Louis Baldasseroni is a lecturer in contemporary history in Nîmes, author ofHistory of transport and mobility in France. XIXe-XXIe centuries (Armand Colin, 2022).
What era does the modern road network date from?
Louis XV created the corps of bridge and road engineers in 1716 and, in 1747, the Royal School of Bridges and Roads, within which engineers trained their peers. The planning practices, thus harmonized, result in the construction of a unified road network, which guarantees road service to each region. In the 18th centurye century, the Cassini family of cartographers listed the royal roads, which would become imperial and then national roads.
Is this logic of territorial equity still in force today?
It irrigated the construction of roads until the middle of the 20th century.e century. But, from the “thirty glorious years”, on the American model, France began, before building roads, to calculate their economic profitability based on the count of traffic and its evolution.
How do we define motorways, which became widespread after the war?
According to the law of April 18, 1955, these roads do not have a level crossing, the two directions of traffic are separated and slow vehicles are excluded. The law provides for the possibility of establishing tolls to finance them. The first projects date from the 1920s and 1930s, but it is estimated that the first section was put into service in 1941. They accompanied the major tourist operations of the developing State, in Languedoc or towards the ski resorts of Alps. In Brittany, it was also a question of guaranteeing access for seafood to the Rungis market of national interest.
What are the long-term impacts of the road network?
In addition to the development of tourism, there has been an increase in home-work travel. Because, although transport times have not changed for a hundred years, the strengthening of the road network has resulted in an increase in distances. This policy also contributed to metropolisation and justified the decline of rail freight.
Can we consider that we no longer need new roads today?
No, because the question of territorial equity remains. If we refer to the plan from the 1960s and 1970s, there are still road barriers to be installed. Regions, particularly in the Massif Central, are still described as needing to be opened up. In addition, the road retains its symbolic power. This is the road that the protest movements are blocking, as the farmers did this winter.
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