Fifteen years after the cholera epidemic that struck France, a man, the prefect Haussmann, did everything to fight against insalubrity and the resurgence of new epidemics. Discover this story in this bonus episode of "At the heart of history".

Listening to the story of the cholera epidemic, you may have wondered what had been done in the following years to try to avoid another health crisis. In this bonus episode of "At the heart of history", the history specialist Jean des Cars tells you how a man, the prefect Haussmann, wanted to transform Paris to put an end to unsanitary conditions.

On June 28, 1853, Georges-Eugène Haussmann was appointed Prefect of the Seine by Napoleon III. He knows that during his stay in London, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte kept the taste of a well-kept city and green spaces. He also knows that Paris is an insanitary city. Since 1848, the capital has been in a dismal state. Fifteen years earlier, cholera had wreaked havoc there because of the water circulating in the open air. Then he hit Provence in particular.

And from February to October 1848, the revolution made the inhabitants flee. The riot was permanent. After the turmoil caused by the coup and the establishment of the imperial regime, the Prefect, an energetic man, knows that in Paris, his worst enemy is not a political adversary. It's cholera.

Indeed, it is an almost permanent threat. Four years ago, in 1849, it still killed 14,000 people. The main cause is always the same: water. Often non-potable, stagnant, it is evacuated by a fairly underground and especially dilapidated network. There is no municipal water service, it is obviously necessary to create one. People, lost in the basement, say that it feels like the Rome of Nero! Urging for new sewers, Haussmann wrote a 67-page report. He explains that the subscription to the water service would be financed by a tariff in proportion to the rents. Thanks to this, the less fortunate classes will have easier access to hygiene. In other words, if the water is safe and well distributed, it will encourage people to use it. And this good habit will be one of the ways to fight cholera.

Gigantic works

The gigantic works of Haussmann transformed Paris and made it the "City of Lights" and a prestigious capital. By razing the slums, destroying the deprived hygienic districts by cleaning up the water network, both potable and used, the Prefect tackles the cause of the evil. The pipes, all underground, run from 150 to 500 km. A formidable drawing shows a gigantic monster, covered with pustules and skulls. He also complains of being expelled from the swamps and cloaca where he thrived. Under the title "His Highness cholera also makes his small claims", the text says: "The houses where I enjoyed myself so well, you enjoyed throwing everything on the ground. Well! And me! Where am I going to stay now? ".

Two years later, during her visit to the Universal Exhibition of 1855, Queen Victoria said to Haussmann: "Bravo M. le Préfet! Your city smells good!"

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"At the heart of history" is a Europe 1 Studio podcast

Author and presentation: Jean des Cars

Project manager: Adèle Ponticelli

Realization: Guillaume Vasseau

Diffusion and edition: Clémence Olivier

Graphics: Europe 1 Studio