PARIS AT WAR1914

The « Belle Epoque » Atmosphere Recapture the Alsace- Lorraine territory

The french PresidentRaymond 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.

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.

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.

And the population even foreign citizens enlisted

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.

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

The war began at the North and East StationsFor 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.

The East Station (Departure Hall)Le départ des Poilus, août 1914:

The 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.

Paris, target for bombingThe 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.

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.

The government ordered requisitionsCall up the nation

And the expulsion of Germans and AustriansSoon 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.

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.

Shortage and deprivationRationing of sugar

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.

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.

A city full of soldiers

In Paris, the soldiers played an important role in the revival of commercial activities, like cafes and restaurants.

The city was filled with wounded soldiers and

refugees.

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.

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.