B. Marchand, Les Ennemis de Paris - History, Politics and Society

French Literature Reviews - 2026

B. Marchand, Les Ennemis de Paris
History, Politics and Society

Bernard Marchand, Les Ennemis de Paris. La haine de la grande ville des Lumières à nos jours

Presses universitaires de Rennes

ISBN: 978-2-7535-0793-7

Published: 2009

Number of pages: 388 pages

Price: 20 euros

Publisher's overview:

In the wake of the Commune, fear of Paris spawned a growing hatred in literature and political discourse, ultimately shaping state policy. Since the time of Pétain, the government has made it its mission to shrink the Parisian metropolitan area. Though pursued continuously by every regime and political party for half a century—making it the single most consistent policy in modern French history—this agenda has gone largely unnoticed, yet its consequences have been profound and near-suicidal for the nation.

The author:

Bernard Marchand is an agrégé de l'université, a holder of a State Doctorate, professor emeritus (French Institute of Urbanism, Paris-VIII), and principal professor at ENTPE. He has taught for many years in the United States (UCLA, Penn State, Northwestern), Canada (Toronto), South America (Caracas, Rio de Janeiro), Thailand (Bangkok), and Europe (Berlin, Milan). His research focuses on urban history (Los Angeles, Pion Ltd; Paris, Histoire d'une ville, Le Seuil), as well as mathematical modeling and computer simulation of urban environments.

Table of Contents:

The Unloved City in France, from the 18th Century to the Vichy Regime

  • The Seductive and Dangerous City: 1760-1870
  • A Turning Point in Urbaphobia: Crises and the Back-to-the-Land Movement, 1870-1914
  • The Rise of Provincialism: 1919-1940

Urbaphobia Since Vichy: Action

  • Long-standing Policies
  • The Birth and Establishment of "Regional Planning" (Aménagement du territoire) Against Paris, 1940-1960
  • Everyone Against Paris, Bar the Gaullist Interlude: 1960-1995
  • Urbaphobic Propaganda Today
  • Return to the City or Return to Nature?

Theoretical Foundations of Urbaphobia

  • Urbaphobic Critiques
  • The City and the State
  • Underlying Ideologies and Long-Term Evolution

Discussions surrounding the relationship between centralized state power and the capital occupy a significant place in French social and political history. The emergence of hostility toward major urban centers frequently reflects broader anxieties regarding modernization, cultural centralization, and regional identity. Scholars examining the history of urban planning and regional administration often analyze how administrative bodies negotiate the tensions between the capital and the provinces across successive political regimes, tracing the ideological currents that influence territorial organization and public policy over extended periods.

Readers interested in the historical dynamics of urban suspicion and state-directed regional policy in modern France may find this volume relevant. Bernard Marchand examines how sentiments of hostility toward Paris developed within political discourse and literature, eventually influencing governmental actions and territorial strategies from the eighteenth century to contemporary times.