2. The « Belle
Epoque »
Atmosphere Recapture the Alsace- Lorraine territory
The french President
Raymond Poincarré
The signs of War?
The atmosphere before the war
1914 Paris was a city of migrants from provincial France and 10 percent of
the population of France lived in Paris.
Before the war, Paris war known as the city of the “Belle Epoque”, a golden
age characterized by optimism. During this period of prosperity, the arts
flourished in Paris with many famous artists.
But since the Franco-Prussian War 1871, France was obsessed by regaining
Alsace-Loraine.
And in early 1913, Raymond Poincare a conservative, nationalist and anti-
German became president of the French republic.
3. Jean Jaurès,
a committed anti-militarist... The war get closer
At the other side, just before the war, during
the Balkans crisis, a French politician and
socialist leader Jean Jaurès tried to promote
understanding between France and Germany.
Jaurès was a committed anti-militarist. As the
conflict became imminent, he tried to organize
general strikes in France and Germany in order
to force the governments to back down and
negotiate.
But as many men of peace, on 31 July 1914,
Jaurès was assassinated in a Parisian café, Le
Croissant, in Montmartre, by Raoul Villain, a
French nationalist.
The next day, the French government ordered
to mobilize troops.
Three days later, the war broke out.
4. 1st August 1914:the government mobilized troops...
3 August 1914: the war broke out
In August 1914, when the war
began, the warring nations
expected a short war.
The French Army believed in
the force of the fighting spirit
but their offensive proved a
disasters.
The goal of the German Army
was to seize Paris and force
the French to accept Germany
terms, quickly ending the
War.
6. September 1914...
The Belgian refugees come together to Paris
Paris under the German threat
Within a month, the
Germans were just 15
miles from the city and
Paris was already full of
refugees, so the
government was
transferred to Bordeaux in
the expectation that Paris
would fall to German
forces again.
7. The French army needed reinforcements.
General Galieni, the military governor of Paris
seized buses and about 600 Paris taxicabs,
and used them to carry troops to the front.
The number of soldiers carried was small, but
the effect on French morale was enormous.
Paris was finally saved. The government
returned to Paris, and theaters and cafes re-
opened.
The first Battle of the Marne stopped the Germans troops
8. The war began at the North and East Stations
For many men the war began
here in trains, at the Gare de
l’Est in Paris.
Hundreds of thousands of
soldiers were sent out to the
eastern front-lines from this
station, and the Hall des
Departs was a permanent buzz
of comings and goings. Couples
saying tearful goodbyes and
children waving to disappearing
fathers.
Most thought these separations
would be simply an Au revoir,
but for more than 1 million
French soldiers, it was an adieu.
9. The East Station (Departure Hall)
Le départ des Poilus, août 1914:
departure of the Poilus (french soldiers), August 1914 by Albert
Herter
It is celebrated in this
painting entitled ‘Le
Depart des Poilus, le 2
aout 1914’. (the
departure of the
soldiers, 2 august 1914).
It is the work of the
American artist Albert
Herter because he lost a
son in the conflict.
10. Paris, target for bombing
The useless fortification system of Paris
The ZeppelinsDuring the war, Paris was a target for
bombing.
The German high command decided to
hit Paris in order to sap civilian morale.
At this period, Paris was still fortified
with more than 30 military camps
around the city. But the fortification
system proved to be ineffective
because of the long range of German
artillery.
The greater destruction took place
towards the end of the war, when
Germans used huge long-range
cannons to shell the city from Picardy,
120 km away.
11.
12. The anti aircraft systemThe Eiffel Tower:
a mast for the Army's
communication
The Eiffel Tower served as a radio communication
mast relaying messages to and from the front. It was
guarded against sabotage on the ground and
encircled by a ring of heavy barbed wires, while a
system of anti-aircraft guns defended the structure
from German airplanes and zeppelins.
Another protective measure was the imposition of a
blackout. It was a strange experience to walk through
a great city in the dark.
At the end of the First World War, the French military
staff decided to plan a replica of Paris with the
intention of tricking the German planes because the
raids were essentially during the night-time.
Compared to cities in northern France, Paris emerged
from the war relatively untouched.
13. The government ordered requisitions
Call up the nation
And the expulsion of Germans and Austrian
Soon as the war began,
the government mobilized
the all nation.
Withdrawal was restricted.
Teachers had to give up
holidays.
Horses were requisitioned
for the Army.
Soldier’s women received a
state benefit.
And all German and
Austrian citizens were
expelled.
14. With the war, life in Paris quickly changed.
Citizens suffered from shortages and deprivation. Gas,
electricity, coal, bread, butter, flour, potatoes and sugar were
strictly rationed.
Along the Grand Boulevards the ranks of chestnut trees had
gaps where trees had been cut for firewood.
The black market offered luxuries but for most people, it was
a bleak period of survival and waiting.
16. A city full of women...
The Parisian population was changed
The city was full of women, inter-
allied soldiers and foreign people.
As factory workers were sent to the
front, their places were taken by
women as well as colonials from
Africa and Indo-China.
17. There were also many soldiers on
leave in Paris.
It led to an explosion of
prostitution, especially around
the Gare du Nord and Gare de
l’Est where they arrived and
leave for the front.
However, there was a gap feeling
between the rear and the front.
According to the poilus (the
name for the French soldier)
civilians were carrying on with
their lives as normal. Civilians
were branded as selfish and
cowards.
19. In Paris, the soldiers played
an important role in the
revival of commercial
activities, like cafes and
restaurants.
20. The city was filled with
wounded soldiers and
refugees.
21. Several of Paris’ big hotels and the Grand Palais served as
military hospitals. Paris was a visible concentration of maimed,
wounded, sick, convalescents in part because of the
concentration of medical services in the city.
22. The human cost of the war
Today beneath the Arc Triomphe (It
stands in the center of the Place Charles
de Gaulle (originally named Place de
l'Étoile), at the western end of the
Champs-Elysee) is the Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier from World War I. An
eternal flame burns in memory of the
dead soldiers who were never identified.
A ceremony is held here every day and
every 11 November on the anniversary
of the armistice.
The First World War is a major and
tragic event in the history of France: 1.4
million soldiers “died for France”, of
which 90,000 were Parisians.
