Paris Reborn: Napoléon III, Baron Haussmann, and the Quest to Build a Modern City
According to accepted wisdom, it was Baron Georges-Eugene Haussmann, who during the reign of Emperor Napoléon III was the emperor’s prefect of the Seine district (which included Paris), who wrested the French capital from its centuries-old squalor and transformed it into the Second Empire showcase of monumental beauty that we know today. Kirkland sees the situation a little differently, preferring to emphasize the importance of the emperor’s own vision for elevating Paris to great heights of beauty and efficiency. In other words, Baron Haussmann actually took his cues from the emperor’s wishes. Consequently, the story that this author tells, infusing a compelling narrative with vibrant information, begins with the advent of Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, nephew of the first Emperor Napoléon, into French politics as he gained election to the presidency of the Second Republic. To that office, the junior Napoléon brought not only his distinguished name but also his great ambition for making Paris a capital worthy of French glory. Louis-Napoléon soon declared himself emperor and finally found in Baron Haussmann the man he was looking for, one who was capable of executing the emperor’s grand plan. --Brad Hooper