.) In newer areas the effort was a little different. The buildings of the Haussmann era were relatively new (mid-19th century). Here residential buildings of the Haussmann era were converted into office suites. The price of land in the Paris center in many cases doubled. This forced most of the middle class residents out to the suburbs. The city planners decided to simply tear down dilapidated and crumbling residential buildings without historic value. These were mostly replaced with office buildings. As a result, the residential population of the city center decreased. Planners were unsure what to do with Les Halles where Paris' city market was located. The old no longer functioned well. It was too small for a city as large as Paris. And the streets around the market were too narrow to accommodate the traffic of deliveries, retailers, and consumers. One of the historic market pavilions was retained, but moved to a park outside Paris and thus preserved. The other pavilions were closed and removed. After much discussion, Les Halles was transformed into a city park with an underground commercial space -- the Forum des Halles. Paris did not at the time have tall buildings. Like many European cities, there were municipal regulations against tall buildings. It is part of the reason that European cities looked so different than American cities. The primary reason was historic preservation and in the case of Paris, nothing to overawe of course the Eiffel Tower, actually a very recent addition to the Paris skyline. Thus there was a strict height limit of 35 meters. One of the final decisions as part of the Malraux Law to rethink the height limit to permit the construction of both housing and office buildings (1958). The Municipal Council approved a new urban plan (1959).

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing French pages:
[Return to the Main French page]
[French choirs] [French school uniforms] [French school smocks] [French royalty] [French sailor suits]
[French youth groups] [Difficult French images] [French art] [French Movies] [French ethnics]

Created: 6:26 PM 1/4/2023
Last updated: 6:26 PM 1/4/2023