All language subtitles for Paris The Great Saga aka Paris, la ville a remonter le temps 2012 720p Bluray FLAC 2.0 x264-DON EN Sub_Subtitles01.ENG

Allow yourself to wander the streets
and behold the wonders.

Arrive full of dreams and leave

with a lifetime of enduring memories.

Contemplate the beauty

and experience the magic.

There is only one city in the world
so romantic and seductive,

so mysterious and enchanting.

Paris, the Eternal City.

PARIS, THE GREAT SAĞA

To truly understand the canpital,
the proper perspective is reguired,

and nothing compares to that
offered by a hot air balloon.

My dear friends,

as we slowly rise
above these Parisian streets,

you might be overwhelmed
by the emotions and a feeling of pride.

The perspective we'll have up here

will reveal this city
in ways you've never imagined.

From our lofty perch,
we'll be taking a journey through time.

An exploration of 5,000 years
of Parisian history.

İt it's your first time
in the capital of France,

you're about to be wowed.

And if you're already a fan,

l hope we discover new horizons
that will be revealed to you.

This Paris adventure will be
a high-flying experience for all of us.

Our first stop takes us to the place

that marks the very origin of the city.

And you'll play
a pivotal role in this journey.

Volla.
Paris as it looked in prehistoric times.

The year is 3,000 BC.

A large river, strewn with islands,
runs through a swampy, lush plain.

ÖOne day, the city of Lutetia,
which will later become Paris,

will rise here. But for now,

that point in time
is still a distant one.

For the first Parisian in history,

life is mostly about survival.

Primitive tribes engage
in daily hunting and gathering.

But sometimes,
the hunter becomes the prey.

From that moment on,

the banks and the islands
of the Seine provide food

as well as protection from predators

on both four and two legs.

As the centuries go by,

the prehistoric camps
multipiy over this fertile landscape.

OÖne of these camps will become
the original cradle of Paris.

Mom, where did it start ?

The first Parisians
settled on the banks of the Seine.

Actualiy, it started
on the İle de la Cite.

İt's logical. The Cite island
is in the middle of Paris.

That's right. But for a long time,
most people assumed that.

No evidence of prehistoric man
was ever found there.

And the island was often flooded.

So no one really knows?

Historians can't reach consensus.

Most of the major historical evidence
was found in Bercy.

Where they found the ten canoes.

Exactly.

- They were carved 5,000 years ago.
- Tom, don't start.

The banks of the Seine have been
inhabited for thousands of years.

And those people
became known as the Gauls.

L thought the Gauls were Celts.

Let's Just say

that arocund 475 BC,

some Celts
of which the Gauls were a part

settled in what is now Paris.

During the first century BC,

the Gallics founded an "Oppidum",

but no remains of this fortified town
have ever been discovered,

neither on the İle de la Cite
nor on the banks of the river.

İts inhabitants were called Parisii

and they called their oppidum "Lutetia".

What did this Gallic Lutetia look like?

Lutetia is a civitas,
or regional capital

where for the first time,
we start to see an actual community,

with roads and neighborhoods.

Paris's first notable residents
were blacksmiths,

farmers and importers of salt and wine.

The town further prospers
with the minting of its own currency

called stateres.

Ancestors to our modern euros.

İn the sanctuary
at the center of Lutetia,

it is likely that the rich and powerful

used their new gold currency
to organize holy feasts.

To win the gods' favor,
animals or prisoners of war

were likely sacrificed.

Lutetia is however a far cry
from Athens or ancient Rome.

In 53 BC,

its destruction
at the hands of Julius Cesar

threatens to forever seal its fate.

However,
it is upon the ruins of the Parisii city

that Paris eventually
begins to invent itself.

Woman, Brennos, behind me.

You are not welcome here.

My brother,

it's been so long
since l've seen your face.

What a beautiful woman you have.

- And is that your son?
- Brennos.

This is Brennos.

For you, Brennos. My blade.

Cernunnos, did the forest spirit
resuscitate you?

No.

I'm a Roman citizen now, bearing
the name Julius. l have big plans.

What have you been doing
all this time?

Getting my military certificate.

Auxiliary Julius. Gallicus Cohort.

Third legion.

L served in the wars
and even beheaded men in Rome.

All in the name of Caesar.

Rome? What is it like?

VI describe the arena.

İmagine a man with black skin,

he's chained
in the center of the arena.

A small blade his onliy weapon.

And then, they send in
an enraged elephant.

Always the same sad outcome.

The elephant crushes him.

- What's the point?
- To entertain people.

I've heard that the arena
can hold 50,000 Romans.

Fifty thousand?

This oppidum has barely 300 people
and outcasts İliving in the caves.

There is also a "via Maximus".

A road where you walk on stones.

We could have a "via Maximus"
that reaches from here to the Forum.

The Forum?

The Forum Magnum.

İt has everything: food, animals,

schools for him,
the Temple of Mars.

And drink.
They have taverns where you drink.

Your Forum islike
our entire village covered with a roof.

Julius,

we live out here
in the middle of nowhere.

Wouldn't you rather live in Rome?

If l come back to Lutetia,
it's to do business for the Romans.

What would you have us
sell to these Romans?

Your barley beer, your pottery.

Fabrics.

Using the river, we can deliver
to Lugdunum and from there,

Rome.

We could sell them
the elegance of the Gaul.

The style of the Parisii.

We can use the profits
to build thermal baths.

What are thermal baths?

Baths with warm water
from the ground.

Önce they're built, people
will be able to wash once a month.

İs that really necessary?

Better to spend that time
tending our fields.

Come.

Outside.

You've entertained us
with your stories

but this is tiny Lutetia, not Rome.

Rome was not built in a day.
Neither was Lutetia.

İt would take almost 200 years
for the city's architects

to bring Lutetia into existence,
complete with its sguare configuration,

right-angled streets
and imposing monuments.

Despite the ravages of time,
Paris today

still bears the imprint
of Lutetian influence.

İn the arena, one can still hear
the murmur of the ancient games.

So Lutetia was
a Gallic imitation of Rome?

Exactiy. The Forum,
the baths, the theater.

The arenas.

İsn't that Just amazing?
Gladiators in Paris.

And the innocents
attacked by animals.

Ör devoured by crocodiles.

With thousands of people
cheering you on.

Surely spectacular.
Bread and circuses.

Bread and games
for the people, Eva.

Just imagine,

Lutetia had 5,000 or 6,000 people

but the arena could hold
up to 17,000 spectators.

Thomas, you look puzzled.

No, Sir. l was just thinking.

The population of Paris
in 2008 was 2,211,000 people

and 5,000 Gauvls
had a 17,000-seat arena.

That would make it
a three-to-one ratio.

L guess it would.

That would be eğguivalent to
a 6-million seat arena today.

Ouite a traffic jam.

Exactly.

Fearing traffic congestion
with horses and chariots.

The architects built the arena
on the outskirts of Lutetia.

Like the "stade de France"
in St Denis.

They even created
the first primitive parking İots.

To control crowds and traffic,

the city planners designed main roads
all converging on the arena.

On big game days, Lutetia
and the cities around empty themselves

as their inhabitants flood to the arena.

The public is passionate
for gladiator combat

and the spectacle
of public executions.

But not all spectators
enjoy egual treatment.

Patricians have a private entrance
and box seats close to the action.

The poor are packed into the cheap
seats in the higher galleries.

Sometimes, the arena
transforms into a theater.

ÖOn stage,
comedians and dramatic actors

interpret the latest popular plays.

The notable citizens
attend the shows to be seen

as much as to watch the spectacle.

Sponsorship of the people's games is
a way to flaunt their wealth and power.

On the left bank, those with money
and power reside in mansions

assembled in Paris's first
'true' neighborhoods, or insulae.

Running down the center

is the Cardo Maximus,
a transverse axis

which serves the residential
neighborhoods. Look, Tom.

Rue St-Jacdues is the Cardo Maximus.

2,000 years later,
it's still the same street.

In Gallo-Roman times,
Lutetia couldn't compete with Lugdunum,

currentiy Lyon, the capital of Gavl.

Lutetia was a real city though,

thriving thanks to trade and
the great vines planted on Mont Martis.

Mont Martis?

Now Montmartre.

From the Montmartre hill,

wine barrels
are delivered to the left bank

but Lutetians primarily treasure
the vintage wines imported from Rome.

They savor them in the taverns
surrounding what is now the Pantheon.

At rue St-Jacgues and rue Soufflot,
ancient wine bars

are set against Lutetia's
most emblematic monument: the Forum.

The Forum is the heart
of the Gallo-Roman city.

İt is where the leading Parisians
yearn to be.

İn this public sguare,

notables preside
over the city's policies.

As an assembly,
they deal with law enforcement issues

and oversee the justice system.

These mağgistrates sit in the 7ribunal
but also in the Temple.

Loyalty to the emperor
and to Rome is constantİy renewed

through celebrations and festivals,
both civic and religious.

Around the Forum,
Lutetia's most renowned shops

offer everything from
the bare necessities to luxury items.

Healthy commerce helps
the city to develop

throughout the Pax Romana,
the "Roman peace".

Symbolic of Lutetia's Romanization
are the northern baths

now known as the Cluny baths

which Emperor Hadrian
probably built at the end of the İst

or beginning of the 2nd century.

This well-appointed
establishment was erected

according to the most
up-to-date Roman standards.

A highiy original design
focuses the building

around a central axis
of the frigidarium, or cold room

where clients enjoy
the use of fitness gear

along with warm and hot rooms.

After decades of occupation,

Lutetia's people have fully
embraced the Roman lifestyle.

Remains of these baths can be seen

at the intersection of Boulevard
St-Germain et Boulevard St-Michel.

At Lutetia's baths,

the differences between
rich and poor dissolve,

thanks to nudity.

The ruins of the baths,
like the arena's

are all that remain of
the Gallo-Roman empire in Paris.

But the Gauls
didn't resist the invaders.

That's right.

The Gauls were smart enough
to create peace pacts

with their enemies
and make the best ofit.

Even trading their gods
for the Romans'.

Each throws the others gods
into their own Pantheon.

That's how Toutatis
became known as Mercury, or Mars.

The gods protect Paris.

Not always.

Even Jupiter won't stop the sky
from falling on Lutetia's head.

The city's oblivious to the threat
growing at the borders of the empire.

A threat that was terrifying.

At the beginning of the 4th century,

Lutetia's seğuesters itself.

The inhabitants want to protect
themselves against the threat

brought on by invasions.

Lutetians put the Forum
and the arena's stones to use,

protecting the İle de la Cite,

This is Paris's first fortress.

Lutetia reinforces its position
as a stronghold,

but that does not make it a canpital.

In the West,
a brand new religion appears

called Christianity.

İn the city of Lutetia, a woman

introduces Catholicism.

This woman will save Lutetia

by bringing men to her feet.

İn 451 AD,

she enters the annals
of Parisian history

under the name Genevieve.

Jesus, l lay down my life for you.

Give all my heart
the strength to save Lutetia.

I'm a mistress of destiny
but without your light,

l cannot save my people.

Genevieve knows that a horde
of savages is devastating Gaul.

Huns will now surge over Lutetia.

Attila and his Teutonic mercenaries
have jJust one objective:

bring down the city by fire and blade.

Lutetia's inhabitants are terrified.

No one seems to have
the power to stop the barbarians.

Meanwhile, Lutetia's people
are fascinated by this young woman.

There is something
heavenly about her.

From early on,

she's had the conviction of deep faith

and in spite of her family's opposition,

Genevieve has the burning desire
to dedicate her life

to God.

Whatever does not serve His glory,

or does not lead to Him
won't elevate one to true bliss.

News travel fast in Lutetia.

Rumor has it that Genevieve
restored sight to a blind man.

And so grows the legend
of a girl with a remarkable destiny.

As the only woman seated
on Lutetia's council,

she's not afraid to challenge the men,

who are on the verge of turning
the city over to the barbarians.

We must leave.

Why all this talk of fear?

Of fleeing to other cities?

Under Christ's protection,
we'll escape the carnage.

What would you have us do?

Pray at their swords?
To hell with you and your god.

- Nonsense.
- You're not his messenger.

God did speak to me with love.

İf we flee the city,
we'll be at their mercy.

But united
and with heaven's guldance,

we can fight back.

You're a prophetess of doom!

You men are all cowards.

You women of Lutetia
have the courage.

Don't abandon your city,
where you were conceived,

where your children were born
and your ancestors died.

Let the men run away in fear.

İf they are too weak
to stand up and fight,

we women will kneel
and pray until God hears us.

Did God answer
Genevieve's prayers?

The feared Huns do not invade
Lutetia. Attila decides instead

to go around the same valley
and attack Orleans.

40 years later,

Clovis, first King of the Francs,
makes his capital Paris.

From then on, this is
the new name of the city of Parisii.

Around the year b00,

Clovis has his mausoleum
erected next to Genevieve's tomb.

He builds the St Apostle's basilica,
which becomes St Genevieve's church,

of which no trace remains today.

That's how the iİst Joan of Arc
in recorded history saved Paris.

The Parisians revered
Genevieve like a saint, true.

But if Paris was saved,

it's more credit to luck
than divine intervention.

Either way,
Genevieve became a legend.

She's even the patron saint of Paris.

İn any case, Paris
was a capital in name only.

İt was still a small town
with an uncertain future.

Why did it survive, then?

Because Paris
held the kingdom's treasures.

If Paris has riches,
the world stays interested.

Who exactly is the world?

- The Vikings
- Vikings in Paris?

During the 9th century,
the İle de la Cite

is under siege.
İmagine, Tom.

Dozens of drakkars

sailing up the river with terrifying
barbarians out to pillage and murder

and eager to destroy
the İle de la Cite.

What happened?

With Vikings,
you don't have too many options.

İn fact, you have only two:
flee or negotlate.

What did they do?

The Vikings withdrew in exchange
for a huge ransom of gold.

You see, my dear?
İt's always a matter of money.

The Vikings' retreat in 887 doesn't
signal the end of this dangerous era.

Other intruders from Germany
launch constant assaullts against Paris.

İn 987, Hugues Capet
ascends to the throne

and creates a new dynasty.

Ünder the influence
of the first Capetian,

Paris recovers its status as capital.

On the right bank, the port
and the Place de Greve,

today Place de 1l'Hötel de Ville,

contribute to Paris's renewal,
helped by booming commerce.

In 1180,
Philippe Auguste ascends to power.

The capital is composed
of just 300 tangled

and revoltingiy unsanitary streets.

Philippe Auguste
has a lot of work to do

to bring order to this chaos,

like fencing in
the Cemetery of the İnnocents

which bursts with corpses
that pigs dig out for food.

King Philippe Auguste
has great plans for Paris

but lacks financial means
to enact them. Where to get the money?

We won't find financing
for Paris among these beggars.

L have a nice suckling pig
for you, my Lord.

What tax did you pay
to bring it into Paris?

A sufficient and suitable tax,
indeed, my Lord.

- How much for pulling a tooth?
- A penny, my Lord.

How1 much do you give
to the city of Paris?

Half a tooth per year.
A baby tooth.

You therel

Tell me why your street
is like a festering sore.

Majesty, Parisians dump their waste
and filth right outside their doors.

Paris is neither a good city
for living nor for dying.

You!

All of you!

You'll open your purses
and clean up my canpital.

Relax, be calm. This might hurt.

Lord Thibaud, you're now in control
of provosts and bailiffs in Paris.

See that the bourgeois pay
while I'm at the crusades.

This is a great honor,

your Majesty has bestowed,
slayer of infidels, slaughterer of...

Shut up. That's enough.

After leading the crusade
and waging war against the English,

Philippe Auguste
returns to his beloved Paris.

What's next?
Yes. The Parisian accounts.

The total Parisian accounts,
for 1202 and 1203,

brought in 197,000 pounds

against 96,000 pounds of expense.

That leaves 100,000 pounds profit.

Lord Thibaud, our coffers are Tull.

Pave Rues St-Denis, St-Antoine,
St-Honore et St-Jacgues.

With what's left,
you will build the Louvre fortress

and complete the ramparts
that protect my city.

At the time of Philippe Auguste,

the English enemy
is just 60 km from the canital.

On the bank of the Seine,
the Louvre fortress is built

to prevent attack from the west.

Originally, the Louvre
is a lookout post,

a cylindrical tower
surrounded by a moat.

Now a sguare wall,

fitted with turrets,
protects the tower.

The fortress holds the arsenal,
while the tower

contains the archives
and the kingdom's treasure.

Philippe Auguste orders
the building of another wall,

more than 5 km long.
Throughout its history,

the limits of the capital
will be defined by its wall.

Four others will eventually follow.

During the 13th century,

Parisians live solely
within their own neighborhoods,

the capital is a labyrinth
of narrow alleys

where high houses eradicate
the notion of perspective.

Parisians are unable
to grasp their city as a whole.

The population swells
from 25,000 to 50,000 inhabitants

making Paris the largest city in Europe.

Philippe Auguste's Paris

foreshadows the countenance
of the modern Paris to come.

That's how Philippe Auguste
transformed Paris?

He was the first to make Paris
the capital of a centralized state.

So everything that happened in Paris
before him was improvisation?

Paris always adapted as it could
to the caprices of history.

Like trading with the Romans.

- Eluding barbarian invasions.
- Negotiating with Vikings.

And from this point on,

Paris takes hold of its destiny

and enters a new era.

Following the example
of Philippe Auguste,

builders will transform Paris
into an undenlable capital

throughout Europe and the world

for centuries to come.

To solidify its prestigious status
in the West,

in 1163, Paris gives itself
a monument of enormous proportions:

Notre-Dame cathedral.

İnitiated by bishop Maurice de Sully,

its construction will take
nearly two centuries.

On the İle de la Cite,
the streets are so dense

that to accommodate the new structure,

two religious buildings
have to be demolished,

including the Carolingian basilica,

dating back
to the dynasty that reigned

between the &8th
and 10th centuries.

During construction,
the Roman cathedral

built between the 10th
and 12th centuries

is used as a place of worship.

On this unprecedented project,
teams of master craftsmen,

laborers and apprentices
work night and day

for the glory of the Virgin Mary
who gave her name to the cathedral.

Four daily construction shifts

dictate the rhythm of life
for 6 generations of Parisians.

Over their lifetimes, they see
the construction of the choir,

the maze, the aisles,
the galleries and the facades.

They develop a deep appreclation
for the ribbed vault and the keystone,

the pointed arch and flying buttress.

The capital sees the birth
and perfection

of Gothic Art in successive stages

from Early to High, then Rayonnant.

This architectural style places
heavy emphasis on volume, verticality

and clarity.

Never has any work evoked such fervor.

Each challenge is met
and masterfully overcome.

The builders
achieve true technical prowess,

erecting remarkabiy thin walls
over dizzying heights.

Two colossal towers
balance the structure.

Notre-Dame
now has a lighter silhouette,

as if her arms
are reaching toward Heaven itself.

To perfect the cathedral,
the architects

dress her with an ornate façade,
colonnades and windows,

including a central Rose Window
40 meters in diameter,

a Gallery of Kings, and three portals.

The main door to the cathedral
opens onto Rue Neuve-notre-Dame.

At 6 to 7 meters wide,
it was a massive boulevard for its time.

The cathedral is finally ready
to welcome thousands of pilgrims.

Notre-Dame becomes the site
of the grandest religiocus ceremonies

in Parisian history.

For centuries,
it is the only Parisian monument

that can be seen
from over the horizon.

Upon its completion,

Notre-Dame
is the biggest cathedral in the West.

But Paris hides within its walls
an even more precious jewel.

İn the year 1237,

Saint-Louis, a pious king,

aims to make Paris
the western capital of Christianity...

by any means he deems necessary.

Like spending a fortune
to acguire Christ's crown of thorns.

Greetings friar. Friar...?

Friar Tuck. Peace be with you.

Don't forget to put the amice around
your neck before donning the cappa.

The Mappula
in your right hand, of course.

May we please God
and not stumble in Sainte Chapelle.

Our hearts would be torn apart
by the divine light.

We will walk
upon burning ashes, Friar.

Friar Tuck...

Be my strength.

May my strength be with you.

Baldwin 1l, emperor of Constantinople,

is in dire need of funds.

He seeks
to sell Christ's crown of thorns

and decides to pawn it off
on some Venetian bankers.

After tough negotiations,
Louis lX acduires the precious relic,

witness to Jesus's crucifixion.

, Louis 1X,

wish for my suffering
to last until the end of my days.

Louis 1X? Saint-Louis?

The mystic king fasts

and practices abstinence
and self-mortification.

For his people,
he is a miracle maker,

but Louis İX sometimes
doubts his true mission.

Sire, you have rendered
your duties respectfully,

and served God
with loving solicitude.

On this most blessed of days,

nothing can expiate my sins.

Turn your eyes Heaven-ward

and they will behold
the newly chosen one.

I'm a man of high birth
but a poor choice.

By offering Paris the Holy Crown,

you predestine us to eternal felicity.

You follow in Christ's footsteps,

you deserve elevation to sainthood.

İn Saint-Louis's eyes,
to possess the Crown of Thorns

is to express his devotion to Christ

and commune with Jesus on the cross.

Lord, am l your chosen one?

The one for whom you wait?

God, am l your worthy apostle?

İn the year 1248 AD,

the Crown of thorns, a nail
and a fragment of the True Cross

are offered to Paris for all eternity.

Thanks to this remarkable acguisition,

Saint-Louis is able to turn Paris

into the capital
of all Christianity in the West.

This purchase constitutes
a religious and political act.

These relics of Christ's Passion

are encased iİn a magnificent setting
of stone and stained glass

built especially for them:
Sainte-Chapelle.

Fifteen huge, finely crafted windows

and a giant rose window
flood this architectural gem with light.

This monumental religuary

is located at the heart
of Paris's Palais de la Cite,

King Louis 1X's residence.

Embedded in the courtyard
of Paris's Palais de Justice,

Sainte-Chapelle is one
of the most majestic masterpieces

of the Rayonnant period of Gothic Art.

The Crown of Thornsis still in Paris?

Anyone could explore
the mysteries of the Holy Crown

on the first Friday of every month

at the Notre-Dame cathedral
absolutely free.

But is there any proof
that it's really His crown?

L wonder how much
this purchase really cost.

İt cost three times more
than building the Sainte-Chapelle.

- 135,000 pounds.
- That sounds like a fortune.

- About 18 million Euros.
- 18 million?

And no one knows İf it's real.

Sweetheart, it's not that simple.

Back then, Holy relics
brought in hundreds of pilgrims.

İt's commerce.
Pilgrims have to be fed and boarded.

And that money
flows into Paris's coffers.

The holy relics
were jJust a good investment?

They cost a fortune, that's true.

But they also made Paris
the center of European Christianity.

Religious schools on the left bank,
the Sorbonne

attracts students
from all over Europe. By 1300,

Paris expands to 200,000 people.

A century earlier,
Paris's population was...?

50,000?

In 1348,

the black plague
kills a guarter of the people of Paris.

Famine made everything even worse.

And then, the wolves descended.

King Charles V
ascends to the throne in 1364,

seeking to maintain the status
of the capital and most importantiy,

ensure its defense.

He decides to renovate the Louvre
and to build new fortifications.

İn this last part of the 14th century,

Paris continues to expand
beyond its former outskirts.

The Louvre is no longer
at the doors of the canpital.

The fortress is now incorporated
into the city on the West side

and the walls are extended.

Philippe Auguste's ramparts,
dating from the 13th century,

in now useless in places

and more of an encumbrance
than a protection to the city.

While the Louvre retains its standing
as a structure for defense,

it also becomes a sumptuocus residence
for Charles V and his court.

İn the dark times of the Middle Ages,
the King lets in the light

by creating numerous windows
throughout the building.

Around the year 1400,

Paris is devastated by civil wars

between the Dukes
of Armagnac and Burgunay.

The capital changes hands several times

while the victors plunder and massacre.

By 1450,

Paris has lost half its population.

Entire neighborhoods are abandoned,

rubble litters the streets...

Paris is dying.

But Paris always rises again.

With Francis the First,
there's a Renaissance.

The old tower is torn down,

the Louvre palace is open
to the public but remains incongruous,

keeping the appearance
to its Middle-Age origins.

Francis the First may have chosen
to reside at the Louvre,

but it's Henri IV of France
who breathes new life into the palace.

İn 1589, the new king builds
the Grande Galerie du Louvre,

annexed to the castle
with the Tuileries Palace.

The Tuileries was built
under Catherine de Medici, in 1564.

İn his great design for Paris,

Henry IV lays out plans to transform

the medieval court
into the Cour Carr&e,

the "Sguare Court".

Henry İV's assassination forces a halt
to the enhancements of the Palace.

His son, Louis XİI,
continues to modernize the Louvre.

The new monarch orders
that the work resume on the Cour Carrâe.

The courtyard will be modified
in the 17th century by the Sun King.

Louis XIV's taste for excess
means big things for Paris.

Didn't Louis XIV live in Versailles?

Correct, Eva.

The court abandoned Paris,
but the seat of power stayed there.

And the capital expands.

Parisians no longer fear attack
from the English or the Spaniards.

The capital isn't in danger anymore
and needs little protection.

Paris can drop its walls.

Correct.
Paris begins a grand expansion.

And with the Sun King,

there's no limit to the celebration
of his unegualed glory.

My dear Eva,
let's meet the Sun King.

France is a magnificent body
and Paris its heart.

And Paris is me.

The capital provides me
with constant and fruitful inspiration

to raise new monuments.

L see creation of a brand new Rome.

Monsieur Colbert...

İt is recently made known to me
my wars have left many men crippled.

This knowledge hurts me.

Not wishing to offend,
butit is still valuable

to celebrate the wars, is it not?

Monsieur Blondel...

You will erect an arch
to my triumph at Porte St-Denis.

The seed of an idea
has come to my mind.

İmagine me, King Louis XIV,

as Mars defeating the German Eagle.

Monsieur Bullet...

İt would be most fitting
to commemorate my victory in Rhineland.

So erect a second arch
at Porte St-Martin.

His Majesty, Louis XIV,
and all his great projects for Paris.

Air! Air!

Open wide carriageways to the North.

Paris needs room to breathe.

Monsieur Louvois.
İn place of the Hötel Vendöme,

l wish to create a great, vast sguare.

We'll call it something tasteful:
Place Louis-le-Grand.

Monsieur Desjardins.

You will sculpt me with
the defeated nations at my feet.

Erect the statue in the center
of the Place des Victoires.

L am told that many veterans
of the 30-years war

have become crippled.

İt is unsightiy to have them
begging in the streets.

Do they not risk frightening people?

Those who have risked their lives
for their kingdom

have the right
to end their days in tranduility.

For these invalids,
we shall be build a Hötel des İnvalides,

on Place de Grenelle.

1st September, 171b,

an older Louis XIV
is seconds from death.

My regrets:
to not have relieved my people.

And to have so İoved war.

L must go.

But Paris shall remain always.

Through his determination
to make Paris a new Rome,

Louis XIV sees the city as a whole.

Urban planning
now also include gardens,

monumental gates
adorned with decorations

and large sguares
with coherent architecture.

Place des Victoires' originality
is in its round design.

Without Louis,
Paris wouldn't look the same.

Although he only spent
two months a year here.

During the last 40 years of his life,

he only came to Paris 24 times.

Louis XIV buillt a lot more
than l realized.

Like the Academie des Beaux-Arts
for instance

which became the Academie Française.

But closest to his heart
was the Hötel des İnvalides.

He was such a charitable king
to house his disabled veterans

in such a majestic building.

That's the legendary generosity
of the Bourbon kings,

to sguander state funds
any way they please.

Louis XV vowed to build a church
if he survived a serious illness.

And not jJust any church.
The Panth&on for Sainte-Genevietve.

The Bourbon embellish Paris
for their own pleasure

but they can't ignore
what goes on behind the scenes.

Succeeding his grandfather,
Louis XVI

ascends to the throne in 1/74.

Like his predecessors, he prefers
the air of Versailles to that of Paris.

Beside a few select areas,
the capital is overpopulated.

İts population now reaches 600,000,

nearly half of which
are destitute or beggars.

This period also sees
crop failures and famine.

Paris becomes a boiling cauldron
that threatens to explode.

İn 1789,

in Faubourg St-Marcel,
Paris's poorest neighborhood,

people still live
as if in the Middle Ages.

Many have resorted
to dishonest means to get by.

Resourcefulness is essential.

Rogues go as far as
passing themselves off as clergymen.

- Madam.
- Father.

For our good works.

Of course, Father.

Hurry! Give me the money.

Guard...

This scoundrel's just robbed
a woman of our acduaintance.

- What did he steal?
- Look.

This crime deserves a heavy penalty.

We'll find you a place to sleep.
In the Bastille.

May the Lord be praised.

- And the police.
- Of course.

Times are hard for everyone.

A little extra something always helps.

Where would Paris be
without our gallant police?

And the generosity of the Church.

Come on, you!

On the eve of the 1789 revolution,

the Bastille
becomes the bane of Paris.

The prison becomes a symbol
for the excesses of absolute monarchy.

Like his predecessors,
Louis XVI can order,

by "lettre de cachet",

to imprison or embasltiller

anyone without any form of trial.

From its construction in 1370,
this fortress casts a sinister shadow

over the St-Antoine neighborhood.

While the Louvre is Paris's showpiece,

the Bastille is its underbelly.

İt stands on the east side as a balance
to the city's defense system.

A massive rectangular edifice,

made with high walls
and eight towers.

Deemed impregnable, the fortress
was only ever used as a prison.

UÜnder the monarchy, detainees
must finance their own incarceration.

After the French revolution,
imprisonment expenses

are taken on by the state.

Convicts are not
all treated in the same manner.

Those who don't have any money,
the pailleux,

sleep directliy on the straw
in collective cells.

Those with a little bit of change

are called the pistoles.

They are grouped two-to-a-cell

and are entitled
to canvas-strap beds.

But the Bastille also hosts
prestigious guests.

The Marguis de Sade is imprisoned
there for more than 12 years

because of his erotic
and anticlerical works.

His room is furnished
and he entertains his guests

with the best wines
and the finest foods.

Pardon the intrusion,
Monsieur Margduis.

You fool! Again and again.

You insist on terrifying me.

Can't you see how this upsets me?

They assassinate
and butcher prisoners in the Bastille.

Have you no mercy? Help me!

Yes, sir.
İ go and inform the warden.

Where were we?

Help me!

The next day, he was transferred

to the insane asylum of Charenton.

Poor man! Ten days later,
he was storming the Bastille.

All prisoners to be freedi

All prisoners?
They were only seven.

And two lunatics
who were committed the next day.

UÜUnder the Old Regime, most detainees
were locked in other Paris jails.

The fortress was not exactlİy
located at the center

of present day Place de la Bastille.
Öne can still see traces

of the towers and walls from their
impressions on Paris's cobblestones.

The July column, or Colonne de jJuillet,
commemorates another revolution,

that of the Trois Glorieuses,

which caused the fall
of King Charles X in 1830.

At the top of the monument,
a gilded bronze angel,

the Gönie de la Libert&,
or "spirit of fteedom",

brandishes a torch,
symbol of the people's determination

to selize their freedom.

Incredible!

İt's as famous as the Fiffel Tower
but it's gone.

How did they destroy the Bastille?

Well, Eva...

Starting on 15 July 1789,

a public works contractor
named Pallois

and his 800 workers
dismantled it in five months.

What happened to the stones?

Pallois takes the stones

and makes miniature versions
of the fortress to be sold as souvenirs.

That's clever thinking.

The Bastille stones are also used
to build the Concorde bridge.

From 1789 to 1799,

Paris moves to the pace
of the French Revolution.

The absolute monarchy collapses.
The Republic is proclaimed.

İn 1793 and 1794,

the guillotine is installed
on Place de la R&övolution,

today known
as Place de la Concorde.

Thousands of heads,
including those of Louis XVİ,

Marie-Antoinette, Danton,
Desmoulin and Robespierre

fall before the crowds
of thousands of Parisians.

With the French Revolution,

a new world is taking shape.
Paris...

...Must reinvent itself.

Louis XIV wanted to turn Paris
into a new Rome.

But a child of the Revolution
will make it Capital of an Empire.

İn 1799,
through a calculated coup,

General Bonaparte seizes power.

In 1804,
he becomes Napoleon l.

The Emperor sometimes resides
at the Palais des Tuileries.

This area must be reduced to nothing.

- The people must be evacuated.
- Or else what, Percier?

Look at the maps.
We lack eguipment and funding.

To hell with your maps.

Our artillery
will solve those problems.

Marshall Murat is not discussing
Napoleon's next battle,

but the launch
of a major construction work in Paris.

Murat. Your news?

Your architects are complete fools
better suited to wipe babies asses.

Why isn't the old neighborhood
at İle de la Cite demolished yet?

Even the rats won't settle in its ruins.

Majesty, the city is only paying
for half of the demolition.

Austrians and Russians
can pay for the rest.

Majesty.
Please excuse my tardiness.

L was detained
by some attractive ladies.

When you're to meet the Emperor,
you tell the ladies

to take their canes and hats
and leave.

Cambaceres,
you must accord to me the finances

to divert the Ourcg river
towards the top of La Villette.

The water will then spread
to every fountain in Paris.

How much
will this magnificent flood cost us?

For 60 meters of canals?

12 to 15 million francs.

L approve this project.
l want 500 men digging by tomorrow.

Next, Rue İmperiale.

The street is open
along the Tuileries Gardens.

UÜnder the cobblestones is now
a 600-meter-long sewage system.

How much did this huge pipe cost us?

800,000 francs.

That much?

İs this true?

For all of that money,
we could eğuip 15 regiments.

Paris likes monumenits.

And you waste money on sewers?

Majesty. Iİn Austerlitz,

you said your troops would enter Paris
through triumphal arches.

- Where are they?
-| have a solution.

You will use 500,000 francs

to erect the triumphal arch
at the entrance to the boulevards,

where the Bastille stood.
There, the troops

will parade before the people.

Napoleon also dreams
of another colossal project

to leave his mark on Paris.

An imperial palace, taking over
most of the Bois de Boulogne,

the 16th district,
and the Trocadero esplanade.

İn it, he wishes to install his son,
the King of Rome.

In 1815,
just weeks before his abdication,

when everything is nearly lost,
the Emperor demands

that Percier and Fontaine
continue their work.

The King of Rome's palace

will forever imprint in stone
the character of Paris.

İt will be more majestic
than the Kremlin in Moscow.

The finest palace, past or present.

Majesty, we've resumed construction.

The Bois de Boulogne
will be linked to Porte Maillot,

to the hills of Chaillot.

We are making a city
both administrative and military.

And a residence for my son.

The King of Rome
at the summit of Paris.

With the fall of the Empire,

the most irrational project
in the history of Paris,

more epic than the Versailles
of Louis XİV,

is abandoned.

The arrangements and embellishments
oördered by the Emperor

are left unfulfilled.

The Arc de Triomphe will finally
be erected on the Champs-Elys&es

instead of Place de la Bastille.

The wars with England and Russia
cost huge sums of money.

Napoleon never found the means
to build his Empire's capital.

He never saw
his Arc de Triomphe finished.

He only saw a 50-meter high
wood and canvas model.

The real one
was completed in 1836,

fiftteen years after his death.

ÖOriginally, it was
to be the start of an avenue

running from the Place de l'Etoile
to Eva's favorite place...

the Bastille.

Napoleon transforms
the Avenue des Guinguettes,

a street full of sketchy cabarets,

into a splendid promenade
we now call

Champs-Elys&es.

Egypt offers France two obelisks
from Luxor's temple.

Only one
will be transported and erected,

at the Place de la Concorde, in 1836.

İt doesn't commemorate
any particular historical event.

An oddity
in this city full of symbolism.

In Place Vendöme,

Napoleon has erected a column
to the glory of his great army.

İt is encased
in the molten bronze of 250 canons

captured from the Russians
and Austrians at Austerlitz.

The column is inspired
by that of Emperor Trajan of Rome.

Napoleon staged his victories

and represented himself as Caesar.

Some other Parisian monuments
are also the Emperor's work.

Like the Madeleine.
He built that too, didn't he?

For the Emperor,
it's more of a temple than a church,

like the ones in Athens.

Napoleon envisioned a Paris
as beautiful as the cities

of Ancient Greece or Rome.

Napoleon leaves
a permanent imprint on the canpital.

Like the Arc de Triomphe,

the Madeleine
is dedicated to his great army.

And, in the Vivienne neighborhood,

he began construction
on what will later become

the Paris stock-exchange:
the Palais Brongniard.

If Napoleon is inspired by the past,

he takes a man of vision
to look forward.

Napoleon İll names Baron Haussmann
Prefect of Paris.

İt is 1853.

The city is filthy and overcrowded.

Haussmann will transform Paris,

or more precisely half of Paris,

in less than two decades.

Get the latest news!

The Republic is proclaimed!

Napoleon İll in exile!

Get the latest news!
Read it here, now!

"Baron Haussmann has undertaken one
of the greatest projects of mankind..."

Bla, bla, bla...

Get the news! Republic proclaimed!

"In 17 years he's demolished
20,000 unsanitary buildings,

"Taid out 300 km of new roads,

"600 miles of new sewers,"
bla, bla, bla...

"Planted over a million trees.

"Through his intelligent planning,
he's breathed air, life...

"and light into Paris."

Yes. Come in.

Have a seat.

Sadlly, none of Paris's "new light"
has made it to your brain.

İt might have enlightened
this article of yours.

Young man,

you have forgotten that lust

and money
are what sells newspapers.

Yes, Sir.

How was Haussmann able to tear down

and rebuild half of Paris?

How is such a miracle possible
with just one billion francs

allocated by the state,

when the work has cost more
than 2.5 billion?

Where did he get the money?

From the sons
of Portuguese immigrants

who landed in Paris
without a penny in 1822.

The Pereira brothers,
now known as the Brothers Pereire.

OÖne moment.

- Well?
- Yes, Sir.

Thirty years later,
they've amassed a fortune.

So, Napoleon İll goes to their bank,
Credit Mobilier.

İt starts in
the Louvre neighborhood,

one of Paris's most sordid areas
back then.

Napoleon İll and Haussmann

want to extend the Rue de Rivoli
to the Hötel de Ville.

Their plan is to tear down the slums

and construct new luxury buildings.

No other bank will invest
in the Louvre reconstruction.

Everyone thinks
the project is too expensive

and too risky.

That's Baron Haussmann.

The Brothers Pereire
are his last hope.

He must convince them to invest.

The fate of Paris's transformation
will be sealed in just seconds.

Three...

Two...

One...

The Emperor has asked me
to extend his warmest greetings.

We are greatly honored.

Messieurs,
the completion of the Louvre

is his great hope for Paris.

Unfortunately, it has not generated
much enthusiasm.

Simpiy put,
we know you have no buyer.

Not only are you asking us
to buy the land,

you also impose
some very binding specifications.

And expensive.

Huge six-storey buildings, arcades,

- shopping galleries...
- İ?'s the perfect neighborhood.

L propose 460 francs per sguare meter.

460 francs? Are you serious?

A price that guarantees
a significant profit.

Along with significant risk.

Messieurs, we all know

that properties near Place de
la Concorde are trading at over 900.

So why not...

take this grand proposal
to James de Rothschild?

Making a fortune
investing in railroads is over.

İt is time to invest in stone.

Why must all your buildings
look so similar?

The lowest l can go
is 400 francs per sguare meter.

And they'li all be named after him.

"Haussmannian" buildings.

400 francs.

Are you willing, at your expense,

to handle the demolition
of the houses crowding the Louvre?

The Emperor's friendship
and future public commissions

justify the price: 400 francs.

The Brothers Pereira
bought 15 acres in the heart of Paris

for 380 francs per sguare meter.

Then, for two years,
more than 3,000 men

worked day and night on the site.

And as if by magic,

private mansions and luxury shops
soon grew around Rue de Rivoli.

For the brothers
to resell for a fortune.

Right.

Spurred by Haussmann,
the extension of Rue de Rivoli

constitutes a major event for Paris.

The creation of a new neighborhood
around the Louvre

gives Paris a unigue prestige.

Place du Palais-Royal
also benefits from the expansion.

After the Louvre renovation,

the Pereira brothers
continue to buy more land,

build and resell all over Paris.

The Place de l'Opera.

The Carrefour de 1'Od&on.

Le Rond-Point des Champs-Elysees.

The Plaine Monceau.

Rue du Faubourg St-Honore.

Boulevard Montparnasse

and many other "master strokes".

The Pereira brothers
are the first to realize

that Baron Haussmann
planned to lay out his avenues

so that they converged
on sguares and monuments.

All they had to do was
acdguire strategically located slums

at low prices,

knowing that they would become
prestigious neighborhoods.

And the whole face of Paris changes.

The new layout of Rue Soufflot,

from Boulevard St-Germain
to Place du Panth&on

offers a new perspective
on the scale of the monument.

Boulevard Henri IV
is opened to link Guai de Bethune

to the Bastille.

The İle de la Cite
is completely restructured.

A new Palais de Justice is built,

along with a Prefecture de Police,
known as Guai des Orfevres.

Avenue de l'Opera encapsulates
Haussmann's true vision:

a capital with monuments
accentuated by grand perspective.

The bankers had no scruples.

They evicted people,
destroying their homes.

What could they have done?
İt was a slum.

Greedy speculators!

The Rothschild and other bankers
came in for their piece of the pie.

Under Haussmann, rents went up.

During the 19th century,
they went up by how much?

'M not sure.

Three hundred per cent.

- And wages stayed the same.
- Like our housing crises.

Little by little,

people leave Paris
and take refuge in the Faubourags.

- Today's suburbs.
- Come on, Louise!

Haussmann is the greatest architect
in Paris's history.

Maybe you're right.

But it was all for the gentrification
of the bourgeois.

Listen.
Whatever the controversy,

Baron Haussmann
has left us with a Paris

we know and love today.

He carved out wide openings
creating aesthetic perspective.

But one of the Baron's ulterior motives

was to anticipate
possible future uprising.

Thanks to wide boulevards,
the army could maneuver easily.

So Haussmann is a great
military strategist too?

Louise!

18/1.

Darkness. One of the bloodiest
episodes in Paris's history.

The year France ends
a humiliating war with Prussia.

It leads to the fall
of Napoleon İll.

For many months,
Prussians besiege and starve Paris.

The new government,
led by Adolphe Thiers,

finally accepts the city's surrender.

But rebellious Parisians
don't accept compromise.

Some of the people,

the Communards, taking up arms

to defend Paris, risking their lives.

İn 1871, Montmartre
resembles a provincial village,

with its windmills and vineyards.

İn this idyllic setting will take place
the world's first socialist revolution.

On the Butte Montmartre,

Paris's people organize its resistance.

ÖOn the night of March 18,
Adolphe Thiers

sends the State's Army to recover
the canons positioned on the Butte.

But the people are unwilling
to relinguish these weapons,

paid for with Parisians' money.

Allied with the National Guard,
the Communards

raise barricades.
They appear first in Montmartre,

then in Menilmontant
and Faubourg St-Antoine.

This is the beginning of the uprising.

The first battles
gulckly escalade into a civil war

with very bad odds.

The Army numbers
130,000 experienced soldiers.

Facing them
are barely 20,000 insurgents.

The Commune is finally defeated
during the "Bloody Week",

starting May 21 and ending May 28

with a final battle
at Pere Lachaise cemetery.

The punishment is ruthless.

20,000 to 30,000 people are executed
by the Army without a trial.

Blood runs
through the sewers of Paris.

İn places, the Seine is red.

The Communards
burn down their headguarters,

the Hötel de Ville.

Faced with the Army's oppression,

the insurgents
adopt a scorched earth policy.

Les Tuileries is burnt down
and will never be rebuilt.

Thanks to the intervention
of an Army commander,

the Louvre museum
and its collections

are miraculousiİy spared
from the flames.

After the St Bartholomew's Day
Massacre

and the terror
of the French Revolution,

the Commune insurrection is one
of the greatest human tragedies

in the history of the canpital.

Thiers's Army displayed
inhuman violence.

The battle was so lopsided.
They killed everyone,

men, women, children...

The Communards killed members
of the Clergy and some innocents.

Had the battles
gone on much longer,

Paris might have been destroyed
by a full civil war.

- Maybe it was necessary.
- Necessary?

They wanted better
conditions for the Proletariat.

They demanded big changes:
free and secular education,

divorce for women,
the separation of Church and State.

Many of those things would only
be achieved in the 20th century.

But for now, it is 1873,

and the conservative powers
restore moral order.

The National Assembly calls for
the Basiligue du Sacre-Coceur

to be built in atonement
for the Commune's cerimes.

İts immaculate whiteness will never wash
away all the blood that was spilled.

At the very site
of the insurrection's beginnings,

the Church and the State
decided to erect the Sacre-Cosur.

This symbolic monument
was mainly financed

by a national subscription.
İts architecture

and significance are still debated.

İn spite of its tumultuocus history,

Paris always rises from the ashes.

The capital no longer shies away
from taking the lead,

even at the risk
of provoking controversy again.

Built in two years,
like a giant erector set...

300 meters tall,
17,000 tons of steel,

18,000 parts
held up by 250,000 rivets...

Vollâ!
A technical masterpiece.

The point is to show the world
the progress of French industry.

And yet the Eiffel Tower
might never have existed.

For the 1889 Universal Exhibition,

they wanted an iron tower
on the Champs de Mars.

A great contest is launched.
Out of 107 projects,

a committee endorses the proposal
from Gustave Eiffel,

a popular engineer at the time.

But some remain unmoved
by the benefits of modernism.

In 1887,

Alexandre Dumas,

Guy de Maupassant

and Charles Garnier

become spokesmen for a manifesto

signed by personalities
from the world of Art and Letters.

L said we are here to protest.

Against the erection
in the heart of our dear canpital

of this monstrous and useless tower.

Öne only has to imagine for a moment

a dizzying tower dominating Paris,

overwhelming Notre-Dame
and the Louvre, humiliating the city.

Monsieur Eiffel, if you please.

My tower will have its own beauty.

Being an engineer doesn't mean
l don't appreciate true beauty.

Gustave Eiffel is a tenacious man.

The State has him advance
from his own personal funds

80 of the cost of construction.

From the onset,
Eiffel is preoccupied with

the inclination of the 4 cantilevered
pillars at the base of the tower.

To address this,
he places 800-ton jacks

in each of the four pillars.

The engineers can thus modify
the angle and slope of the pillars

to allow their junction.

Once the first floor
is correctliy assembled,

everything falls into place.

Who could argue against
the artistic value of the pyramids

and how they've sparked
the imagination of men?

What are the pyramids anyway

but towering mounds made by men?

Each part of the tower is drawn
and numbered in a workshop.

These metal parts are
on average five meters long.

They're delivered ready for use,

along with a detailed plan
for each section.

To assemble these elemenits,
acrobats work

over the void
for up to 13 hours a day.

İt will only take
an average of 150 laborers

to assemble this giant,
three-dimensional puzzle.

The worksite is a tribute

to these highly-skilled,
yet anonymous heroes.

What visitor can remain unmoved

when he gazes at the pyramids?

İt will be the tallest structure
ever raised by mankind.

İsn't that extraordinarily beautiful
in its own way?

Why does that
which is admirable in Egypt

become hideous
and ridiculous in Paris?

I've searched and found
no answer to that duestion.

The Eiffel Tower is erected
in less than 27 months.

İt is an architectural marvel,
a true technical achievement

and above all, an extraordinary
human accomplishment.

When the Universal Exhibition
is inaugurated on May 15, 1889,

the tower is its main attraction.

What a Belle Epogue!
France is a major world power.

Huge pavilions of iron and glass
stand in the Champs de Mars.

İn them, 32 million visitors

contemplate
the latest industrial innovations.

This exhibition
is also an amusement park.

Tourists stroll down
a reconstructed Cairo street,

walk through a giant globe,

or venture inside
a South African diamond mine.

İn the largest pavillion
of the exhibition,

across from l'Ecole Militaire,
the military school,

modern world inventions
are showcased for astonished visitors.

İn spite of the extravagant cost,
7 times more than that of the tower,

the Gallery of Machines is dismantled
amid controversy in 1910.

On the Champ de Mars,

the Eiffel Tower is the last vestige
of this phenomenal exhibition.

İn spite of all the controversy,

the minute it is finished,
the tower is a huge success.

Two million visitors during
the Universal Exhibition of 1889!

The tower is profitable
in its first year but attendance slows.

And the controversy resumes.

Eiffel only had the concession
for twenty years.

His tower's fate again in duestion,

Eiffel presents convincing arguments
to prevent its dismantling.

He saves it
by turning it into a radio relay,

starting in 1913
and sending radio signals

all the way
to the United States and beyond,

up to 6,000 kilometers
in every direction.

The Universal Exhibitions
leave other great structures,

such as
the Palais des Chaillot in 1937,

and the Petit
and Grand Palais in 1900.

For 3,000 years,
Parisians have often denigrated

that in which they take
the most pride.

Parisian modern facilities
often spawn,

as the Eiffel Tower did,

heated debate.

What would Paris look like today
without these great visionaries?

I'm portrayed as an engineer
lacking artistic taste.

If that was true,

l could have constructed
a giant factory of steel

in the center of Paris,
which l could have called

the "Notre-Dame of big pipes".

The Beaubourg Center
is designed by 3 pioneering architects,

Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers,
and Gianfranco Franchini.

İnaugurated in 1977,

the building was brought into being
by president Georges Pompidou.

Even before its construction,
the Tour Montparnasse

weathers heavy criticism
from those who see its height

as being out of proportion
with the rest of Paris.

But Andre Malraux,
minister of culture,

supports the project
as early as 1968.

You don't understand the necessity

of creating wide avenues in Paris.

Many have called me bold,

but l already know
my vision is too small.

Were l truly audaciocus,

l would turn the wide banks
of the Seine into expressways.

During the 20th century,
it becomes urgent

to deal with Paris's
growing traffic problem.

İn spite of public disapproval,

the first riverbank expressway
is built on Rive Droite

between 1961 and 1969.

His Majesty, the Sun King

commands you to construct
in the west of Paris

an arch, monumental

and dedicated

to his glory.

Every day thereafter,

the loving rays of the sun
will iluminate

the magnificence of Paris.

İn 1989,

the monumental work of architect
Otto von Spreckelsen

begins in
La Defense business district.

The Grande Arche
complements the historical access

designed in 1640
by landscape architect

Andre Le Nötre.

At the time,

you were dubious

l could build an Arc de Triomphe
of such magnitude

in the middle of the Champs-Elysees.

L love antiduity.

You remember of course
my Egyptian campaign.

We could have gone
so much further back in time.

Think about it and imagine
a pyramid in the Louvre.

Such an idea
could go down in history.

Built by architect l. M. Pei,

the Louvre pyramid was inaugurated

by president
François Mitterrand in 1989.

İt was first
the target of heavy criticism

before it was recognized
as a symbol of Paris's entrance

into the new millennium.

We've come
to the end of our journey.

So how did Paris become

a city so unigue İn the world?

Paris is the rebellicusness
of its people...

and the beautiful neighborhoods.

For me, it's all the monuments.

Paris, the world's biggest museum!

The city of love and shopping.

Paris...

The atmosphere, the ambiance...

and alittle coffee at a bistrot.

Watching the pretty women pass Dy...

For 3,000 years,

Paris has modeled itself
on Athens or Rome

and been shaped by the dogma
of Christianity and royalty.

İt has endured the tumult of revolutions
and the age of capitalism.

The legacy of the past
has carved its beauty,

to the point ofit risking

being frozen in time
like a city museum.

Paris is now at a crossroads,
ready for new adventures.

İts next inevitable
metamorphosis is vital

for Paris to always remain Paris.

Audacious, impetuous, visionary...

An eternal city, a city of light.

Subtitles - Vdm