Urville

U RVILLE

Between emotion and fascination: imaginary city or visionary dream…

Right-hand page. Cité hospitalière de la Marquise (9th arr.).

Urville

Gilles Tréhin Jessica Kingsley Publishers London and Philadelphia

First published in 2004 in French as Urville: Entre émotion et fascination cité imaginaire ou rêve visionnaire… by Éditions Carnot, France. This edition of Urville is published by arrangement with Éditions Carnot. This edition first published in 2006 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers 116 Pentonville Road London N1 9JB, UK and 400 Market Street, Suite 400 Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA www.jkp.com Copyright © Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2006

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London, England W1T 4LP. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher. Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN-13: 978 1 84310 419 3 ISBN-10: 1 84310 419 9 ISBN pdf eBook: 1 84642 485 2 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Athenaeum Press, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear

These are the famous Tours de la Fraternité designed and conceived by the architect Fabrice Franciscain (born 1956). Known throughout the world, they are reminiscent of the Gate of Europe in Madrid, although the 113 m twin towers there do not possess the same elegance. In the foreground is the Porte du Merlias, opened in 1879 by the architect Auguste Beaumarpin (1840–1913). Urville had come under the administration of the free zone of the Vichy regime during the war, but in November 1942 the German army occupied all of this part of French territory. It was via the Porte du Merlias that they entered the city. In the background is the Place du Merlias, designed in 1877 by the architect Vincent Mallormes (1843–1907).

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CONTENTS Foreword by Uta Frith

Page 9

Preface by Gilles Tréhin

Page 13

Map of Urville in Provence Insulaire

Page 14

Introduction

Page 15

A Brief Chronology of the History of Urville

Page 17

Chapter 1 Old town and the rade de Carsouce – the historic quarter of Urville

Page 25

Chapter 2 The expansion of Urville

Page 47

Chapter 3 The Left Bank of the Écrantes

Page 69

Chapter 4 Beaux-Sites, Tression and Valmures

Page 79

Chapter 5 Bellevallois, Mascotte and Barongeais

Page 97

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Chapter 6 Sermaille, Catalogne, Tainon, Montgelat and Fensouque

Page 105

Chapter 7 Jonquilles, Académie, République and Fontinelles

Page 115

Chapter 8 Liberté, Mirecailles, Quatre-Saisons and Pré Saint-Julien

Page 123

Chapter 9 Tégartines, Moineaux, Rossignols

Page 135

Chapter 10 Trières, Martin-Pêcheur, La Bourache and Butte Saint-Martin

Page 139

Chapter 11 East Central

Page 149

Chapter 12 North Industrial

Page 161

Chapter 13 The Northeast

Page 171

Chapter 14 Futurville 2000 and airports

Page 177

FOREWORD

W

hen I first met Gilles and his parents in 1984, he was 12 years old. Amazingly for someone with autism, he was perfectly bilingual in French and English, he was kind and polite, with an easygoing personality, and he went to a mainstream school. His factual knowledge in specific domains, e.g. cities, travel, airplanes, was astounding, but his ability to reason about other people’s motives and feelings lagged way behind his ability to reason about abstract problems. Gilles’ room at that time housed a huge number of model airplanes. There were also beautifully drawn pictures of planes, each with the description of the type showing the exact number of windows. I was particularly impressed by a gigantic Lego model of a plane. Gilles and his parents have taught me an enormous amount about autism. They demonstrated to me that you can be autistic and yet high functioning in many areas of life. But Gilles goes way beyond what is called high functioning; he is exceptionally talented. Since I first knew him, his development has been even more successful than I could have imagined. He has gained and sustained the respect and affection of friends. He has become a fully-fledged artist. He lives independently with some gentle supervision from his parents. Yet he has remained autistic. Despite decades of research, autism remains an enigma. We do not know what causes autism. We do not know the nature of the brain abnormality that underlies the many behavioural difficulties. And we do not know how autism causes pervasive and intractable cognitive difficulties and at the same time high originality and unusual talents. Not all individuals with autism are as bright and as gifted as Gilles, to be sure. Moreover, only one in ten has a remarkable talent. But then, one in ten is an astoundingly high proportion. No other neurological condition has this. What is so special about autism in this respect? Current theories have great difficulties explaining this phenomenon, but even more so, when the phenomenon is as stunning as in the case of Gilles. Gilles was recognized as odd and different from other children from early childhood. Like so many children with autism, his family wondered if he was deaf, but they knew he could hear. Gilles loved to touch his mother’s hair, but he failed to recognize her when his aunt was around. His language was delayed and strange. He did not play with other children, and his play was repetitive, for instance spinning the wheels of a toy car. He had a strong aversion to

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sudden changes in routine. He also showed unusual sudden fears and unusually intense interests. His first word was ‘avion’, his second, ‘helicopter’. All these examples are classic features of autism, as they were first described by Leo Kanner in 1943: he labelled them aloofness, insistence on sameness and islets of ability. Kanner’s criteria were based on his superb clinical intuition and coincided closely with those of Hans Asperger, who independently arrived at a very similar conception in 1944. Nowadays the criteria for autism have more prosaically sounding names. Autism is currently diagnosed in the presence of qualitative impairment of social interaction and communication and a restricted behavioural repertoire. The consensus is that there is a whole spectrum of autistic disorders from mild to severe, with an emphasis on the deficits rather than special abilities. Special abilities are not present in all cases and therefore not a requirement for diagnosis. Despite the relative neglect of unusual talents in theory and practice, they remain the most fascinating and awesome of all the features of autism. Through Gilles we are able to get a deeper glimpse into the mystery. His example allows us to marvel at what the human mind is capable of after a difficult start in life and despite the burden of developmental disorder. Make no mistake, autism is a cruel developmental disorder, caused by brain abnormality which can be more or less extensive. The brain abnormality impacts on development itself and causes delays and derailments in learning and above all in learning about the social world. The special talents stand out as beacons for us to marvel at. And yet, the current theories of autism are more concerned with explaining the cognitive deficits of autism than the special talents. The case of Gilles is a reminder that such theories remain hopelessly incomplete. Although Gilles displayed the features that were described by Kanner, he was at first not diagnosed. This was because at that time autism was not as well known as it is today and many specialists had no clear notion of what it entailed. Gilles was eventually diagnosed with autism at the age of 8, when the family had moved from France to the United States. He was seen by the late Professor Donald Cohen at the Yale Child Study Center, one of the first American psychiatrists after Kanner to champion the case of autism.

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When Gilles’ family came to live in London, I had the good fortune to discuss with them my still tentative ideas about autism and to benefit from theirs. We have stayed in touch and it has been a delight to hear of Gilles’ continuous progress. Gilles’ parents were intuitive therapists. They worked hard not only to instil the rules of social behaviour, but also gave him the love and attention he needed to gain the confidence and self-esteem. No wonder he is such a pleasant person to be with. I remember being astonished when at my first visit to his home, Gilles offered around some pastries to go with the tea that was served. I had not seen this before in an autistic child so young. But this small example was only one of many surprises. Gilles’ parents fostered and appreciated the unusual talents that Gilles showed from early on in life. None of these were taught in any way. All of them came as a surprise – probably long after they had already started. Thus their origin remains mysterious, just as in other cases where special talents have been described. A typical feature of autistic talents is that they are manifold. This is unlike special talent in normally developing children, who turn out to be prodigies, for instance at playing the piano, ice skating, or learning languages. Here typically just one talent manifests itself and is then assiduously nurtured. One of the special talents that Gilles has is perfect pitch. Now we know that a sizeable proportion, perhaps a third, of individuals with autism have perfect pitch. His father said that when he was very young, and before being able to talk, Gilles would ask him to play a tune by humming it. When he then sat down at the piano or held his guitar and started playing, he noticed that Gilles had been humming the tune in exactly the right key. Gilles learned to play electric guitar and bass without any lessons and readily played jazz pieces with complex harmonies. One may speculate that Gilles could have become an outstanding musician, if his time was not spent mostly doing other activities. At age 5 Gilles started to draw in proper perspective, rendering the three-dimensional world into two dimensions from the point of view of a unique observer. In Western art, this achievement is normally credited to the great Renaissance masters. School children now often learn the technique, but they have to be taught to use it. Remarkably, this was not the case with Gilles. In fact,

he did not go through many stages of learning to draw. He went directly from scribbles to a sophisticated style of representing the world. Drawing has ever since been Gilles’ most outstanding talent, and this book is the proof. At about age 6 Gilles surprised his parents by answering multiplication questions that they had asked Gilles’ sister for practice. However, Gilles knew more. The sister knew that he knew the 12, 13 and 14 multiplication tables. When the parents tested him, it turned out that Gilles could multiply any numbers whose product was under 1000. He was only stopped there because he did not yet know how to express numbers larger than 1000. Later on the same year, Gilles discovered all by himself the concept of prime numbers. He was fascinated by these numbers. He could tell immediately if a number was prime; he used to say: ‘In 4187 there is nothing’ – ‘What do you mean, nothing?’ – ‘There is no 2, no 3, no 5, no 7, no 11, no 13.’ Gilles has now lost most of his facility with multiplications and prime numbers, even though he still feels comfortable with numbers. The observation of talents suddenly vanishing mirrors the observation of such talents suddenly appearing. In some cases the interest that has been so passionately pursued loses its spell. As a consequence, probably through lack of practice, the talent disappears. As in the origin, so in the loss of special talents, we must appeal to chance – or perhaps fate. What can explain this amazing variety and depth of talents? We can still only speculate about the underlying creative process. What is similar about Gilles’ talent to that found in other autistic artists? It is an obsession with the physical world and a neglect of the social world. But the physical world, whether real or imaginary, is presented in exquisite detail. It seems as if the spotlight of attention sweeps indiscriminately and equally intensely over the important as well as the unimportant, the interesting as well as the tedious. If everything is equally important, it is just as well that interests are narrow or repetitive. Details can be explored endlessly as they vary endlessly. A superior attention to detail is one of the things that psychologists see in the special talents of autistic people. The bare facts of the origin of Urville can be stated quite readily. Gilles himself reports that he has been drawing since the age of 5, and that he has always been fascinated by big cities and airplanes. When he was about 12 years old, he

started to imagine a city, inspired to some extent by him seeing the skyscrapers of New York from the window of an airplane. He named the city Urville. Remarkably this interest has never left him. On the contrary, from small beginnings he has extended the city in many dimensions, not only architecturally, but also in terms of the city’s history, the names given to places and buildings and the work and trade that takes place in the city. It is an aesthetic pleasure to let the eye wander along the ever expanding imaginary city. But over and above this, it is the sustained and systematic effort of the imagination that is so admirable in Gilles’ work. It seems that Gilles at first did not have a conception of what the city was going to look like. Instead, just like a real city, it grew from building to building. These first buildings were done in lego bricks and they had grand names, Year 2000 tower, Twin towers, Megalopolis Tower, suggesting of a true metropolis. Let us hear the story in Gilles’ own words: After 1987, there was a big evolution in my conception of the city. I realized that I could expand the city in my mind without necessarily building it in Lego bricks, and compensate this by drawing. I started to base the city on the planning of the streets. In 1991, in my conception of the city, I stopped using lego, and had made some drawings. Until 1992, I built little by little the city concept starting with the subway map and I started writing the history of the city in a general way. Starting in 1993, the drawings of Urville became more frequent, with the first global view of the city. It was the first click because with the help of illustrated books on real cities, I discovered new techniques which helped my drawing. During this same year, I started to study history because I realized that it was an important element of knowing a city, and history offered me the possibility to learn even more things.

From his own explanation, we can deduce that Gilles’ fascination with airplanes, time tables, cities, maps and his outstanding artistic talent coalesced to give rise to a continuously fertile imagination. The pictures in this book are a testimony of this incredible originality and imagination. Most theories of autism hold that imagination, in the usual sense of the term, is diminished in autism. This is hard to reconcile with Gilles’ artistic output. It is

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also hard to reconcile with the output of other autistic artists, musicians and writers. It is undeniable that the variations on themes are endless and surprising. Who could imagine more types of buildings, novel names for them and their beautifully fitting arrangement in the city space? This imagination is like a water well that will never dry up. And yet, there is a limitation. This is a deep well of creativity, to be sure, but a very narrow one. This is not a criticism, as the best art is often entirely narrow in

range and in technique. However, artists of the past two centuries typically like to widen their range of topics and change their techniques. Autistic artists such as Gilles go against this trend. Gilles is deepening his interest, and he is perfecting his technique. If this is a limitation then it is a great advantage too. It is exactly the combination of passion bordering on obsession with the practice of a superior technique that allows creative imagination to grow. Urville is still growing. Long may it expand. Uta Frith Professor of Cognitive Development, University College London, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience

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PREFACE

Gilles Tréhin

I

have been drawing since the age of five and have always been passionate about cities and aeroplanes. In 1984 I became interested in designing an imaginary city. I called it Urville. The name came, among other influences, from ‘Dumont d’Urville’, the scientific base of the French territory in Antarctica, but also from the Latin urbs, urbis, a town, which was at first merely a coincidence. Since then I have been drawing different views of this city and compiling for myself a historical, geographical, cultural and economic description. I imagine it as if it were real. In May 2000, Chantal, my mother, suggested that I write a description for each drawing, which I have done. This book is an illustrated guide to Urville. Each drawing is accompanied by a description of the architecture, the history and the people who have left their mark here. You will find cultural anecdotes, as well as the titles of books, plays, films or paintings. In order to avoid anachronisms when compared with reality, I have consulted numerous historical, geographical and architectural references.

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Once upon a time…there was a large island, bigger than Corsica, off the Côte d’Azur. The Phoenicians were the first to recognize the advantages of this territory, establishing what they called ‘Sea Horse City’ here, later to become Urville. The map shows the current layout, with the city’s arrondissements and the administrative districts on the periphery.

Ile de la Chaloupe – Sloop Island Détroit de la Chaloupe – Sloop Strait Ile des Sarrasins – Saracen Island Détroit de L’Azurville – Azurville Strait Baie des Hippocampes – Sea Horse Bay Mer Méditerranée – Mediterranean Sea Ile Phénicienne – Phoenician Island

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INTRODUCTION

U

rville is a city of 11,820,257 inhabitants (1999), the largest population of any city in France and Europe. It is the capital of the administrative region of Provence Insulaire, a large island off the Côte d’Azur, between Cannes and St-Tropez, which has a population of 14,275,960. The conurbation is divided into 36 arrondissements. Urville has a court of appeal, an assize court, a high court, a university, an archbishopric and other major administrative departments. It is the economic capital of France, with many major companies having their headquarters here (banks, insurance companies, a nuclear power company, petroleum companies, IT enterprises, electronics firms, chemical-pharmaceutical companies). Despite a decline since 1975, industrial activity (chemical-pharmaceutical, plant and machinery, textile, food processing, other manufacturing industries) still represents 28 per cent of the economy of Urville. It has the most important stock exchange in the country. There is also a very significant press presence here: Urville is home to the head offices of over four hundred magazines, thirty national newspapers and more than a hundred publishing houses. It is an international cultural capital, with some important museums and more than three hundred theatres. Frequent cultural events, such as concerts, exhibitions, festivals and traditional fairs, are organized throughout the year. Urville was founded under the name ‘Qart-Sous-Yam’ (Carsouce) in the twelfth century BC by the Phoenicians. It became Urbis (Urville) under the Romans in the first century BC. It was the third city of the Roman Empire until the fifth century AD. In the third century AD its population was almost 250,000. In the Middle Ages, Urville was controlled successively by the Ostrogoths, the Franks, and the Houses of Arles and Anjou. During this period, following the successive crises from the fifth to the tenth centuries, it enjoyed a period of development up to the twelfth century on the basis of its flourishing maritime commerce. It was beset by crises

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again in the fourteenth century, and the city returned to a period of prosperity from the second half of the fifteenth century. In 1480 Urville came under the jurisdiction of the French court. In 1789, at the time of the French Revolution, Urville had 2.8 million inhabitants, but the housing was too limited to cope with the sharp increase in population resulting from the Industrial Revolution. Faced with this problem, the Prefect of Urville called on the architect and town planner Oscar Laballière (1803–1883) to undertake extensive work which continues to shape Urville to this day. Almost 300,000 people were killed during World War I and more than 200,000 in World War II. After World War II, France saw a substantial migration from rural areas to the cities. The population of Urville grew from 7.9 million to reach 11.6 million forty years later in 1990.

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A Brief Chronology of the History of Urville Twelfth century BC Foundation of Qart-Sous-Yam (Sea Horse City) by the Phoenicians. Ninth century BC The explorer Kerkoielon from Qart-Sous-Yam navigated his way to eastern Africa, and returned home laden with riches. Eighth century BC The population of Qart-Sous-Yam reached around 30,000 and it became an important naval and military power. Seventh century BC Conflict between Qart-SousYam and Carthage. Sixth century BC In order to combat the power of Carthage, Qart-Sous-Yam submitted to the governance of Marseille and was renamed Karsoukia. 125 BC In exchange for the support of Roman forces against the Carthaginians and Etruscans, Karsoukia submitted to the domination of the Roman Empire, under which it was called Carsutia. 41 BC Carsutia was called ‘Urbis’ (the City) by the Roman emperor Augustus (63 BC–14 AD). It now had a population of 110,000. 290–303 AD Christian ideas became dominant in Urbis under the influence of missionary Martine of Judea (264–319) when she returned from a voyage to the Near East.

329 One of the early Christians, Margaret of Sydon (291–329), founded Margueritism in Urbis as a reaction against certain abuses in the Christian faith. She was condemned by the emperor Constantine and burned alive as a pagan. 375 Urbis became a metropolis of the Roman Empire, with a population of 190,000 (estimated). 402 A monk of the diocese of Urbis, St Balbuisse, founded his own monastery. 476 Urbis was integrated into the kingdom of Odoacer. 535 The populace of Urbis attempted an insurrection against the Ostrogoths. It was a failure, and the organizer of the insurrection, the monk Brausseil (498–535), was arrested and executed. The Franks settled in this insular region of Gaul, gallicizing the name of Urbis to Urville. 561 On the death of the Frankish king Clotaire, the region was integrated into the Kingdom of Burgundy. 584–717 Construction of the cathedral of St Balbuisse. 618–751 Tégares, an abbot wishing to escape from the severe tax system imposed on Urville, founded a monastery in the centre of insular Gaul. He erected a fortified town called Les Tégartines. The huge abbey was completed in 751 and named after St Margaret in homage to

the martyr Margaret of Sydon. The influence of this abbey extended throughout the whole region. 622 Establishment of Urville’s fair. 649 Edict proclaiming the issue of the ‘pésiard’ as a unit of currency. 672 The Saracens organized raids on Urville. 721 The fortifications of the city were destroyed. 728 Order of the Dioceses: rearrangement of the dioceses under the abbeys. 739 The king of the Franks, Charles Martel (688–741), submitted the whole of insular Gaul to the domination of the Frankish families of the mayors of the palaces, including Pépin the Elder. Urville came under siege, its defence organized by the Tégartine monks Tougrebon (712–757) and Dillerade (709–762) in support of the count of Urville, Régis de Padalébron (701–751). But Charles Martel overcame the resistance and marched on Urville. 776 Urville now had a population of 208,000 (estimate). 838 New raids were carried out by the Saracens. They succeeded in taking the city and occupying insular Gaul. 842 Raids were organized by the Normans.

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848 The counts of insular Gaul organized a reconquest of the region and drove out the Saracens, thus founding the county of Urville. 854 The Vikings besieged Urville. 863–875 The county of Urville came under the administration of King Louis II of Italy (805–876). 875–877 The county of Urville came under the administration of King Charles the Bald (823–877). 883 New raids on Urville were organized by the Saracens. 888 The county of Urville came under the administration of the Kingdom of Lower Burgundy. 1059 Opening of the palais des Bénéfices to house the Chancery. Its purpose was to influence the decisions of the counts of Urville to ensure that they remained faithful to the Roman Catholic Church. This building housed the Chancery until 1480. 1133 Inauguration of the University of the Phoenicians. 1140 Inauguration of the palais des Comtes: the residence of the count of Urville from the Middle Ages until 1789. 1175 Inauguration of the palais de l’Occitanie: the home of the parliament of Urville. 1178 Foundation of the heretical Vilurgoth movement at the university, which denounced the Church’s take-over of the society of the county of Urville. This movement received the support of the count of Urville, Jean V (1117–1186), and of the populace. 1233 Council of the Benefices: assembly of the religious representatives of the county and the papacy, the objec-

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tive of which was to suppress the heretical Vilurgoth movement. 1246 The county of Urville came under the administration of the House of Anjou. 1252 Establishment of the Chamber of Accounts under the House of Anjou, charged with controlling expenditure in the Mediterranean region (Urville, Provence and Naples). 1263 Sailors, supported by merchants, rose up against the severe tax régime caused by the conflicts between the House of Anjou and the House of Aragon over the claim to the kingdom of Naples. This event was called the ‘Journée des Charpentes’ . 1309 Count Edward the Sceptre (1284–1351) assessed the population of Urville as 119,527 households, more than 300,000 inhabitants. 1316 The place des Capucins was the scene of a revolt against the authoritarian Angevin rule; it was called the ‘Repression of the Capuchins’. 1329 The county was affected by a famine which decimated 10 per cent of the population. The representative of the Angevin dynasty, Chalderouse (1301–1366), organized a brutal counteroffensive. 1357–1359 The county of Urville was again hit by famine. The bourgeoisie and minor nobility revolted against the severe taxation which the archbishop of Urville, Antoine de Sermaille (1305–1372), sought to impose. 1366 A smallpox epidemic hit the city, brought back by sailors returning from the high seas. It wiped out a quarter of the population before spreading throughout the county.

1381–1388 Urville, like all the Angevin possessions, was caught up in the war of succession of the House of Anjou, the origins of which lay in the will of Jeanne I of Anjou (1326–1382). The opposing parties in the conflict were the Angevin clan, the heir, Louis, Duke of Anjou (1339–1384), and the Carlists, who gathered their forces under the States of Aix in 1381, under the command of Charles de Duras (1345–1386). In Urville itself, allegiances were uncertain. Forces on the Angevin side were c o mmanded by Fernand d e S ermaille (1356–1412), and those of the Carlists by Edward of Bellevarienne (1361–1430). The county finally came under the administration of the second House of Anjou. 1423 Aragonese troops attempted a siege of Urville, but they were repelled by the Urville navy. 1480 The county of Urville came under the administration of the Kingdom of France. It was granted privileges, the county being endowed with a General Assembly, a Parliament and a provincial government consisting of 1000 to 1500 officers, one hundred chatelains, a cour des aides, a Chamber of Accounts, elected members, 43 salt stores, 16 mints. All these institutions were governed by French law. 1534 France was the scene of a persecution of heretics orchestrated by François I. This was the ‘Affair of the Placards’, an event which provoked an ideological conflict in Urville between the supporters of the king, the theologians of the University of the Phoenicians, and the humanists or reformers who taught at the collège de la Méditerranée. 1562 The Wars of Religion (1562–1598) did not spare Urville.

1567 The Diamond Exchange was the scene of a massacre orchestrated by the Catholic League, leaving 800 dead. 1572 The St Bartholomew’s Day massacre plunged France into horror. At Urville, Duke Étienne de Burgondes orchestrated the disappearance of three thousand heretics. 1594 The king of France, Henri IV (1553–1610), commissioned the town planner Hector Buzondet (1566–1623) to plan the expansion of Urville. At that time the population of Urville was 611,000 (estimated). 1608 Opening of the Urville stock exchange. 1622 Through his steward Gustave Dancieux (1579–1634), Richelieu sought to put an end to the predominance of Protestantism in the city of Urville. He sent in royalist troops who were repelled by the Protestant forces supported by the local populace. 1675 Urville had a population of 860,000 (estimated). 1685 The revocation of the Edict of Nantes signed by Louis XIV provoked the exile of half of the county’s 200,000 Huguenots to Protestant countries, and a fall in commercial activity. 1706 A coalition of troops (Empire and Savoy) attempted a siege of Urville, but were repelled by the troops of Louis XIV. 1727 Establishment of the Marine Exchange. 1746–1747 Siege of Urville by Austro-Sardinian troops during the Austrian War of Succession. Louis XV (1703–1774) liberated the city. 1747–1755 Construction of the sea walls around the Rade de Carsouce.

1780 Foundation of the abbey of Saint-Valier. 1789 As in Versailles and Vizilles, Estates General were convened in Urville at the request of the representatives of the third estate, the minor nobility and the lower clergy, to demand more consideration in the decisions of the county. These were held in the palais de l’Occitanie. These Estates General were followed by the taking of the state prison of Bellevallois by the people of Urville. During this same year the Commune of Urville was established. 1790 The county of Urville changed its name, becoming Provence Insulaire – and its administrative status, changing from a county to a département. 1793 Urville was attacked and occupied by a coalition of troops (England, Spain and Savoy). The allies gave power over the county (département) to the Sardinian military. 1794 Urville, mainly Girondist, rose up against the taking of power by the Montagnards. 1795 ‘Day of the Disinherited’: following the French financial crisis, the Urville stock exchange was occupied by the people. 1796 Urville was liberated from its Sardinian occupation by Napoléon Bonaparte. 1798 Napoléon Bonaparte arrived in Urville and went on to Paris for the coup d’état of 18 Brumaire, which established the Empire. 1801 The population of Urville reached 1,471,000 (all figures from now on are official ones). 1807 Opening of the palais des Citoyens, built to house the general council of the département and also the regional council for Provence Insulaire.

1812 France was hit by a drought. In Urville, the population rose up against the pressures of the tax régime imposed by Napoléon to finance his military campaigns in Europe. 1813 Urville was occupied by British troops under Wellington. 1814 Following the defeat of Bonaparte by England, France saw a new political régime: the restoration of the ancien régime of pre-1789. The brother of Louis XVI, Louis XVIII, took power. 1815 On return from his exile on the island of Elba, Napoléon visited Urville where he was acclaimed by the people who were exasperated by the policies of Louis XVIII. 1820 In Urville banquets were organized by publishing houses in reaction to the implementation of censorship of the press by Louis XVIII. The king went on to forbid the organizing of such events out of fear that they would spread throughout France. 1821–1822 In Urville the republican political movement La Flèche (The Arrow) organized attacks against royal interests. In 1821 the prefect Noblemeont was assassinated in front of the palais de la Généralité. This movement was broken up by the troops of Louis XVIII and its leaders condemned. 1824 The people of Urville, encouraged by the locally elected politicians, rose up in rebellion when Charles X succeeded Louis XVIII. 1825 Following the publication of the Four Ordinances of Charles X (1757–1836), various riots broke out in Urville. A deputy of Urville, Victor Droulches (1781–1825), was assassinated by royalist troops.

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1830 The people of Urville occupied the palais de la Généralité. This occupation was imitated by one in Paris, which saw the end of the régime of the Restoration and the start of a new régime called the July Monarchy, a liberal monarchy with Louis-Philippe (1773–1850) as king. 1847 A demonstration by Urville workers was suppressed by royalist troops during the events of the ‘Day of the Batons’. 1848 Numerous banquets were organized in Urville and throughout France. They led to the fall of the July Monarchy and the foundation of the Second Republic. This was initially led by General Cavaignac, the prime minister, then by Louis Napoléon (1808–1873), president of the republic. The population of Urville was 2,800,000. 1848–1872 The baron Oscar Laballière (1803–1883) was appointed by Louis Napoléon to undertake the modernization and expansion of Urville. 1851 Opening of the railway station Gare de la République, followed in 1852 by the Gare des Bellamines (Gare des Alpes) and in 1853 the Gare de St Luthier.

scene of some violent incidents in reaction to the abdication of the emperor. It became the Commune of Urville. It would resist for several months before being crushed by Adolphe Thiers. 1872 World fair at the Laballière palace. Urville’s metro became operational. Population 5,400,000. 1881 World fair in the Parc des Expositions in the Saint-Germain quarter. 1882 The Stock Market crash provoked by the Union Générale bank scandal led to the bankruptcy of numerous companies and social riots. 1889–1897 The Panama Canal affair led to numerous uprisings throughout the country. 1895 World fair at the Parc des Expositions in the Fontinelles district. 1901 The population of Urville reaches 6,404,000. 1904–1907 Workers call strikes in protest against the deterioration of their working conditions. 1916 Opening of the Urville-Méditerranée international airport.

1857 Opening of the Gare de Bretagne and the Gare de Saint-Calmuis (Gare de l’Italie).

1917 Strike by the dressmakers of l’Encrine, Montervain, Castelrouffiau, Scribe, Le Buis, Les Hottentots, Jansonnière and Mésopotamie: they were asking for a cost of living allowance of one franc per day and the English working week of five days. The movement received substantial support in Urville.

1858 World fair staged at the Montgelat palace.

1923 World fair on the Scarmattons site.

1870–1871 Defeat of France by Prussia, followed by the fall of Napoléon III (Louis Napoléon) and of the Second Empire. Adolphe Thiers (1797–1877) with his absolutist tendencies came to power. Urville was the

1924 The Urville stock exchange affected by high-risk speculations on the franc. These speculations resulted in the closure of numerous industrial enterprises, leading to an increase in unemployment.

1855 The City Hall functions were transferred from the place Posantin to the boulevard des Jonquilles. The tramway became operational.

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1929–1932 The New York crash affected the Urville stock exchange. American capital was pulled out of Urville, giving rise to bankruptcies and redundancies. 1931 The population of Urville reached 7,249,000. 1932 The military base of Urville-Boulernes was opened. 1935 A demonstration by left wing groups of France and Italy was held between the place de Montervain and the place de la Liberté, denouncing the Franco-Italian agreements signed in Rome by President Gaston Doumergue and Il Duce, Benito Mussolini (1883–1945). This demonstration was suppressed by force in the place Eylau, leaving 22 dead and 46 injured. A demonstration for peace was the scene of a bomb attack causing the death of 24 people (place de Turin). This was the precursor of a collective reaction against the extreme right. 1940 An attempted invasion by Mussolini’s Italian troops failed in the southern Alps. A demonstration involving more than 20,000 people came together to denounce the capitulation of France to Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany and the installation of the Vichy régime by Marshal Philippe Pétain (1856–1951). 1940–1944 The Vichy régime suppressed the General Council of Provence Insulaire and replaced it with a departmental council for which the members and the cabinet were appointed by the minister of the interior. The central power also appointed the mayor and the municipal councillors. 1941 Workers of the clothing and textiles factories marched on the place de Buis. Accused of communist sympathies by the Pétain government, 2118 of them were killed in the ‘Buis shootings’.

1942 Organization of the ‘Raids on the Universities’ centred on students of the Jewish faith. This was followed by the ‘Raids of Jansonnière and Mésopotamie’. In November, the German army reached Urville, entering by the port of Merlias. In December, German troops occupied the entrances to the metro in order to crush Radio Urville, the organ of resistance against the occupation. The German troops were decimated by the resistance movement. 1944 The nights of 11 and 12 April saw the beginning of Operation Alpha. This consisted of sabotaging the power stations of Urville and the region, with the objective of plunging the city into darkness to blind the German forces while organizing the sabotage of the Nazi air force and navy stationed at Urville. In June, 138 members of the resistance were shot in the City Hall on the order of German commander Hermann von Scheppel (1892–1944). 16 August Urville was liberated from Nazi occupation by Operation Dragoon. 1945 Gilbert Fescia (1909–1974) was elected mayor. Télévision Métropolitaine, the first television channel in France, was broadcast as far as Urville. 1946 The département of Provence Insulaire was divided into two: Ville d’Urville (96) and Azurville (98). The victims of World War II claimed damages with interest from the representatives of the régime of Marshal Pétain. 1947 The Municipal Council was formed, with 361 elected representatives. 1948 Three members of the Vichy régime, Philippe Carriou (1896–1969), responsible for the secret

services, Alain Niglaix (1888–1954), director of the forces for the Urville division, and Roland Lougart (1893–1949), marine division of Urville, were arrested in Rio de Janeiro and repatriated to France. The three men were sentenced to life imprisonment. 1951 Archives containing records of atrocities committed by representatives of the Vichy régime disappeared mysteriously from the Palais de Justice in Urville. 1953 Opening of the Mediterranean Bridge. Martin Tribondiesc was elected mayor of Urville. 1954 The police arrested 17 persons suspected of having participated in the theft of the archives from the Palais de Justice. 1955 The Tribunal of Urville ordered the functionaries of the Vichy régime to compensate the victims. They were sentenced to life imprisonment. 1957 The RER rail network was brought into operation. 1958 Some days after his victory in the referendum on the constitution of the Fifth Republic, General Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970) made a speech at the place de la République in front of 250,000 persons. The orbital motorway was opened. 1959 Attack on the Tout Pour Rien department store on the place de la Catalogne, with responsibility claimed by the OAS who disapproved of the state’s policies in Algeria. This attack left 19 dead and 58 injured. Martin Tribondiesc was re-elected mayor of Urville. The Municipal Council of Urville now had 457 elected representatives. 1960 Sabotage by the OAS of a metro line: 9 were killed and 37 injured. After declaring war on the terrorist

movement, the prefect of Urville, Pierre Tassadion (1914–1960), was assassinated. Ghislaine Dacronnis (born 1932) succeeded him. 1962 At the end of the Algerian war, many French Algerian citizens settled in Urville. In a referendum on universal suffrage proposed by de Gaulle, 76 per cent voted in favour in Urville, and 67 per cent in the département. 1965 Opening of the Urville-Escoudiesc airport. 1967 Feminism was on the increase following the first broadcast by RTVM of the programme Le Monde aux Femmes (The World of Women) presented by Catherine Gilardet (born 1939). Catholic groups put pressure on the government to denounce the programme as an incitement to legalizing abortion. 1968 The population of Urville reached 9,833,329. 1970 A train on the metro’s Line 1 Phéniciens-Rougeaux was derailed at Rousienas station, leaving 8 dead and 66 injured. The département of Azurville was reorganized into two administrative districts: Azurville Oriental (98E) and Azurville Occidental (98W). 1971 The Urville judge Évelyne Brunet revealed the money-laundering scandal by the Sicilian Mafia involving the Banque de l’Étoile. Jacques Glouet (born 1931) was elected mayor of Urville. The Municipal Council now consisted of 510 elected members. 1972 Évelyne Brunet (1935–1972) was assassinated at his home in Courteaux (ninth arrondissement). The inquest was carried out by the judge Martine Deshaumé.

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Creation of Télévision Républicaine des Sept Journées (TRSJ), known as Télé 7, in 1975.

1982 Numerous killings in Urville as a result of attacks connected with the crisis in the Near East.

1972–1973 Judge Deshaumé, with the cooperation of the Italian and American secret services, dismantled the Il Squalo organization in Sicily, New York and Urville and the Banque de l’Étoile.

Urville hosted its first music festival which attracted almost a million people.

1975 Division of the Midi-Méditerranée region into three entities: Provence Insulaire (Urville, Azurville-Oriental and Azurville-Occidentale), Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Hautes-Alpes, Bouches-du-Rhône, Var and Vaucluse) and Corsica (Corse-du-Sud and Haute-Corse). The three capitals were, respectively, Urville, Marseille and Ajaccio. Opening of the highest building in the world, the Year 2000 Tower, 520 metres and 132 storeys high. The population of Urville was now 10,519,866. 1976 Demonstration by farmers outside the headquarters of food production and processing companies. 1978 A general power cut by EDF, the French national electricity generating company, paralysed the whole of France. Creation of an air purity index for the Urville conurbation, ProprUrvillAir. 1979 Demonstration by two hundred thousand people outside the palais Grelinot (Urville stock exchange) expressing concern about the economic crisis. 1981 TUU transport agency undertakes work to improve access for the disabled to buses, metro and mainline trains, and stations.

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The population of Urville was now 11,583,495. 1983 Michel Bourgadier (born 1943) was elected mayor of Urville. The Municipal Council of Urville now consisted of 572 elected members, with 1355 district councillors having seats in Urville. 1984 Demonstration in Urville supporting private education, between the place de la République and the place des Sainteraux. 1985 Accident involving train leaving the Gare des Alpes. The Urville-Thionville train was derailed with 17 dead and 69 injured.

1989 Michel Bougadier was re-elected mayor of Urville. Urville held a world fair in the Martin Pêcheur exhibition park. 1990 General underground and tram strike throughout Urville on 22 March. 1991 Algerian nationals staged a demonstration between the place de la République and the palais de la Généralité, demanding recognition of their French nationality. The victims of the contaminated blood affair demonstrated outside the palais de la Généralité. 1992 Carole Beauvoisis was elected president of the Regional Council of Provence Insulaire. 1993 Closure of illicit textile workshops, with almost 300 people questioned.

The first cinema festival attracts more than 500,000 spectators.

1993–1997 Numerous sites in Urville were occupied by immigrants ‘without papers’.

1986 Claude Mongeat was elected president of the Regional Council of Provence Insulaire.

1995 Christine Gouberte (born 1951) was elected mayor. The Regional Council financed a development project for regional languages.

1986–1987 The prime minister Jacques Chirac (born 1932) sought to privatize the television company RTVM, but the government abandoned the idea under pressure from the company’s employees. 1987 A strike was called by the staff of the TUU transport agency following the announcement of the privatization of Transports Urbains Urvillois. 1988 A concert was organized by Amnesty International in the parc Saint-Michel, to denounce, among other things, the complicity of Western states in the acts of authoritarian régimes. It attracted more than 10,000 people.

Fire at the Gare de Bretagne station. Urville was paralysed by a huge strike of employees and students with the overwhelming support of public opinion. The movement arose from the implementation of a social security reform introduced by the prime minister, Alain Juppé. 1997 The Urville stock exchange was hit by the consequences of the Asiatic economic crisis. 1998 A fire at the Bialloux Boissons SA factory left 2 dead and 31 injured.

A large protest march was held between the place de la République and the palais des Citoyens following the victory of certain candidates elected by votes from the far right. A major anti-WTO rally between the place Victor Droulches and the palais Grelinot (Urville stock exchange) attracted more than 10,000 marchers. 1999 At the same time as the anti-WTO demonstrations in Seattle protesting against the excesses of liberalism, 150,000 also gathered to demonstrate outside the palais Grelinot (Urville stock exchange). The population of Urville was now 11,820,257.

2001 The Urville stock exchange moved from the palais Grelinot to the Nouvelle Bourse, in the Futurville 2000 quarter. The Year 2000 Tower and other buildings higher than 300m were evacuated on hearing of the terrorist attacks in the United States (New York and Washington), and the collapse of the twin towers of the New York World Trade Center, 415 metres high. The Urville-Boulernes airport was opened. 2002 Economic measures by the government, aimed at reducing social security payments, triggered a major demonstration of 500,000 people, from the place Montervain to the place de la République.

2003 Outbreak of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). Two people returning from Asia died in the Caravelles hospital. Demonstration against the intervention in Iraq by President George Walker Bush (born 1946) and allied countries (including the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Poland, the Netherlands, Japan) with a million taking part. Almost two million people publicly expressed opposition to the Raffarin government reforms.

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T

his is the historical quarter of Urville. The site of Old Urville dates back to the twelfth century BC. It was founded by the Phoenicians who called it ‘Qart-Sous-Yam’ (Sea Horse City), which became Carsouce in French. In the first century BC, the Roman emperor Augustus rebaptized the city ‘Urbis’ (city), or Urville in French. From the sixth to the tenth century, Urville was besieged and devastated on several occasions by barbarians: Franks in the seventh century, Saracens, Vikings and Normans in the tenth century. The Du Poucillet quarter originated in the seventh century, to the west of the rade de la Carsouce. In the Middle Ages it became the fishermen’s quarter. The city was renovated in the eleventh century by Count Jean V. The current urban plan dates from the twelfth century AD and it was not substantially modified until the seventeenth century.

Palais des Bénéfices – Museum of History and Literature (2nd arr.). The work of the architect Pesson (1021–1067), this building was constructed in 1059 to house the chancery of the county of Urville and Provence, which it did until 1480. This institution ensured that documents passed in the county were in conformity with the canons of the Roman Catholic Church.

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CHAPTER 1

Old town and the rade de Carsouce – the historic quarter of Urville 25

Hall of the Huguenots (1st arr.). The hall is found to the north of the place des Négociants. It was constructed in 1722 by the architect Louis Tissargon (1690–1742). The largest food market in the city is held here on Tuesday and Saturday mornings. This was the inspiration of film director Frédéric Bouraine (born 1948) for his 1983 production Le Grand Marché.

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Pont des Investitures (Investiture Bridge) (2nd arr.). The bridge was built on the occasion of the investiture of the count of Urville in 1138 by Leondebert (1105–1152). It formed the link between the palais des Comtes and the palais des Écussons which housed the Conseil des Chevaliers. An essential crossing point, the bridge was the scene of numerous demonstrations, in particular at the time of the breach of the Trades and Professions Agreements. These exempted craftsmen from having to pay dues to the Church. Obtained after a long strike in 1178, these agreements were denounced by the Chancery. The revocation of the Trades and Professions Agreements there-

fore brought about a tax payable to the benefice of Rome. The craftsmen were supported in their dispute by the Vilurgoths. Part of the Faculté des Phéniciens, the Vilurgoths formed an intellectual movement, the objective of which was to defend the values of original Christianity and to renounce the Apostolic and Roman Catholic Church. The doctrine of the Vilurgoths stated that ‘God protects all individuals without exception, and does not interfere at a deeper level than the being. Everyone is free to act under their own initiative, provided that this does not restrict the liberty of others.’ The Church believed that this concept was to be firmly condemned as heresy. The Council of

the Benefices of 1233 sought to suppress this movement. It was inspired by the Council of Toulouse of 1229, the event which gave rise to the Inquisition against the Cathar heretics. Count Jean VII (1192–1250) was on the side of the insurgents. The intervention of the king, Saint Louis (1214–1270), under the regency of Blanche de Castille (1188–1252), restored the county to the control of the Church in 1237. The count was deposed and imprisoned, and the order of the Church was restored to the county.

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Canal du Focusaque (2nd arr.). In 1020, Jouertin (972–1029) was appointed to dig the canal linking the Hippocampes river with the Canal des Phéniciens (Canal of the Phoenicians) and the rade de la Carsouce (in the foreground is the pont de Provence, constructed in 1082 by Thévenbert (1046–1098)). Nearby is the Matrice Theatre (built in 1279 by architect Goeffertin (1251–1297)) in which the following have been staged: Saint Balbuisse in 1279, by Glafigré (1257–1314); Le Comte et sa Cour in 1316, by Fligouffert (1288–1345); Le Missionnaire in 1357, by Scartin (1310–1368); Les Aventures de Léon le gaillard in 1403, by Étugron (1372–1428); Le Recueil in 1459, by Virquin (1417–1469); Les Chapitres in 1483, by Graix (1439–1488); La Diète in 1520, by Claude Marmorin (1491–1551); La Revolte des paysans in 1537, by René Tarrain (1501–1569); Les Origines de la Bible in 1564, by François Hautemont (1509–1580); Sur la Route de Rome in 1592, by Guillaume Decrosne (1564–1612); Le Prince in 1614, by Hector Quedevilliers (1582–1626); Le Bal royal in 1672, by Pierre Marraud (1645–1687); La Quête du large in 1695, by Noèl Pontabre (1650–1720); L’Aventure des corsaires in 1718, by Didier Duvillard (1688–1747); Voyage à Pondichéry in 1744, by Raymond Narcillet (1709–1761); L’Atlantique et ses caprices in 1763, by Archibald Davoliesc (1705–1772); Vive la révolution in 1791, by Baptiste Laurent (1740–1803); Au trot ou au galop in 1804, by Guillaume Mondorcet (1767–1835); Lettre à mon correspondant in 1832, by Philippe Dassorbin (1799–1872); La folle histoire de Monsieur Taillens in 1856, by Guillaume Nadron (1822–1894); Ah, cette Amérique! in 1877, by Alfred Harnant (1843–1907); Sur les bords de la rivière in 1898, by Huguette Moulat (1871–1953); La Page est tournée in 1915, by Georges Lebreton (1887–1917); La Foire et ses périples in 1934, by Pauline Hectorlet (1908–1942); Un Dauphinois à Urville in 1939, by David Sanguérain (1902–1944); Dîner à Valmures in 1944, by Ludivine Raix (1915–1977); Le Piémontais de la place du Buis in 1959, by Luigi Davorcelli (born 1911); Retour à la campagne in 1972, by Laurent Saint-Samuel (1930–1999); Coup de foudre à Blanche Menthe in 1983, by Catherine Tort (born 1953); and Le flûtiste in 1997, by Charlotte Vicomte (born 1960). The names of many of the actors have also been recorded: Eugène Mattioli (1922–2003), Laurent Rovain (born 1953), Joséphine Pergaux (born 1929), Hassan Drizlaouen (born 1955), Henriette Gervit (born 1930), Sarah Lévy (born 1959), Armand Collomb (born 1937), Hubert Jougeon (born 1961), Andre Dudront (born 1939), Stéphanie Tian Lee (born 1962), Michelle Villène (born 1940), Roger Fourreau (born 1964), René Moreau (born 1943), Amélie Tantiot (born 1965), Pierre Braunsweiss (born 1944), Dino Lupietta (born 1969), Irving Dougfeiran (born 1951), Nicolas Vabran (born 1970), Eunice Diabousseye (born 1952) and Géraldine Moncal (born 1972).

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Place des Négociants (1st arr.). This square, the work of architect Couforbin (1252–1303), was completed in 1281, when the county of Urville was under Angevin rule. In the Middle Ages it was the meeting place for merchants and traders of the county and from abroad. In 1562 42 Protestants were massacred on the square by troops of the Catholic League, commanded by Duke Charles de Burgondes (1509–1564), in the name of the regent of France, Catherine de Medici (1519–1589). The Massacre of the Merchants took place on

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the same day as the Wassy massacre in Haute-Marne. These two events marked the start of the Wars of Religion which would last until 1598. On the left can be seen the palais des Âmes-Voyageuses, completed in 1530 by architect Jacques Vanquelot (1497–1539). This was the home of the Company of Jesus from 1538–1764. From 1801 it has housed the Catholic Institute of Urville. At the far end of the square is the former Chamber of Accounts, the work of architect Vourranin (1203–1260). This

building of 1246 was occupied by the Chamber of Accounts of the House of Anjou. It now houses the tax office of Urville. From left to right we see the rue de la Confection, rue des Comptes, rue de Vourranin, avenue Bessans, avenue des Aumôniers, and rue des Charpentes. This square inspired the song Le Serviteur des Négociants, recorded in 1923 by the singer Justine Flèches (1898–1964).

Cathedral of Saint Balbuisse (1st arr.), detail on left. The cathedral bears the name of a monk of the diocese of Urville, Balbuisse (367–420), founder in 402 of the eponymous abbey. Saint Balbuisse spread and shaped Christianity in the region. The first stones were laid by Urville architect Posantin (561–613) in 584 but the cathedral was not completed until 717. Beset by various raids, it was modified in 993 and 1121. The architect Teguras (961–1015) added two huge 85 metre towers to the original building. The cathedral is situated near the former site of the abbey of Saint Balbuisse (place Posantin). The building inspired numerous literary works such as Au Coeur de la Nef in 1610, by the writer Hector Quedevilliers (1582–1626),

and Saint Balbuisse et la conscience perdue (1849) by the writer Éric Foumentin (1806–1876). It also inspired the films La Cathédrale in 1929 by the director Joseph Mangarszic (1888–1962) and Monseigneur de Saint Malverand in 1972 by the director Robert Fayon (1934–2003). It is also depicted in numerous paintings such as La Grande Divine by the artist Lamorgnon (1369–1411) of 1406 or La Cathérale éternelle by the painter Jean-Baptiste Lepalais (1716–1780) of 1751. To the left of the cathedral is the open expanse of the cathedral gardens, the work of landscape gardener Goulon (1150–1223), completed in 1188.

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1

2 Palais Picortin and palais Mandraille (2nd arr.). The Picortin palace (1434) by the architect Blaillornin (1402–1468) was commissioned by the nobleman Picortin (1398–1452). This name evolved to become Picoretin in the sixteenth century and Pichirtine in the seventeenth century. His descendants occupied the building until the French Revolution in 1789. After being abandoned for ten years it became the centre for the archives of Urville by order of the first consul of France, Napoléon Bonaparte (1769–1821). On the left is the Mandraille palace (1382) by Flerrouas (1348–1405), built by the wealthy armourer Mandraille (1352–1415). The establishment was nationalized in 1625 by a decision of the king, Louis XIII (1601–1643), and became the Mandraille Artillery factory until 1799. The artilleries of Urville ceased their activities in 1922. The factory now houses the museum of the artillery. From left to right are the avenue Jean V, the rue de l’Artillerie and the rue des Archives.

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1 – Place Busaix. The place Busaix of 1132, the work of the architect Boson Touillesc (1103–1143). This square is the site of the Deux-Provences obelisk by Fallabin (1095–1141). 2 – Place du Poucillet (1st arr.). Designed in 1147 by Golferbin (1105–1154), the square and Notre Dame du Poucillet church were completed in 1427 by Balforgin (1388–1452). Since the twelfth century a fish market has been held on the square every morning from Tuesday to Sunday.

Place des Armoiries. 1207 – Architect: Hierardin (1172–1235). It owes its name to the count of Urville, Jean V (1117–1186), who here decided the coat of arms (armoiries) of the county during a speech to members of parliament in 1168. In the centre of the square the Angevin Obelisks were erected in 1260, the work of sculptor Tasseron (1231–1294), to mark the arrival of the new Angevin administration which seized Urville in 1246. Since 1954 the annual Medieval Fair of Urville has been held here in August. The film director Geneviève Belloc (1933) evokes a sense of time and place in La Biographie de Jean V in 1966. The square also inspired the traditional song Gloire des Armoiries in 1188 by the singer Pièle (1160–1217), which was firmly associated with the county of Urville. Place des Dauphins (1st arr.). In 739, the monk Tégartin and the knight Tougrebon (712–757), together with the knight’s companion Dillerade (709–762), incited the people of Urville to resist the invasion of the county by the pépinide Franks led by Charles Martel (688–741). Tougrebon incited the count of Urville, Régis de Padalébron (701–751), to call on the Saracens to repel the Franks. But after ten months of resistance Urville was forced to capitulate. In 1172 the architect Chimerzin (1140–1197) built the place des Dauphins, adorned by a statue of Tougrebon made in 1174 by the sculptor Valorbin (1116–1185), commissioned by the count of Urville, Jean V (1117–1186), in honour of the knight. From left to right, the rue Pièle, rue de Cluny and rue de la Boulangerie, and the church of Notre-Dame des Templiers (719), designed by Fabre-Pourtin (681–733).

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1

2 Grand-Coquelicot Theatre (2nd arr.). In the foreground is the Camarguais Column (Grangibert, 1133–1194), erected in 1279 in tribute to soldiers from the Camargue region who came to serve in the court of the count of Urville, Jean V (1117–1186). It is the work of the sculptor Tasseron (1231–1294). Souvenir du Carsamet, a work by the painter Jérôme Dublanc (1711–1771), sensitively conveys the atmosphere of the square. The Grand-Coquelicot Theatre, completed in 1539 under the direction of François Abelgrigeon (1503–1569), is one of Urville’s most prestigious theatres. The repertoire includes: Les Aventures du Cavalier by Alexandre Pontiesc (1479–1547) in 1539; La Duperie by Simon Dacerriou (1548–1609) in 1594; Périples burlesques by Étienne Miret (1611–1659) in 1652; La Promesse tenue by François Tissaux (1623–1667) in 1660; La Grande Tragédie by Victor Padremont (1661–1719) in 1699; Il y a du monde au balcon by Henri

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Pascaron (1695–1739) in 1723; Pourquoi s’investir by Jean Lafférée (1725–1783) in 1757; Les Femmes d’Urville by Gustave Podiniesc (1753–1811) in 1771; Garde-à-vous, fixe! by Victor Fourrienneaux (1749–1809) in 1805; Le Jeûne par défaut by Alexandre Salinesc (1761–1816) in 1813; Où sont passés les valets? by Joseph Titermin (1803–1870) in 1846; Grand Bonheur by Félix Machemont (1805–1857) in 1849; L’Oisif by Mireille Renardin (1831–1896) in 1876; Dans les Choux by David Sanguérain (1902–1944) in 1924; La Voiture capricieuse by Philippe Alpin (born 1905) in 1937; L’amant du Tonchais by Grégor Sarros (born 1912) in 1938; Revoir la Carsouce! by Pierre la Rose (1900–1971) in 1954; Le Diable compte les pions by Élie Forsmann (1916–1997) in 1967; Poisson d’avril! by Francis Pataron (1924–1989) in 1972; Le Bonjour de chez nous by Françoise Bamain (born 1940) in 1979; La Collation by Luc Tonduesc (born 1948) in 1983; and Le Cybermane by Jean-François Jérouville (born 1948) in 1997.

Left-hand page. 1 and 2 – Palais des Salusses (2nd arr.). The work of Borguerbin (1279–1334), built in 1324 on the instructions of the important banking dynasty, the Salusses, who, together with the Camporgiens, controlled Urville’s maritime trade. The building is now home to an art gallery. Behind the palais des Salusses can be seen the Éclair hospital of 1311 (by Forbillesc, 1283–1336), on the side of the Salusses quay, laid out by the architect Le Figre (1061–1130) in 1098.

Faculté des Phéniciens (Faculty of the Phoenicians) (1st arr.). One of the foremost European universities, its foundation dates back to 1133. Conceived by the Urville architect Lagorbin (1098–1146), the building was extended at the end of the fifteenth century, and again at the start of the seventeenth. This intellectual centre gave rise to numerous anti-establishment movements, including, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the anti-clerical Vilurgoth movement. In the fifteenth century the university was one of the main centres of humanism in the West. Despite this open-mindedness, the Protestants only found refuge in the collège de la Méditerranée during the troubles of the sixteenth century. The university actively participated in the revolutions of 1789 and 1848 and in the Commune of Urville. In 1942 the Raids of the Universities against the Jews reached the faculty. Six hundred Jewish students were deported under the orders of Marshal Philippe Pétain (1856–1951). This university, among the most prestigious of France, has at present more than 20,000 students. In the background is the tour des Malices, built in 1729 by the architect Frédéric Crombert (1677–1737).

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Place du Levant (2nd arr.). The square dates from 1535. Designed by architect François Darmasset (1500–1552), its west side has been occupied since 1664 by the Levant textiles factory, which is still in operation to this day. In the centre of the square is the Roman fountain by the sculptor Velbertin (1109–1153). A horticultural market is held here every morning from Tuesday to Saturday, with almost three hundred stallholders from throughout the region. From left to right are the rue de la Cantique, rue du Lavoir and rue du Port. Right-hand page. 1 – Palais des Comtes. The county of Urville and the county of Provence came together to form the Deux-Provences region under the Treaty of Urville of 1142, which was signed in the palais des Comtes. It defined the division of powers between the two parliaments and the archbishoprics of Urville and Aix-en-Provence. Built in 1140, probably by the architect Belforgas (1088–1147) to house the court of the Count of Urville under the dynasty of the House of Arles, the palais des Comtes is known for its troubadours, including Sangoffré (1117–1161), Casrubin (1153–1198) and Sillaras (1142–1194). Today the building is home to the Museum of Medieval History. In 1141 the

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fountain of Arles was erected by the sculptor Velbertin (1109–1153). On the left is the Palais de Justice of Urville, built in 1136 by Golferbin (1105–1154). 2 – Place des Chevaliers (1st and 2nd arr.). The square was designed in 1790 by Jean-Baptiste Mouteron (1753–1807) on the former square designed by the architect Belforgas (1088–1147) in 1120. In 1795 it was here and at the square de Sardaigne that the people rose up against the occupation of Urville by the coalition forces of the English, the Sardinians and the counter-revolutionary Austrians. The consequences were catastrophic, with more than 230 people killed. The day following the defeat in 1870, the constitution of the Second Empire was abolished to allow the restoration of the monarchy. The republicans founded the Commune in 1871 and resisted the régime of Adolphe Thiers (1797–1877). These events are recalled in the song Chevaliers en bataille by Émile Grandesc (1849–1922) in 1894. The place des Chevaliers forms the northern entrance to the old town. Erected in 1804, the Consécration column (a work by the sculptor Georges Gabrielli, 1783–1862) commemorates the proclamation of the constitution of the French Empire. From left to right, the avenue des Galions, avenue Jean V, rue de l’Étain and the rue des Fèves.

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3 – Place de l’ancien Hôtel de ville (1st arr.). The residence of the chief magistrate of Urville was designed by the architect Corbeillas (1011–1058) in 1035. In 1668 a reform of the city’s constitution designated the king as having exclusive authority to appoint the city’s chief magistrate. The bodies responsible for governing the city and its people gathered outside the city hall to protest against this decision. Troops loyal to the king fired on them with cannons and killed 135 people. This was the ‘City Hall Tragedy’. In 1855, the city council moved out of the building as it had become too small for them. It is now the office of the mayor of the 1st arr.. Historians and archaeologists think that the remains of the ancient Phoenician city of Carsouce, from the twelfth century BC, lie beneath this square. The foundation of the Phoenician city has been commemorated since 1952 by an annual festival held here every November. On the right, the Archbishops’ Palace (1148) by the architect Douillaux (1114–1163). On the right of the former Hôtel de ville can be seen the Margueritist Convent, built in 1010 by Figrebert (977–1023). At the centre of the square stands the Fertility obelisk, erected in 326 BC by the architect Kierononis (353–312 BC).

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2

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Place de la Carsouce (1st and 2nd arr.). The square was laid out in 1403 under the supervision of the Master Pegovias (1375–1427), and was occupied in 1622 by merchants worried about the position taken by Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642), who sought to reduce the financial and tax advantages granted by the Edict of Nantes (1562–1598), which were to the benefit of the Protestants. The Serpents fountain is by the sculptor Velminau (1409–1483). The square is bordered by the avenue des Galions and the quai des Étrusques (laid out in 1512 by Paul Gebertin, 1472–1538). In the foreground is the Marine Exchange (1727) by Victor Leroy (1701–1772). This is where the prices of fish were determined until the establishment of the MIPC (Marché international des poissons et crustacés (international fish and crustacean market)), which opened in 1963. Since then the building has become a museum dedicated to the history of fishing. In 1764, fishermen and fish merchants, supported by the spice merchants, rose up against the royal powers and the activity of the Marine Exchange was suspended. The insurgents accused the king of having allowed Canada and India to fall under British rule. Three merchants and eleven fishermen died during the charge by the authorities. This was the ‘Day of the Disillusioned Fishermen’. In the middle ground is the tour de la Carsouce, erected in 1732 by the architect Thomas Cavillard (1701–1759) to house a military garrison, and the Eastern Sea Wall (1727) by the architect Frédéric Crombert (1677–1737).

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4 1 – Theâtre Saint-Juste (1st arr.). 2 – Cardinal Belcordiou university hospital (2nd arr.). 3 – Palais de l’occitanie (1st arr.). The building, designed by the architect Bourlembas (1124–1189), was completed in 1175. It housed the parliament of Urville, responsible for the

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legal decisions of the county, until 1799. In 1662 the king of France, Louis XIV (1638–1715), reduced the Urville parliament to a subsidiary role. The ‘Revolt of the Parliamentarians’ cast a lasting slur on relations between the people of Urville and the Sun King. The primary role of the parliament was re-established on his death in 1715. Since 1799 the building has housed the Court of Appeal. In the foreground is the place Busaix.

4 – Palais de la Maison d’Anjou (1st arr.). This building was constructed in 1264 by the architect Plougaffré (1222–1267) for the Anjou dynasty which governed a large part of the west. It housed the Urville county representative of the Angevin administration, then of the French administration from 1480 to 1618. Since 1801 the building has housed the administrative institute for training politicians and diplomats.

Rade de Carsouce (2nd arr.).

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Place Jules de Cardonsour (2nd arr.). This made its mark on the design of the city in 1164 under the direction of the architect Grandgibert (1133–1194). Since the thirteenth century it has been the scene of the lively traditional Festival of the Orient, and since 1863 the square has been a meeting place every July for lovers of Baroque music. In the distance can be seen the church of Sainte-Mission, completed in 1435 by the architect Ligraillans (1388–1439). This is where the Council of the Bishops of Sainte-Mission was held from 1452 until it was abolished in 1661. In 1566 the troops of the Catholic League under the command of Étienne de Burgondes (1512–1569) were annihilated by the Protestants in reprisals for the Saint-Victor massacre (1564), when numerous Protestants were killed at the time of the Second Synod of Urville. At the centre of the square are the Baroque fountain and obelisk, carved in 1633 by the sculptor Pierre Rousteli (1595–1657).

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Place Merthe-Blandine (2nd arr.). The place Merthe-Blandine of 1171 is the work of the architect Grandgibert (1133–1194). In the distance is the church of Sainte-Augustine (1204), designed by Courtenders (1162–1220). From left to right are rue du Patrimoine, rue de Lotharingie, rue Gralbert, rue de la Croix, rue d’Aix, rue de la Pourpre, rue de la Seigneurie and rue Doucarciau. A flea market is held every Saturday and Sunday in the centre of the square, and since 1847 there has been a spice market every morning from Tuesday to Sunday.

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Place Pancarpin (2nd arr.). Opened in 1184 by the architect Chimerzin (1140–1197), the square is ranged around the Batissel hall (1681) by the architect Edgar Batissel (1641–1699). It is here that the popular trades and professions fair originated, intended to mobilize the people behind Count Jean VII (1192–1250) and the Vilurgoth heretics.

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Place des Capucins and Notre-Dame-des-Capucins (2nd arr.). The place des Capucins, dating from 1264, is the work of the architect Gilbous (1212–1268). It is a spacious square, the scene of daily cultural events. In 1316, the people of Urville, oppressed by the Angevin dynasty, demanded a relaxation of the oppressive tax régime. The ensuing demonstrations were harshly repressed. From left to right, the rue de Comtat Venaissin, rue des Mures, rue des Capucins, rue de l’Épée, rue du Sel, rue d’Arles, rue des Offrandes and rue Frédéric-Barberousse. The Martine fountain (1312), by Paul Jiguet (1273–1330), occupies the centre. The church of Notre-Dame-des-Capucins, one of the most beautiful in the city, was built in 1404 by the architect Doumerguin (1362–1415).

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F

rom the sixteenth century Urville extended to a radius of three kilometres beyond the limits of the old town. To the north, the districts of Constitution, Sainteraux, Tourbeaux and Bourse formed the economic heart of the city until the stock exchange was moved in 2000 to the Futuropolis district. The Hippocampes (Sea Horse) Park was laid out to the west of Carsouce in the seventeenth century. Beyond it, the districts of Les Griverons and Les Chardonniers grew up during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. To the east, on the right bank of the Écrantes estuary, are the districts of Piqueraix and Limiet. They were originally the centre of the textile, iron and shoemaking industries. Now they contain mainly commercial and service industries and residential areas.

Place Castelforin (4th arr.). Built in 1831 by town planner Benjamin Dourtin (1817–1884). The Palais fountain was erected in 1868 by sculptor Jérôme Eussartigues (1820–1889), opposite the palais Nussereaux (1845) by Étienne Lourdaïeu (1791–1854). This building belonged to the wealthy banker Louis Nussereaux (1794–1866), descendant of a dynasty of Urville bankers. The Nussereaux bank was founded in the eighteenth century, but went bankrupt in 1882 as a result of the Urville stock exchange crash. Since 1884 the building has housed the banking and financial trades and professions institute. Around the square are the rue des Étreintes, rue de Terre-Neuve, rue de Yanaon, rue du Ban, rue de Tours, rue de Nussereaux, rue de Castelforin and rue de l’Èbre.

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CHAPTER 2

The expansion of Urville 47

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1 1 and 2 – The Urville conservatoire and the Opéra de la Fidélité (3rd arr.). These two buildings stand to the north of the Hippocampes park. The conservatoire de Musique et de Danse, designed by architect Charles Luckermann (1819–1883), was completed in 1857. It saw the flourishing of virtuosi such as Albert Sondruc (1827–1899), Louis Minvoresc (1843–1907), Denis Chertoux (1891–1961), Benjamin Hichmadod (1907–1994) and Alfred

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4 Nièvelon (1903–1980). Great dancers also appeared here, including Jules Cortenesc (1832–1904), Michel Pilat (1848–1922), Odette Tainvilliers (1862–1942), Nicolai Kergueinski (1894–1972) and Jean Lemarnin (1915–1982). The Opéra de la Fidélité was opened in 1861. The work of the architect Robert Pigneron (1822–1889), it welcomed numerous composers, such as Frédéric Ginerais (1809–1870), Louis Minvoresc (1843–1907), Maurice Ravel (1875–1937), Édith Quéteau (1902–1967), Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971), Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990), Philippe Corres (born 1934) and Martine Glesdon (born 1953). It remains one of the most renowned opera houses in the world. The fire in 1950 (due to a short circuit) did not claim any lives, but the interior of the building was damaged.

Left-hand page. 3 and 4 – Palais des Pèlerins (4th arr.). Dating from 1811 and the work of architect Pierre-Louis Étendard (1750–1812), the palace now houses Urville’s school of arts and crafts.

Place Saint-Victor (1st and 3rd arr.). Designed by the architect Ernest Roudion (1514–1586) in 1560. The Peacock statue (1625, Pierre Roustelli, 1595–1657) stands at the centre. Les mystères de la place Saint-Victor, written in 1834 by Robert Mourour (1805–1890), recalls the events of 1630, when the Protestants demonstrated against the Peace of Alais of 1629, which reduced the benefits gained as a result of the Edict of Nantes concerning personal freedom of worship. In 1942, German troops occupied the square before shooting 34 members of the resistance.

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The Caisse international maritime (the building of the International Maritime Benevolent Fund) (3rd arr.). The architect Albert Urchaud (1760–1820) designed it in a style typical of the early nineteenth century (the building dates from 1804). A fire ravaged the building in 1910, and only the outside walls are original following its reconstruction in 1917. The Caisse international maritime is responsible for providing financial assistance to sailors who are injured or suffer losses on the world’s oceans. From left to right, the rue de la Cire, rue de la Caisse and the avenue des Comètes.

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The academy of natural sciences (4th arr.). 1636 – Architect: Pierre Tardenc (1592–1657).

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The academy of law and jurisdiction (4th arr.). Architect: Henri Manchoux (1602–1666). This institution was founded in 1632. However, under the reign of the king of France, Louis XIV, between 1661 and 1715 the academy saw its role reduced to a merely consultative one. The royal court feared that an opposition force could arise here. Numerous renowned law professors, judges and magistrates were educated at the academy: François Manckervats (1613–1682), Victor Montervaux (1596–1659), Philippe Courteret (1758–1829), Paul-Louis Bousset (1778–1839), Paul Ferrouis (1674–1741), Henri Mondorsin (1685–1759), Félix Grandevot (1784–1856), Robert Gouffillesc (1805–1872), Pierre Monteillesc (1705–1788), Guillaume Fignesc (1703–1764), Pierre Lavolliesc (1809–1892), Antoine Loing (1837–1899), Auguste Villon (1756–1819), Louis Barbu (1749–1825), Adolphe Constantini (1833–1910), Pierre Séragues (1859–1933), Philippe Gisquin (1822–1894), Louis Forembert (1758–1827), Georges Philippini (1852–1923), Victor Couldare (1880–1966), Maurice Vouard (1887–1961), Pierre Miniaux (1772–1839), Louis Miroux (1871–1952), Simone Graillet (1903–1990), Catherine Dolminato (born 1932), Georges Durosiesc (1810–1883), Joséphine Drougnoz (1894–1974), Pauline Miguel (born 1925), Danièle Pignet (born 1949), Christine Cherros (1848–1917), Léon Fadiguier (1907–1983), Georges Fousson (born 1934), Anne Mongin (1879–1956), Robert Gérardin (born 1927), Claudine Dillet (born 1951), Gaston Ferras (1898–1942), Geneviève Gapassin (born 1938), François Pierson (1921–2001), Philippe Saix (born 1946), Joël Poucherin (born 1934), Françoise Naîche (born 1953) and Isabelle Bosquet (born 1943).

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Square de Sardaigne (2nd arr.). Architect: Étienne Arbassaux (1544–1599). In 1594, on the way to a violent assault on Protestants who had gathered on the parc du Tonchais, 35 soldiers of the Catholic League were arrested by the king’s troops and imprisoned in the state prison of Bellevallois. The square is the site of the statue of Léopold Plandarsin, dating from 1852 (sculptor: Auguste Roselet, 1813–1867). To the left of the square is the Limiet hospital, built in 1955 by the architect Catherine Jacquemin (born 1918). Nearby are the avenue de Sardaigne, avenue de Corse and rue des Étreintes.

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3 1 – Palais Grelinot – Urville stock exchange (3rd arr.). Housed in a palace dating from 1608, the stock exchange was established under the initiative of the king of France, Henri IV (1553–1610), who sought to assess the value of trade between France and its colonies (Canada, the Antilles and trading posts in India). Powerful local banking families who profited from trade with the colonies and the Orient thus financed royal expeditions. Today the Urville stock exchange is the main French financial centre and the second European centre after London. In 1992 Urville saw the flotation of 1330 French com-

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panies and 611 foreign companies, with the total transactions numbering more than two billion. The palais Grelinot employed almost 22,000 people by the time the building was judged to be too small and antiquated. The stock exchange activity was transferred to the new Octogone building, completed in June 2001 by the architect Patricia Viorin (born 1949). The Grelinot palace, now vacated, has become the world museum of the history of the stock exchange.

Opposite the palace is the place de la Bourse (1602), designed by the architect Georges Bonlouis (1557–1613). From left to right, the rue de la Bourse and rue Étienne Grelinot. 2 and 3 – Palais des expositions des Griverons (3rd arr.). 1972 – Architect: Thierry Ravin (born 1940). The palais, the Athéna Towers (1965, by architect Frédéric Leroutier, 1916–1989) and the Sirocco Tower (1970, by architect Catherine Jacquemin, born 1918) are part of a renovation

project following the demolition in 1954 of the former Griverons remand centre (1911). The Griverons exhibition park project was launched in 1956 by the mayor of the 4th arr., Mireille Magnassin (born 1921), and the mayor of Urville, Martin Tribondiesc (1922–1994).

Hôtel de la Constitution (4th arr.). 1807 – Architect: Albert Urchaud (1760–1820). The hôtel de la Constitution houses the Chamber of Accounts, charged with managing the finances of the regional Council of Provence Insulaire, with its offices in the neighbouring Citizens’ palace. It is the duty of the members of the Chamber of Accounts to prevent any irregularities by the council when dealing with its budget.

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Place Félix-Grandevot (4th arr.). Since 1724 this has been the site of an annual traditional printers’ fair every October. In 1743, workers from the Piqueraix factory went on strike and marched to this square to protest against their poor working conditions. Since 1803 the festival of the dyers has also been held here, every December. The fountain of Olympus (1690, by the sculptor Joseph Flandrey (1651–1718)) is the main feature of this early seventeenth-century square. Towards the back of the picture is the church of Notre-Dame du Piqueraix, from 1660, by the architect Dominique Jédouin (1629–1671).

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Square de l’Enclume (Anvil Square) (4th arr.). In 1836, eight years after the opening of the Henri Planchon square, the columns of Orléans, the work of sculptor Victor Dutournand (1802–1861), and the statuettes of Orléans (1835), from the chisel of Auguste Roselet (1813–1867), were placed here, giving the whole square a majestic appeal. These sculptures symbolized royal power; ironically, they irritated his majesty.

His troops pursued the guests at the republican banquet of the Anvil, during which 8 were killed and 29 others injured. The Urville planner Oscar Laballière (1803–1883), encouraged by the partisans of the new constitution of 1848, delivered a speech on his vision of the future of Urville – ‘The Anvil Speech’. He was appointed to transform the city in response to the demands of a sharp increase in the population

(caused among other things by rural depopulation). The area of the city was to grow from 200 to 500 square kilometres. Laballière began the works in the same year as his speech, and completed them in 1872. The streets seen include the rue de Nussereaux, rue Sainte-Anne, rue de la Courtoisie and rue de La Commode.

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2 1 – Place des Sarrasins (3rd arr.). The planner Benjamin Dourtin (1817–1884), in accordance with Laballière’s plans, instructed Louis Craille (1835–1894) to construct the buildings around the square. Its oval plan makes it unique, with its column to the ‘unknown captain’ erected in 1891 by the sculptor Thomas Farrouas (1831–1900). This column is dedicated to those lost from a fishing vessel, L’Éperon d’Azur, sunk in the Atlantic in 1881 while returning from the New World. All the crew

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perished, with the exception of the captain, who was initially believed to have disappeared, but who was found alive in 1889! These events were the inspiration for Le survivant inconnu de haute mer (1890) by author Juliette Mallas (1844–1920). In 1872 the Kiosque des Altéas, designed by Edmond Hars (1839–1913), was added to the square. See also La Place Ovale (1921), a painting by Robert Caudarcet (1891–1950).

From left to right avenue des Altéas, avenue VictorDaylan and the rue des Sarrasins. The drawing also shows the butte des Valseuses and, on the right, the Saint-Alphonse theatre. 2 – Place des Pyrénées (1st and 3rd arr.), detail. See p. 63 for details.

Cours du Languedoc (Court of Languedoc) (3rd arr.). In 1764, Charles Davinnon (1726–1794) laid out the definitive plan of this elongated open space, to which was added the hall by architect Gilbert Dulletin (1826–1902) in 1862. Today, the Dulletin hall houses a second-hand book fair every Saturday and Sunday. From left to right we see the rue Charles-Davinnon, rue des Argiles, rue de Cahors and rue de Beaulieu. At the far end of the cours du Languedoc is the church of Sainte-Aurélie (1725, by Frédéric Crombert, 1677–1737).

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2 The Theâtre de l’Empereur (4th arr.). In front of the theatre is the Fanion library (1821, by Étienne Loudaïeu, 1791–1854), which contains almost two million works. In the middle ground is the Theâtre de l’Empereur, built in 1812 by the architect Charles Crédaud (1764–1830). It was built as a propaganda move by Napoléon I (1769–1821), who wished to make his cultural mark on the city. The works staged by the theatre are commensurate with this aim: L’Aiglon n’a pas perdu la Proie by Alain Salberriou (1791–1857) in 1824; Rendez-vous

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au jardin du Clos by Jacques Bonpuget (1784–1849) in 1836; Le grand Jacques by Camille Carrodesc (1803–1874) in 1856; Le chat sur les toits by Joséphine Grandhugues (1812–1876) in 1867; La folle histoire de Prosybe by Alphonse Roubert (1831–1896) in 1875; Fromages et desserts by Georges Lebreton (1887–1917) in 1915; Le grand chiffre by Justine Bourmiresc (1901–1985) in 1935; Le train ne passera pas ce soir by Catherine Lechiffre (born 1946) in 1979; À la grande soupe by Rémy Gassot (born 1947) in 1982; Le Lusitanien d’Urville by

Tony Dacosta (born 1950) in 1988; L’Audacieux by Émilie Cèdre (born 1948) in 1995; and Un prince à Urville by Mohammed Ben Khourci (born 1961) in 1998. 1 and 2 – Theâtre des Tourbeaux (3rd arr.). 1727 – Architect: Frédéric Crombert (1677–1737). From left to right, the avenue des Comètes, rue du Tourbeaux and rue de Saint-Flour.

Place des Pyrénées (1st and 3rd arr.), and page 60. The buildings are by Guillaume Darvioux (1637–1694), the square itself by landscape designer Pierre Pignet (1639–1712) and the Royal Column by sculptor Joseph Bigredion (1640–1702). The place des Pyrénées was completed in 1673. Inspired by the Italian Renaissance, it has vaulted canopies where tourists can escape the summer heat.

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1 – Palais du Rouarnon (4th arr.). 1841 – Architect: Claude Lamire (1807–1867) on behalf of industrialist Adolphe Rouarnon (1812–1882). It now houses the regional and departmental directorate of public amenities. In the foreground is the place du Piqueraix (1757) by the architect Charles Davinnon (1726–1794). From left to right, the rue de l’Estuaire and rue du Rouarnon.

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2 – The Hippocampes (Sea Horse) river (1st arr.). The river originates on the butte de Jansonnière and runs through the whole of the western half of Urville. In 1959 it inspired the film Allons flâner sur l’eau by Geneviève Mignet (born 1930). This view is from the pont des Lumières (Bridge of Light), built in 1776 by the architect Pierre Bardeleau (1733–1788). To the left of the bridge is the Gustave Tacquermiau quay. To the right is the Jules Borchesis quay. The pont du Canon can also be seen, built in 1782 by the architect Jean-Baptiste Mouteron (1753–1807). Beyond the Canon bridge can be seen the Martinière library (1217) by the architect Carpeguot (1172–1234). In the background is the butte des Valseuses.

Piqueraix shopping centre (4th arr.). 1723 – Architect: Frédéric Crombert (1677–1737). To the right of the centre is the Urville School of Arts of 1801 by Auguste Flavines (1761–1817). The most renowned artistic establishment in Urville for the plastic arts, this School has very rigorous entrance examinations which attract large numbers of candidates.

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Place de Corse (4th arr.). 1617 – Laid out in accordance with the urban plan by Hector Buzondet (1566–1623), the original square by Henri Niourpin (1561–1620) was substantially remodelled in 1829 by Jean Montclair (1793–1867). There was originally a hall here housing a fish market. This was destroyed by fire in 1824, as portrayed in the film Les flammes incontrôlables (1957) by the late Jacques Perruas (1904–1989). It is bordered by numerous shops, cinemas and pavement cafés. From left to right, the rue des Écailles, avenue Impériale and the avenue du Tonchais.

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Palais des Citoyens – regional council building (4th arr.). The building which housed the Conseil général (General Council) for Provence Insulaire until 1940; since 1972 it has housed the regional council of Provence Insulaire. The powers of the council were increased following the decentralization law in 1986. Today there are 335 councillors based in the palais des Citoyens. The institution is enhanced by the Jardins du Clos, designed and laid out in 1740 by the architect Thomas Cavillard (1701–1759), which pre-date the building of 1807 by Charles Crédaud (1764–1830). From left to right, the rue de la Rosaire, rue de l’Oural, rue Anton-Dvorak, rue de Sarajevo, rue de Groningen, rue de la Camomille and rue du Dolmen.

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Place Napoléon Bonaparte (4th arr.). The square, the work of the architect Charles Crédaud (1764–1830), was finished in 1806. Jean Betteson (1770–1846), the Chief of Police of the island province, wanted to pay homage to the Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte (better known as Napoléon I), who assumed power in 1799, with the establishment of France’s First Empire regime. The regime ended in 1814 with Napoléon’s exile to the Ile d’Elbe near Italy. The Colonne de l’Empereur was erected by the sculptor Jérome Eussartigues (1820–1889) in 1854. This column was constructed at the command of the new emperor Napoléon III, who assumed power in France in 1852, establishing the Second Empire. Napoléon III wished to pay homage to his uncle Napoléon Bonaparte, and requested that a bust of Napoléon Bonaparte be displayed in one of the large squares of Urville. At the far side of the square we can see the Avénue Impériale, which stretches to the foot of the Butte des Valseuses, built by Napoléon I on his return from exile on the Ile d’Elbe. In 1815 Napoléon I left Urville to return to Paris and resume power in France for almost 100 days, before finally abdicating.

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I

n the sixteenth century the city spread along the left bank of the Écrantes estuary from the districts of Bacrouges and Drapier. These districts were the home of the clothing industry. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the left bank development spread to the east to include the districts of Saint-Jean, Libération and Saint-Balbrousse. In 1848, the town planner Oscar Laballière (1803–1883) excavated the rade de la Carsouce, forming the commercial port of Bacrouges. The Sanguets canal, constructed in the seventeenth century by the architect Pierre Tardenc (1592–1657), linked the Écrantes estuary with the Chouquereau river, between the districts of Drapier and Trières. The Laballière canal by Claude Poulis (1833–1910) formed the link between the Marché d’Intérêt National (National Market) de Saint-Jean and the commercial port of Bacrouges.

Square des Mille-Astres (5th arr.). 1519 – Architect: René Aquillesc (1476–1538). The square has hosted the Urville country music festival every June since 1950. In 1953, the square inspired the song Les Mille Astres by the singer Émile Fillaux (1919–1994).

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CHAPTER 3

The Left Bank of the Écrantes 69

Gare de l’Italie (10th arr.). The station was designed by architect Pierre Grand-Carré (1811–1869) and opened in 1857. It serves the eastern and northeastern districts of Urville, and trains destined for Europe also leave from here. In 1983 the TGV (high-speed train) line Etrusco was established to link Urville with the main Italian cities. The first high-speed line to be brought into service was Urville–Turin, a journey of 1 hour 5 minutes (time by conventional train 2 hours 15), in 1985, followed by Urville–Milan lasting 1 hour 25 minutes (compared with 3 hours 10), which was extended towards Verona and Venice, and Urville–Piacenza, extended to Bologna. Finally, in 1999, Urville–Genoa in 1 hour 10 minutes (formerly 2 hours 25), the beginning of a line which will eventually extend to Florence, Rome and Naples.

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Commercial port of Urville-Bacrouges (11th arr.). This port was begun by Oscar Laballière at the instigation of Napoléon III (1808–1873), because the rade de la Carsouce could no longer cope with the demands on it. It was not completed until 1972, when it was adapted in response to the rapid development of global maritime commerce during the economic boom of the Thirty Glorious Years (1945–1975). It is now the largest commercial port in France and the Mediterranean, ahead of Marseille, Barcelona, Genoa and Livorna. It has oil refineries, warehouses and processing units. In 1999, the maritime activity of Urville-Bacrouges involved the movement of 104 million tonnes of merchandise. The port complex also has a passenger terminal for traffic to the Mediterranean countries and Atlantic crossings. The maritime traffic to Corsica leaves from the rade de Carsouce.

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The Marché d’Intérêt National (National Market) of Saint-Jean (11th arr.). 1879 – Planner: Oscar Laballière (1803–1883). This is the largest wholesale and retail market in France. The MIN was destroyed during World War II. The buildings of Laballière’s design were replaced by new halls constructed in 1950 by the architect Alexandre Lecentenaire (1911–1963). Le Dôme by architect Jacques Gourdais (1899–1972) was opened in 1953 to house all transactions between producers and wholesalers. Adjacent to the complex is the Urville Veterinary School, erected in 1958. In 1894 the architect Gilbert Oisellon (1861–1933) built the National Institute of Agriculture and Agronomy.

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Right-hand page. 1 – Place de Belgrade (5th and 10th arr.). In 1925 the sculptor Hortense Delaporte (1860–1923) redesigned the original square by architect Édouard Lamotte (1810–1899), installing the Coupe fountain. In 1871, following the deposition of Emperor Napoléon III (1808–1873), the Assembly presided over by Adolphe Thiers (1797–1877) included a strong royalist presence. The populace of Urville, republican in spirit, rose up against this new totalitarian power.

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4 2 – Place du Toucan (5th arr.). 1846 – Architect: Alexandre Vantéro (1817–1884). In 1920, four steles by sculptor Philippe Irras (1895–1968), commemorating the victims of World War I, were placed around the colonne des Français, created in 1862 by the sculptor Jérôme Eussartigues (1820–1889). The department store Aux Petits Papillons, built in 1885 by architect Antoine Dubotain (1850–1910), was founded by the rich industrialist Jeanne Painvilliers (1852–1938). This square inspired the painting La Commune Sanglante in 1871 by the

painter Antoine Dassoillesc (1841–1902), and the song La rose des vents by singer Lionel Pyraillon (born 1955) in 1989.

demonstration marked the beginning of the troubles that led to the creation of the Commune.

3 – Place de Gênes (5th arr.). The Abyssines fountain (1844) by the sculptor José Cimbret (1817–1890) was a commission in 1842 from the designer of the square, Édouard Lamotte (1810–1899). In 1871 a strike by workers at the soap factories of Drapier and Mille-Astres brought the square to a halt. They were claiming better hygiene and working conditions. This

4 – Place du Drapier (5th arr.). In 1306, Talmonet (1279–1324) designed a harmonious square to which Legubresc (1423–1473) added the hall in 1452. Since 1835, a traditional textiles fair has been held here every March.

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Place des Alpes (10th, 14th, 15th arr.). 1850 – Architect: Adolphe Monginiesc (1821–1897). The column of Napoléon III (1853) is by the sculptor Georges Gabrielli (1783–1862). The repression of the Printemps bleu (Blue Springtime) which took place here is still alive in people’s memories.

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Ruthommier hospital (5th arr.). In 1954 the hospital by Hector Planchon (1800–1862) was extended by the addition of a north wing by the architect Alfred Blencken (1909–1976). A heliport was constructed to the north of the building in 1955 for the inward transportation of the victims of major catastrophes.

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he city saw an expansion along its western shore in the seventeenth, eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This sector is made up of the districts of Beaux-Sites, Saint-Vallier, Tression, Écrivains, La Marquise and Valmures. The district of Beaux-Sites is essentially made up of universities and academic institutions. The district of Saint-Vallier has numerous former palaces which now house museums, and is dominated by the abbey of Saint-Vallier. The district of Tression is well known throughout the world for its jewellers and haute couture boutiques. The Écrivains district is renowned for its three grand theatres: the Royal, the Saint-Georges and the Saint-Alphonse. The nineteenth-century districts of Marquise and Valmures are essentially residential.

Saint-Vallier abbey (9th arr.). Built between 1732 and 1780 by the architect Paul Tourresc (1708–1784), the abbey is situated near the place de Marseille. It took 48 years to complete because of the European wars of succession. During the French Revolution in 1789 the abbey was a centre for partisans of Louis XVI. Today it receives eight million visitors a year. Tourresc added his own touch to it with statuettes depicting 120 nuns. The building was immortalized in the painting Saint-Vallier by the Italian painter Giovanni Oscarri (1753–1801) in 1782. In the background and to the right can be seen the promenade Marcellin-Jasseriou, laid out in 1983 by the architect Marie Bouvin (born 1944) and beyond it the Mediterranean Sea. In the distance and on the left is the palais Ponchart. The building dates from 1784 and was commissioned by Victor Ponchart (1744–1810), a rich merchant specializing in the sugar trade. It was designed by the architect François Stavolin (1741–1798). Ponchart made it the headquarters of his company La Sucrerie des Antilles. Since 1814 it has become a museum dedicated to the history of fashion. From left to right, we see the rue Saint-Vallier and the promenade de la Serva-Costa, which was laid out in 1983 by the architect Joseph Innégroule (born 1955).

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Saint Luthier rail station (9th arr.). This is the departure point for the western suburbs of Urville, the Île des Sarrasins, the south of France, and Spain and Portugal. It was designed by the architect Hector Larguebudes (1804–1870) and opened in 1853. A TGV (high-speed train) terminal was added in 1987 linking Urville with destinations including Avignon, Marseille, Montpellier, Toulouse and Bordeaux. The TGV station is the work of the architect Jean-Jacques Rénoux (born 1957).

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Palais de la Cédille (9th arr.). This palace was built to house the clock and watchmaking factory of Frédéric Crombert (1712) which collapsed during the French Revolution of 1789. In 1799, Richard Grand-Oeil (1758–1831), a rich industrialist, bought the factory building where he established the headquarters of the National Watch and Clockmaking Factory. But when Grand-Oeil died in 1831, he left no successor and the company ceased trading. Since 1831 the building has become the museum of watch- and clock-making. From left to right, we see the rue de l’Ukraine, rue des Horlogers, rue Cervantes and rue de Parme.

Parc technologique de la Boule d’Or (9th arr.). Before World War II this site was occupied by the military barracks of the Boule d’Or (Golden Ball) (1806 – Architect: Dominique Monplaisir, 1761–1824). Having been occupied by the German army, the barracks were destroyed during the American landings on 16 August 1944. After the war, the mayor of Urville, Gilbert Fescia (1909–1974), and the mayor of the 33rd arr., Edmond Guillesc (1914–1994), launched the Boule d’Or technology park project on the site of the former military barracks. In 1960 the musée de l’Olive (olive museum), by the architect Albert Corsoni (1910–1992), opened its doors. In the background can be seen the Alfred-Larquin History Institute, built in 1962 by the architect Joseph Feinberger (1917–1985). On the square are the fontaines d’Azur (1960) by the landscape designer Alain Vermillon (born in 1929) and the Arche du Midi, a work by the sculptor Alexandre Foulard (1936–1974). From left to right we see the rue de la Boule d’Or, rue de Lusitanie and rue de Tantale.

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Pavillon Domoin (9th arr.). This building was opened as part of the festivities marking the new Millennium. It bears the name of the great Urville philosopher Domonius (51–120). The commission was given to the architect Jean-Jacques Rénoux (born 1957). It is sited on a headland and the design of the work is reminiscent of a fish. A bold move by the city’s authorities, the objective set by the council was to attract an average of 25,000 visitors a day. It houses a museum of high technology, with exhibitions including the history of modern technologies, a hall with continuous film showings and a conference room. The Auditorium contains 3000 computers connected to the Internet and a crèche. The objective has largely been achieved: 12,868,326 visitors have logged on in the Auditorium, almost twelve people per computer per day. The museum itself has received more than three million visitors. At night, when the Domoin pavilion is illuminated, it is visible at a distance of 15 kilometres. It is now well established as a familiar part of the urban landscape of Urville. Academy of Sciences (9th arr.). 1633 – Architect: Pierre Tardenc (1592–1657). In 1692, having obtained the favourable opinion of the king of France, Louis XIII, the parliament of Urville voted to build an Academy of Sciences; in time, it produced such great scientists as: Auguste Génorvioux (1620–1679), Émile Zolgehuss (1891–1942), Jean Dargimourt (1743–1807), Charles Coudèphe (1913–2000), Gilles Grastin (1820–1881), Pierre Binard (born 1941), Hugues Silvon (1844–1900), Jacqueline Querfaux (born 1955) and others. Since the end of the nineteenth century, the Academy has sought to re-establish its position among other more recently created scientific institutions, such as the University College of Physics and Chemistry (18th arr.), the Institute of Physical Sciences (25th arr.) and the Institute of Chemistry and Petrochemistry (27th arr.). However it remains the most prestigious scientific institution in Urville. In the background can be seen the University College of Surgery, founded in 1808. This building is the work of the architect Dominique Monplaisir (1761–1824). From left to right can be seen the avenue des Beaux-Sites, rue Saint-Cyr and the rue des Sciences. In the distance is the church of Notre-Dame de Beaux-Sites.

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Faculté de la Colchide (9th arr.). 1910 – Architect: Charles Crédaud (1764–1830).

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Phédon theatre (9th arr.). 1755 – Architect: Victor Leroy (1701–1772). In 1782, during the production of Les Ailes de l’Espoir by playwright Edgar Follembert (1715–1789), a large part of the theatre was ravaged by fire, causing the death of 143 people. It is thought that the tragedy was caused by oil lamps falling to the ground and setting fire to the parquet floor.

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1 – Place Saint-Gillard (9th arr.). 1643 – Architect: Pierre Tardenc (1592–1657). The church of Notre-Dame de la Plaisance was built in 1650 by the architect Joseph Ignevalles (1621–1692). 2 and 3 – Theâtre Royal (9th arr.). 1772 – Architect: Pierre Bardeleau (1733–1788). This theatre, built on the instructions of Louis XIV (1710–1774), confirmed the power of the monarchy. It could seat 4,000 spectators, who enjoyed productions by well-known playwrights, including: Notre Roi le Bienheureux by Edgar Follembert in 1772; Sultan de Perse by Guy Caraix (1723–1790), in 1777; L’inversion by Gustave Podiniesc in 1790; Les flamants roses by Guillaume Mondorcet in 1808; Le Regard perçant by Philippe Dassorbin in 1829; Les amoureux de Montgarpet by Félix Machemont in 1837; Les corps de Zeus by Guillaume Dourchisaix in 1857; La chambre d’hôte by François Degras in 1868; Les écoliers de Juliette by Mallas in 1890; Vue de montagne by Henriette Martinesc in 1896; Un balcon ouvert by Philippe Simonetti in 1905; La baignade by Pierre Baeck in 1915; Le marchand de bonbons by Louis Dillet in 1918; Le convivial by Georges Suzarro in 1926; Un amour de cuisinier by Jack Cadrige in 1931; La balayette by Justine Bourmiresc in 1935; L’Alsacien à Urville by Henri Tampinski in 1937; Un poissonnier sur la Carsouce by Sandrine Lapérouse in 1943; L’automobile infortunée by Joseph Jourenesc in 1948; Le sac à main by Michel Le Romain in 1952; Le conte de Cantalet by Simone Dalmatien (born 1926) in 1953; Au restaurant by Laurent Saint-Samuel in 1959; Le jardinier de Germontville by Philippe Bouguerssin in 1964; Le carnet rose by Françoise Gouffeau in 1967; L’épicier by Henri Petres in 1970; Les femmes d’automne by Adelatif Khelzaoui in 1974; L’académicien by Micheline Dillersmann in 1981; Le lierre qui envahit la maison by Jean François Jérouville in 1983; Impossible de trouver des légumes by Nadia Fracelli in 1990; and Mon coeur t’est offert by Myriam Hubertin in 1994.

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Theâtre Saint-Alphonse (3rd arr.). 1783 – Architect: Pierre-Louis Alcuite (1750–1803).

Palais Mourleaux (9th arr.). 1748 – Architect: Giuseppe Tossi (1707–1757). This palace was built for the wealthy merchant Henri Mourleaux (1710–1772) who specialized in trading in spices from the Indies and the Orient. The Seven Years War (1756–1763), which ended in the ceding of India to England,would be the ruin of Mourleaux. The palace became Urville’s Oceanographic Museum, which attracts almost a quarter of a million visitors a year.

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Theâtre Saint-Georges (9th arr.). 1821 – Architect: Étienne Lourdaïeu (1791–1854). Seven hundred seats.

Place Alfred Tauvillesc (9th arr.). 1682 marked the birth of this square, laid out to the design of the architect Pierre Pillon (1634–1694) as part of the urban plan by Sébastien Bullerousse (1632–1691). The square, basically rectangular with rounded ends, is the setting for a major cycle race. Le Prologue Tauvillesc is a test of speed which first took place in 1907. This square is described in the song Tauvillesc la Belle as performed by singer Élie Soussan (1905–1974) in 1953.

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Palais de Naveris and Place de Marseille (9th arr.). This is an area very popular with the people of Urville, as it is by the sea. In addition to the abbey of Saint-Vallier to the east, it is bounded to the west by the Naveris palace. The square of Gilbert-Fescia, the promenade François-Premier and the promenade Marcelin-Jasserriou, named after the administrator of the county of Urville in the reign of Louis XV (1703–1774), are attractive open spaces. The palace was built in 1785 by the architect Jean-Baptiste Mouteron (1753–1807), commissioned by Auguste de Naveris (1736–1792). His grandfather, Édouard de Naveris (1679–1750), founded the first dynasty of bankers in Urville in 1736 during the reign of Louis XV. The de Naveris family were one of the few banking families to have withstood the

economic crisis which affected France on the accession of Louis XVI in 1774, but the dynasty collapsed in 1815 when François de Naveris (1761–1839), nephew of Auguste, was at the head of the bank. It was one of the banks from which the emperor Napoléon Bonaparte (1769–1821) borrowed to finance his military campaigns. His destitution as a result of the defeats at Trafalgar (Spain) and Waterloo (Belgium) led to the bankruptcy of the bank. The building was requisitioned by king Louis XVIII (1755–1824) who gave it to the Catholic Church, but in 1905, on the separation of Church from State, it became the property of the latter. In 1922 it became the Museum of Religious Arts. In 1763 the square des Alpilles was laid out in front of the palace by the architect Victor Harpelot (1723–1769).

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Palais de la Rosette (9th arr.). 1874 – Architect: Paul le Juste (1830–1897). This houses the Museum of the History of the Navy and Maritime Transport, and a maritime transport institute. Models of ships and some originals from various dates down the centuries give a picture of the rich history of Urvillian seafaring. Nearby, the polytechnic college has produced some famous former scholars, including Charles Vallais (1765–1849), Francis Villars (born 1915), Louis Demèges (1776–1857), Juliette Kassourian (born 1918), Édouard Clarinc (1789–1870), Sylvie Rouyer (1921–2003), Frédéric Maisonneuve (1794–1770), Léon Bissouya (born 1925), Jean-Pierre Lumet (1803–1874), Catherine Dioran (born 1930), Claude Drignet (1810–1880), Philippe Touraine (born 1937), François Richer (1817–1895), Angela Ferroni (born 1941), Gustave Paulin (1820–1898), Laurence Moulin (born 1944), André Lamart (1833–1906), Sofia Rivkovac (born 1948), David Marmoton (1839–1912), Matthieu Stevin (born 1950), Jules Grignaud (1847–1922), Annette Guêmont (born 1952), Gabriel Goulin (1854–1926), Gérard Lochin (born 1955), Pierre Marnas (1869–1937), Paul Bertin (born 1956), Fabrice Leroux d’Urville (1876–1944), Jean Elvige (born 1957), Dominique Dourpijian (1888–1952), Carole Fouroux (born 1960), Jackob Bahmsvély (1902–1974), Raphaëlle Joux (born 1961), Mireille Lancrat (1903–1990), Alexandre Lorrain (born 1962), Didier Dubrac (1904–1996), Thomas Gribert (born 1964), Roger Lajeune (1910–2003), Catherine Joris (born 1965), Clotilde Monzoni (1913–1995) and Sylvaine Mindoresc (born 1967).

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Place des Constellations (32nd arr.). 1857 – Architect: Hugues Troussel (1813–1880). In 1954, 17 people suspected of having organized the affair known as the ‘Disappearance of the archives of the collaboration’ were arrested and prosecuted. The theft of the archives from the Palais de Justice in 1951 impeded the progress of the post-war trials. The boulevard Joseph-Quéchet, avenue de Bellevarienne, boulevard du Nid-d’Aigle, rue de l’Anamorphose and the boulevard Marianne Pralles can all be seen.

Cité hospitalière de la Marquise (9th arr.). This is the largest hospital in France. The architect Joseph Idrain (1840–1908) drew up the plans for this titanic complex. The hospital has nine buildings and almost one and a half thousand people work there.

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Place de Valmures (9th and 33rd arr.). 1862 – Architect: Adolphe Monginiesc (1821–1897).

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Beaux-Sites shopping centre and Boncourt theatre (1st arr.). The Boncourt theatre was built in 1785 by the architect Oscar Nisseriesc (1737–1791). It may not be one of the largest theatres in Urville in terms of capacity (a thousand seats) but its programme is prestigious. From left to right we can see the rue du Pichaux, avenue des Beaux-Sites and rue Boncourt.

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Cours du Tression (9th arr.). 1729 – Architect: Louis Tissargon (1690–1742). It is edged by two buildings: the northern and southern wings by the architect Frédéric Crombert (1677–1737). The northern wing houses the famous Urville jewellers Gouralliet (1730), Messardi (1737), Cognescenc (1744) and Fitallion (1752) and the prestigious restaurant L’Auberge du Tression (1734). In the southern wing are the jewellers Vesznazberg (1733), Coroll (1749) and Monteran (1756) next to the musée d’Histoire des chevaux (horse history museum).

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Beyond this court is the place des Éperons, built in 1761 by the architect Georges Pastel (1714–1770). This is dominated by the Savoirs obelisk, made of marble by the sculptor Louis Lambriquet (1699–1751) in 1737. The marble for this exceptionally high monument (50 metres) was imported from Carrera in Italy. Beyond the northern wing can be seen the Trompe-l’oeil library, built in 1739 by the architect Hugues Poutrinc (1689–1746). At the far end of the place des Éperons is the

Merlan Theatre, built in 1719 by the architect David Antrovert (1661–1722). Behind the southern wing is the Academy of Philosophy, founded in 1704. This institution was the alma mater of several significant philosophers including Joseph Hardonniou (1709–1768), Henri Foultet (1758–1821), Martin Lebleux (1803–1874), Laurence Lanaix (1853–1926), Henri-Georges Jarliaux (1903–1970) and Joséphine Dacout (born 1929). The nineteenth and twentieth centuries were marked by an inevitable decline due to its elitist recruitment. The foundation in

1853 of the University College of Philosophy in the Guêpière quarter (5th arr.) and the Tirque Institute (1923, named after the great philosopher of antiquity, Tirkaia – 394–328 BC) in the Ambre quarter (18th arr.) precipitated its decline. This exalted institution regained its position as the philosophical centre of Urville from the 1970s. Towards the rear on the right can be seen the palais Rodinesc (1837, by the architect Denis Saint-Mitre 1793–1849). Gaston Rodinesc (1781–1859) bequeathed the building to the city, which transformed it into the Museum of Ornithology.

Valmures park and memorial (9th arr.). The parc de Valmures was opened in 1872, on the basis of plans by the landscape designer Gustave de Compertas (1819–1894). At the end of World War II, a memorial to the Urville victims was erected by the architect Luc Bervier (1906–1975). The city had paid a heavy tribute to the war: almost 50,000 soldiers and 150,000 civilians fell to enemy fire or were deported. The memorial houses a museum telling the history of the Resistance in France. The building was opened on 11 November 1946, on the anniversary of the Armistice of 1918.

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his sector is bounded by the Ernestine gardens and the Hippocampes river. It comprises the quarters of Bellevallois, Mascotte and Barongeais. Bellevallois was a town of the twelfth century built around its prison, famous for having incarcerated the most dangerous criminals of the county until the French Revolution of 1789. A symbol of royal power, it was demolished at that time. The town was integrated in the town plans drawn up by Oscar Laballière (1803–1883). It includes two other quarters: Mascotte and Barongeais. The business of this district is essentially dominated by radio and television and by drama, but it is also an important university centre with the University of Bellevallois and its colleges.

Faculty of Bellevallois (3rd arr.). 1823, by the architect Charles Crédaud (1764–1830). From left to right, we see the rue du Gui, rue du Matricule, rue de Salzbourg and avenue de Bellevallois.

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1 – Faculté de Borran (32nd arr.). 1906 – Architect: Gilbert Oisellon (1861–1933). At its foot is the boulevard du Borran and the rue Maurice Givennes.

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2 – Tour de l’audiovisuel (3rd arr.). 1956 – Architect: Félix Arbossian (born 1928). Two hundred and forty metres high. This building houses the Radio-Télévision Métropolitaine (RTVM) broadcasting company, which arose from the merger of Radio Urville and Télévision Métropolitaine. The present-day RTVM group includes two television channels, six radio stations and local stations broadcasting throughout France and abroad. It is the largest public audiovisual group in France. Several journalists have made their mark here: Philippe Taubmann, Abdoulaye Mossouf, Gilles Harraud, Mireille Foncieux, Erwan le Goët, Paul Quinquignet, Carine Fichaux, Samira Fenzouri, Marie Locherot, Pierre Castin, Michel Stincken, Simone Essens, Laetitia Fesnard, Marie-France Datelesc, Étienne Villay, Christine Guillet, Carole Loubnaieva, David Drechies, Grégory Fintmann, Bernard Silty, Raphaël Grête, Brigitte Terroa, Arnaud Pléchin and Matthieu Louis.

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Place Victor-Hugo (7th, 8th and 9th arr.). 1863 – Architect: Édouard Lamotte (1810–1899). The Armistice monument (1919) is by sculptor Philippe Irras (1895–1968). On the left can be seen the church of Notre-Dame de Lauacée (1864) by the architect Paul le Juste (1830–1897). Behind it we can see the large stores Urville Bazar and Vitrines du Pays. These were built in 1903 and 1890 respectively by the architects Gilbert Legris (1854–1922) and Joseph Idrain (1840–1908), and founded, respectively, by the industrialists Paul Figuères (1868–1939) and Edmond Loumer (1849–1924). The view shows the boulevard du Fensouque, boulevard de Prague, avenue de Lodi, avenue de Victor-Hugo, rue du Lauacée, rue Theodore Herzl, rue de Nubie, rue du Tafilalet and rue Carl Jung.

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Bellevallois firemen’s barracks (3rd arr.). Built in 1873 by the architect Hugues Troussel (1813–1880) on the site of the Bellevallois prison. The firemen of Urville in daily active service number some 27,000. The Élites du Feu, a special unit of 1500, is available to deal with high risk incidents (fires, storms, catastrophes, etc.).

Studios cinématographiques de la Mascotte (7th arr.). These are the largest film studios in France, the work of architect Philippe Torchard (1904–1970). They were opened in 1927 to replace the former Guimauve studios (5th arr.) which have become a museum of the ‘seventh art’. Films made here: Bienvenus à l’inverse by Antoine Filmont (1894–1970) in 1927; Dans le métro by Robert Bissert (1904–1977) in 1934; La Belle Jacqueline by Henri Gabreau (1912–1990) in 1947; L’école buissonnière by Françoise Gaubert (born 1926) in 1954; Mijotons le plat by David Durandet (born 1927) in 1956; Meurtre en pleine canicule by Pierre Quignac (born 1934) in 1963; C’est loin l’Amérique? by Bruno Beaubois (born 1937) in 1969; Chroniques indiscrètes by Véronique Maillel (born 1941) in 1974; Le boulanger by Jacques Perran (born 1947) in 1981; and Atmosphères du Brésil by Isabelle Verger (born 1953) in 1988. In the foreground to the right, we see the avenue de la Mascotte and rue Philippe Torchard.

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Saint-François hospital (3rd arr.). 1863 – Architect: Paul le Juste (1830–1897). This was the first hospital in Urville to be equipped, in 1993, with a SAMU (Service d’aide médicale d’urgence – French emergency medical assistance service) antenna. This service provides aid directly to people in their own homes or at the scene of an accident. Another unit, the SAMU social, provides assistance to the homeless. The hospital employs two hundred people.

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Palais des Lionceaux (8th arr.). 1870 – Architect: Hubert Jacqueroux (1822–1892). This space is shared by the Geography Museum and the Urville Institute of Geography. At the centre of the monument is a huge interior courtyard with gardens and a fountain, laid out as an area of recreation. The museum has around two million visitors a year.

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Palais de Barongeais (8th arr.). 1890 – Architect: Antoine Dubotain (1850–1910). The building presently houses the museum of air travel and space.

Place Étienne Mombert (3rd arr.). 1949 – Architect: Luc Bervier (1906–1975). Demolished in December 1942 during World War II by German troops. This area was suspected of sheltering members of the Resistance. Nearby is the rue de Caen.

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his sector on the right bank of Écrantes estuary consists of the quarters of Gancéaldi and Sermaille, built in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries respectively. The quarters of Catalogne, Tainon, Fensouque and Montgelat mark the start of the city plan by Oscar Laballière (1803–1883), who transformed Urville during the second half of the nineteenth century, giving it its present-day appearance. This sector is very dynamic, with the Sermaille university and other higher educational institutions. The museums and commercial zones of the Cours du Soulier and the Place de Catalogne contribute to the attractiveness and popularity of this area.

Place de Strasbourg (6th arr.). 1862 – Architect: Frédéric Farquin (1829–1892). The double obelisk by sculptor Auguste Roselet (1813–1867) dates from 1865. From left to right we see the avenue Hugo-Beaubarmin, avenue de Iéna and rue de Bismuth. Every morning from Monday to Saturday, since 1872, the square has been the scene of the Flerus de la Sermaille market. Every December since 1916 the Armenian Music Festival has attracted a specialist audience. To the left of the square is the Protestant church of Saint-Cauvin by architect Auguste Beaumarpin (1840–1913). This church was the first centre for the Calvinist cult to be built in Urville after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Behind, to the left, are the Séjour towers, built in 1969 by architect Jacques Bodgenberg (born 1923). To their left is the company headquarters of the Urville Presse Consortium group, built in 1984 by architect Anne Fréchoux (born 1944).

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Place Wagram (6th arr.). 1849 – Architect: Pierre Grand-Carré (1811–1869). The triumphal arch of Tainon (1860), in the foreground, is the work of architect José Cimbret (1817–1890). To the left, the oldest department store in France, Le Méditerranéen, dating from 1853 (architect: Auguste Olbéraud, 1823–1867). It was founded by the rich industrialist Charles Tourrier (1814–1899). Every November since 1862 the Tainon toy fair has been held here.

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Place de la Catalogne (3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th arr.), and page 108. 1867 – Architect: Hugues Pizerotto (1831–1907). The square comprises a wide open space, and marks the boundary between Urville before and after Laballière. It is now affected by heavy traffic twenty-four hours a day. The film Le labyrinthe carré in 1974 by director Josiane Cestillesc (born 1939) was set here. Since 1982, every June, the Catalmusics festival has showcased established and new artists, with Urvillians gathering to hear local bands such as Donne de la Voix, Lou Grapau, Sine Qua Non, Thé au Riz, Shoobap, Contrôle Dynamite, Huile à Volonté, El Djezair Blues, Cache-Moi C’la and Chat Perché, and more widely known artists such as Les Rita Mitsuko, Touré Kounda, Noir Désir, Les Négresses Vertes, Mano Negra, Zebda, the Pixies, Nirvana and Radiohead. The festival lasts for three days and attracts almost 50,000 people to the square.

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Place de la Catalogne (detail) with, in the distance, the distinctive Tour de l’Audiovisuel, 240 metres in height, the headquarters of Radio Télévision Métropolitaine.

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Institute of Muslim Civilizations (7th arr.). 1965 – Architect: Edmond Dicksmund (1910–1984). It was the mayor of Urville, Martin Tribondiesc (1922–1994), who launched this project, aiming to create an important institution to symbolize the close contacts between France and its former North African colonies (Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria), and the rest of the Muslim world. In the same spirit, he also had a mosque built adjacent to the Institute.

Bibliothèque Tainon (Tainon library) (6th arr.). 1897 – Architect: Hector Oubrest (1852–1933). The library contains almost four million literary works, making it one of the most important libraries in Urville. To the rear on the left can be seen the triangular Commerce tower (1974, by architect Lucien Piervaux, born 1931), which houses the offices of the Urville Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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Cours de Soulier (6th arr.). 1864 – Architect: Frédéric Farquin (1829–1892). This is one of the most popular places with Urvillians, who come here to stroll, drink coffee or fruit juice or simply sit on the benches. The square has a quality of light that encourages people to stay. Cultural events are staged here throughout the year. Held since 1952, the annual Dessinateurs du Soulier festival attracts more than 2500 ama-

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teur artists and more than 300,000 visitors during the first weekend of October. The arcs de la Défiance (1947, by sculptor Joseph Armorin (1908–1974)) commemorate the Soulier Massacre. In 1972 the cours du Soulier was remodelled with a huge shopping centre comprising more than four hundred shops being built on the site. This is the Galeries du Soulier by

architect Gilbert Sagée (born 1932). They have two interior courts where visitors can relax after doing their shopping. The Galeries du Soulier extend towards the southwest, to the Place Wagram.

Faculté de la Sermaille (6th arr.). 1800 – Architect: Dominique Monplaisir (1761–1824). After the construction of the Université des Phéniciens in the twelfth century, no other university was founded in Urville until the creation of the faculté de la Sermaille. This was therefore a significant event. The campus saw some dramatic scenes during the Raids on the Universities in 1942.

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Place Moncalabre (4th arr.). 1671 – Architect: Hubert Panquiesc (1602–1678). The square marked the northern limit of Urville at the end of the seventeenth century. The location inspired the book Les tortereaux de Moncalabre in 1869, by the writer Charles Sarret (1837–1900). Every October since 1912 it has hosted the Tremplin festival for new amateur talent in theatre and improvisation.

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his district uniquely symbolizes the development of Urville from medieval town to megalopolis with a population of more than five million. The new Urville, planned in the nineteenth century by Laballière, began in the place de la République, and comprises the quarters of Jonquilles, Académie, République and Fontinelles. This district is also the university quarter, centring on the Jonquilles University. There are also numerous museums in the vicinity. The Fontinelles quarter developed later, with the Universal Exposition of Urville in 1895.

Place de la République (16th, 17th, 18th and 19th arr.). The expansion of Urville in 1870 emanated from this square in sixteen directions. It was originally to have been called Empire square, but the defeat of France in 1870 by Prussia induced the new Republican councillors to rename it. Today more than half a million vehicles pass through the place de la République every day, and it symbolizes the gigantic size of Urville. The planner Oscar Laballière (1803–1883) commissioned the architect Gustave Pezzolini (1838–1904) with the buildings around the square, and the landscape designer Pierre Dullesc (1832–1901) with the gardens and fountain. With an eye on the ambitious plans of Georges Haussmann (1809–1891) to redesign the city of Paris, Laballière was convinced that he had to outdo these ingenious ideas, and on this basis he created star-shaped open spaces (the place de la République, place du Pré Saint-Julien, place des Artistes, place de Turin, place Montervain and place de Valmures), at points on the main arterial roads along which the city spread. In 1958, General Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970) was given full executive power by the prime minister René Coty (1882–1962). He proposed the installation of a new constitution to replace the excessively parliamentarian Fourth Republic. The Fifth Republic gave more decision-making power to the president, at the expense of the parliament. The constitution was approved in a referendum by more than 80 per cent of the French people. General de Gaulle decided to give a speech at the place de la République, the name and symbolism of which were not picked by mere chance. It was delivered to more than half a million people. In 1984, workers in the textile and clothing industries and students protested here against economic reforms undertaken by the president of the French republic, François Mitterand (1916–1996). They believed the Left had failed to honour its undertakings. In December 1995, almost a million employees and students occupied the square in opposition to the economic reforms of the president of the republic, Jacques Chirac (born 1932), in particular the social security reforms. From left to right we can see the avenues de la Bryndille, Pierre Dullesc, Victor Usset, des Reliques, de la Résistance, de Neptune and des Droits de l’Homme. In 1946 the square inspired the painting Place de la République à l’aube by the painter Boris Farubeau (1909–1964), a painting showing the liberation of Urville at the end of World War II. It also inspired the song L’étoile de la République performed by the singer Pierrette Marso (born 1935) in 1958.

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Palais des Jonquilles (16th arr.). 1887 – Architect: Antoine Dubotain (1850–1910). The International Museum of Art has 1200 paintings and works of art from all over the world on display. From left to right we can see the avenue Victor Usset and the boulevard des Jonquilles.

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Palais Dorgnant (16th arr.). 1863 – Architect: Paul Le Juste (1830–1897). This was commissioned by the rich industrialist Jean-Baptiste Dorgnant (1811–1890), founder of the Compagnie française du meuble (French Furniture Company) in 1856. Dorgnant installed the headquarters of the company in this building, and on his death it became the Furniture Museum.

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Palais des Congrès de la Tigelle (19th arr.). The first palais of 1937, built by architect Édouard Guilmers (1903–1967), was demolished in 1979. The mayor of the 15th arr., Françoise Hirt (born 1938), and the mayor of Urville, Jacques Glouet (born 1931), decided to rebuild the palace and instructed the architect Jean-Jacques Jarramont (born 1946) to carry out the work. The building was completed in 1983. To the right of the palais is the square de la Tigelle, built in 1864, the work of architect Hugues Troussel (1813–1880).

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Right-hand page. Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) (16th arr.). Established in the 16th arr. as part of the works by Laballière between 1848 and 1872, the building was completed in 1855 (architect Hubert Jacqueroux, 1822–1892). Its distinguishing feature is the clock tower at a height of almost seventy metres. The city council of Urville has 572 elected members. The city’s supreme judicial officer works with 35 arrondissement mayors who are responsible for more localized administration. These municipal councillors also act as county councillors on the basis of the statutes of Urville, which, like Paris, is both city and département.

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Faculté des Jonquilles (16th arr.). 1881 – Architect: Vincent Mallormes (1843–1907).

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his sector includes the vast parc du Pré Saint-Julien and the jardins des Quatre-Saisons. This is one of the main parts of Laballière’s plan, and marks the expansion of Urville to the west of the Hippocampes river. To the south, the district comprises the Liberté quarter. This is where Urville’s world fair was held in 1872. The fair marked the end of the city planning works in the second half of the nineteenth century. The two major railway stations of Urville are located in this quarter, the République and the Bretagne. In the centre is the Mirecailles quarter, and to the north, the Quatre-Saisons quarter. The Pré Saint-Julien quarter extends to the west of the Hippocampes.

Place de la Liberté (19th arr.). 1866 – Architect: Hugues Pizerotto (1831–1907). The base of the Déclaration column by sculptor Jérôme Eussartigues (1820–1889) is engraved with the whole of the Declaration of the Rights of Man of 26 August 1789. In the middle ground is the avenue des Droits de l’Homme (1869) which leads to the place de la République.

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Gare de la République (19th arr.). This is Urville’s other major station. It was opened in 1851, having been designed by the architect Hugues Troussel (1813–1880), and is Urville’s oldest station. It was originally the departure point for the Urville–Roux line, where a ferry shuttle via Azurville provided a link with Cannes, journeys continuing from there to Lyon and Paris, the ‘Imperial Axis’ (Urville–Lyon–Paris).

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The station is the departure point for the northern suburbs of Urville and the western part of the île de la Chaloupe, the Provençal Alps, the Rhône-Alpes region, Burgundy, Champagne, Paris, Picardy, the north and Pas-de-Calais and, more recently, the British Isles. In 1989 a TGV (high-speed train) terminal was opened in response to the increase in traffic. Urville–Lyon–Paris was the first TGV line,

with the addition of a two-stage TGV in 1996. The Eurostar came into operation in 1995, linking Urville to London via the Channel Tunnel, and finally the Thalys high-speed trains linking Urville to Brussels and Amsterdam, in 5 hours 30 minutes and 7 hours 30 minutes respectively. The TGV network is still being developed at the gare de la République.

Gare des Alpes (14th arr.). This station was designed by architect Alexandre Vantéro (1817–1884) and opened in 1852. It is the departure point for a wide rail network serving the northern suburbs of Urville, the central part of the île de la Chaloupe, Nice, the Alps, western Switzerland, Alsace and Lorraine, the Benelux countries, western Germany and as far as Scandinavia. A TGV line has been operational since 1994 linking Urville gare des Alpes to Nice in 15 minutes instead of 35 by conventional train.

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Gare de Bretagne (8th arr.). The departure point for the north-west suburbs of Urville, Haute-Provence, central France, Normandy and Brittany. The station, designed by architect Adolphe Monginiesc (1821–1897), was opened in 1857. The TGV lines to Saint-Étienne and Clermont-Ferrand, then Nantes and Rennes, became operational in 1989 and 1990.

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Pré Saint-Julien tennis club and the National Stadium (19th arr.). 1892 – Architect: Gilbert Legris (1854–1922). The Urville world tennis championships are competed for at the start of August every year by the best players in the world. The National Stadium by architect Joseph Capreau (1902–1944) was built to host the football World Cup in 1938, when Italy won the competition. The stadium has a capacity of 90,000. It was used for the Euro 1960, Euro 1984 and most recently the World Cup 1998 football tournaments. The competitions between the two major rugby teams of Urville (Olympique d’Urville and Dynamic Racing Club d’Urville) take place here. This is where the national team of France beat New Zealand (43–31) in the semi-final of the rugby World Cup in 1999.

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Forecourt of the Butain shopping centre (18th arr.). 1904 – Architect: Gilbert Oisellon (1861–1933).

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City Museum (19th arr.). 1871 – Architect: Hugues Troussel (1813–1880). With its distinctive feature of interwoven rings, this building houses a museum dedicated to the history of Urville (both the people and its urban development). Among the attractions are several models of Urville showing the development of the city from its foundation to the present. It receives more than fifteen million visitors per year.

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Palais Laballière – Musée de France (19th arr.). In 1864, the town planner Oscar Laballière (1803–1883) brought to a close his immense restructuring of the city with the announcement of plans for a world fair. In fact, the fair, which had been scheduled for 1870, did not take place until 1872 because of difficulties relating to the Commune. The fair had the theme The expansion of urban development and the questions it poses. The event attracted twelve million visitors. Between 1873 and 1942 the palais Laballière became the main military barracks of Urville.

Since 1945 the building has been occupied by the Museum of France. This museum is dedicated to French history, geography and civilization. It is the most frequently visited in Urville, with thirty million visitors a year. Today it is the largest museum in France, surpassing the Louvre in Paris. Each pavilion traces a period of French history: the Pavilion of Europe by architect Gilbert Legris (1854–1922) is dedicated to contemporary French history from 1801 to the present day. A temporary exhibition shows the future projects that will enrich the country. The projects already implemented are shown in a permanent exhibition in the same building. The Pavilion of Africa by architect Victor Beugnon (1829–1899) is devoted to Medieval France from 476 to 1492. The Pavilion of Asia by architect Louis Craille (1835–1894) is concerned with prehistory and ancient history to 476. The Pavilion of the Americas by architect Claude Poulis (1833–1910) shows France of the Ancien Régime between 1492 and 1802. The Pavilion of Oceania by architect Alexandre Vantéro (1817–1884) is devoted to French colonial history from 1530 to 1974. The Pavilion of the Antilles by architect Frédéric Farquin (1829–1892) gives a greater insight into French overseas territories. A seventh, the Pavilion of the Mediterranean, was built in 2003 by architect Karine Niverrois (born 1961). It is devoted to the image of France in the rest of the world and its relationship with other countries, especially those of Europe. The Rendez-vous de la Francophonie, a festival for French-speaking peoples, has been held annually in the museum gardens since 1979.

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Place du Pré Saint-Julien (8th, 18th, 19th, 31st and 32nd arr.). 1871 – Architect: Frédéric Farquin (1829–1892). The Arc de Triomphe de France (1872) is by sculptor Jean-Louis Bourt (1845–1905). The monument inspired the painter Denis Longdamiens (1847–1916) in his painting Gloire à la République (1877). Since 1910, the Oriental Music Festival has been held here every April. Every January since 1917 it has been the location of a traditional Breton festival.

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Palais des Expositions de Cermassier (19th arr.). 1974 – Architect: Jean-Jacques Jarramont (born 1946). In the foreground is the Cours Saint-Vincent which dates from 1870. From left to right are the rue de l’Elbe and rue de Saskatchewan. The Cermassier Tremplin amateur theatre festival has been held here every October since 1904.

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Place des Quatre-Saisons (18th arr.). 1880 – Architect: Hugues Pizerotto (1831–1907). In the foreground, on the right, is the Museum of Impressionism, built in 1884 by architect Claude Poulis (1833–1910). Urville’s Impressionism developed in the Éperviers quarter (5th arr.) with the painters Philippe Vallognet (1795–1863), Auguste Leroussin (1801–1855), Henri Groudaret (1804–1864) and Étienne Montbert (1816–1899). This museum exhibits more than five hundred paintings.

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his sector is bounded by the place des Tégartines and the parc Saint-Michel. The four largest quarters are Les Tégartines, Les Rossignols, Les Moineaux and Régence d’Or. Les Tégartines, to the west, is the oldest quarter in this district. It is a former medieval town built in the eighth century around the famous abbey of Sainte-Marguerite. In the central area is Les Rossignols, and to the east, Les Moineaux, famous for its opera house, and Régence d’Or. All the quarters are an integral part of the city plan by Oscar Laballière.

Abbey of Sainte-Marguerite des Tégartines (17th arr.). The first abbey, designed by the architect Lusertin (594–647), and which consisted of the central nave and the two eastern bell towers, was completed in 751. A dome by the architect Le Figre (1061–1130) was added in 1123. One of the original bell towers was destroyed in the eleventh century and replaced by a 105-metre spire. The site was initially chosen for the abbey by the Urvillian Tégares (582–641), who established it in an attempt to flee the severe tax system of the city. Right at the heart of the county, it led to a new order, the Tégartins. Today, the abbey is open to the public and visited by numerous tourists. Visitors can climb to the top of the dome for magnificent views over Urville. La fuite de Tégares in 1749 by author Nicolas Andéroubert (1721–1780) and the film Crime en haut de la flèche of 1953 by director Philippe Beauberg (1912–1993) conjure up the atmosphere of this place. In the background to the right of the drawing can be seen the Futurville 2000 skyscraper.

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Place des Tégartines and Les Tégartines library (18th arr.). The square: 1882, by architect Hugues Pizerotto (1831–1907). The library: 1891, by architect Gilbert Legris (1854–1922). This is the largest library in Urville with more than twelve million works listed. The Kiosque des lettres bandstand by the architect Antoine Dubotain (1850–1910) has stood in pride of place at the centre of the square since 1889. Inaugurated in 1971, the festival of improvised theatre takes place here every August.

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Right-hand page. 1– Faculté de la Vaillène (17th arr.). 1881 – Architect: Gilbert Legris (1854–1922). Built for the Urville world fair in 1881, the theme of which was fifty years of the French colonial empire, the building was occupied by the forces of Marshal Pétain in 1942. The boulevard de la Vaillène, rue de Turckheim, rue de Népenthès and rue d’Axone can be seen in the picture.

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2 – Palais de la Régence d’Or (17th arr.). 1867 – Architect: Claude Poulis (1833–1910). The rich industrialist Antoine Poutrelin (1821–1889) set up here the headquarters of his company, La Française de Métallurgie, which specializes in the processing of steel and aluminium. The company moved its headquarters to Le Malonsort (25th arr.) in 1952. The palais de la Régence d’Or now houses the Automobile Museum. The boulevard Saint-Michel can be seen in front of it.

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his sector represents the seventeenth-, eighteenth- and nineteenth-century expansion of Urville along the eastern shore beyond the Chouquereau waterway. It comprises the quarters of Trières and Butte Saint-Martin, built in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and Martin-Pêcheur from the early nineteenth. The expansion incorporated the medieval towns of Calberoux, La Bourache, Montgarpet and L’Épaulet, which became districts of Urville under the plans implemented in the second half of the nineteenth century by Oscar Laballière (1803–1883). It is an industrial area concentrating on a range of industries (textiles, food, ironworks, shoemaking, electronics, chemical and pharmaceutical, machinery and plant manufacture). In the mid-1970s, this part of Urville was in economic decline with the French economic crisis following the oil crisis of 1973, and this was aggravated by the oil crisis of 1979. But following the world fair of 1989, celebrating the bicentenary of the French Revolution of 1789, this sector found renewed economic growth with the conversion of the fair’s site into the Martin-Pêcheur technology park. In 2001, La Bourache international airport elevated this quarter to one of Urville’s major economic centres.

Martin-Pêcheur Technology Park (22nd arr.). In 1989 this was a derelict zone occupied by former factories and warehouses. The area had been in decline since 1975. In an address at the place de Paris following his investiture in 1983, the mayor of Urville, Michel Bougadier (born 1943), announced his intention of tackling the sharp increase in unemployment. Together with the president of the republic, François Mitterand (1916–1996), he was the instigator of the enormous project which became the 1989 world fair. It was financed 50 per cent by the State, 30 per cent by the city of Urville, 10 per cent by the regional council of Provence Insulaire and 10 per cent by the Urville court. The fair celebrated the bicentenary of the French Revolution of 1789. Seminars were organized around the questions: Two hundred years after the event, what are its consequences? What future can we now foresee? The world fair took place between 1 April and 30 October 1989, with more than eighty countries represented and thirty-eight million visitors. It marked the spirit of the age as it was the last such fair before the fall of the Berlin Wall, which signified the end of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. In January 1990 the Martin-Pêcheur Technology Park first opened its doors in the buildings which had been occupied by the fair. The largest technology centre in France comprises around a hundred buildings and dozens of tertiary industry enterprises. To the northeast of the site is the faculté de Martin-Pêcheur with 35,000 students. At the heart of the technology park is the transport interchange. A VAL (véhicule automatique léger – automatic light-rail vehicle) line links the technology park to Urville, via the metro, and to the towns of Bouche-Mercadier and Saint-Calmuis in eastern Azurville, and to the La Bourache, Méditerranée and Escoudiesc airports, via the RER (regional express train network).

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2 1 – Palais des Épicuriens (12th arr.). 1988 – Architect: Anne Frêchoux (born 1944). This houses an institute and museum dedicated to gastronomy. Here you can learn about different flavours, how every dish should be served and the consequences to our health. Numerous chefs and restaurateurs come for training here. The museum covers gastronomy from around the world and its history. The building attracts more than five million visitors a year.

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2 – Palais des expositions de la Limande (21st arr.). 1934 – Architect: Edmond Blapheaux (1903–1980). Renovated in 1994 by his colleague Sandrine Lefont (born 1950). Behind the palais is the Institut de l’Eau (Water Institute), built in 1982 and the work of architect Françoise Dargemont (born 1942). Water, at present a universal resource, could become scarce in the near future.

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Left-hand page. 3 – Siège social de Télé7 (21st arr.), 1975 – Architect: Joseph Feinberger (1917–1985). Until 1975 the French radio and television landscape lacked variety; the creation of the Télé7 channel injected diversity. 4 – Place Jules Cortensesc (21st arr.). 1804 – Architect: Pierre-Louis Étendard (1750–1812). In 1827, the MartinPêcheur warehouse workers demonstrated for better working conditions, including increased privacy and improved ventilation in the warehouses. The ‘Journée de la Prime’ ended with

a substantial number of people injured. Following pressure from the mayor of Urville the workers who had been arrested were released and their demands were satisfied. The warehouses of Martin-Pêcheur were renovated, and the mayor of Urville called on town planners to develop workers’ housing at Vasson. The architect Joseph Viorini (1794–1867) designed the Cité Utopique (Utopian City) in 1835. In 1902 it was the turn of the brick and tile manufacturers of the 21st, 22nd and 23rd arr. to demonstrate for better hygiene conditions and to demand that the public authorities put pressure on their employers. Fifty years later, the shoemakers protested – as had the brickmakers before them.

Centre international d’études et recherches scientifiques (centre for scientific research and studies) – CIERS (21st arr.). This scientific establishment was built in 1988 by Anne Frêchoux on the site of a former warehouse complex, demolished in 1984. The establishment welcomes numerous researchers from all over Europe, and the whole world. In the background to the right can be seen the Providence hospital, built in 1875 by the architect Claude Poulis (1833–1910).

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Butte Saint-Martin observatory (21st arr.). 1677 – Architect: Joseph Ignevalles (1621–1692). The observatory is dedicated to scientific research and astronomy. Numerous researchers have worked here, including Jean-Baptiste Tormonciac (1633–1685), Auguste Bragrenton (1689–1755), Pierre Frichaux (1730–1787), Françoise Tescourt (1800–1866), Vincent Dabornin (1833–1892), Guillaume Rassoux (1910–1979), Antoine Pildes (1911–1940), Philippe Develpron (born 1939), Christelle Totien (born 1943) and Anne Dorain (born 1954). There is also a 245-metre TDF (Télévision Diffusion Française) mast to enable Télévision Métropolitaine (RTVM from 1956) to broadcast throughout France. This structure is the work of architect Roger Piallon (1892–1965). Every September since 1922 the observatory site has hosted the Rendez-vous scientifiques de la Butte Saint-Martin science festival. The summit of the hill can be reached in three minutes by funicular (1892) from the place du Soupet (21st arr.).

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Cité Utopique (21st arr.). In 1827, the Utopian thinker and architect Joseph Viorini (1794–1867) proposed the construction of a quarter to house workers in better, more hygienic conditions. The project resulted from the Journée de la Prime incident. He designed groups of buildings based on an octagonal design, in three parallel rows. In 1835 the Cité Utopique (Utopian City) was built in the Soupet quarter (22nd arr.). The project comprises an octagonal open space called place

Utopique, which became place Joseph Viorini in 1877, graced in its centre by the ‘Kiosque Idéal’ feature. The project also included businesses, shops and crêches. The project attracted the attention of planner Oscar Laballière (1803–1883), but it was impossible to expand it to cater for a larger population. The Utopian City was the precursor of the modern HLM (habitats à loyers modérés) council accommodation. The Utopian blues festival has been held here every October since 1947.

Dating from 1847, the Utopian book fair is held every January, and in July is the Utopian Fair, which was first held in 1857. The square inspired the song Le paradis ouvrier (1920) by singer Victor Chargieux (1900–1941). From left to right we see the rue de Dakar, rue de Périspomène, avenue du Soupet and rue de la Manche.

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Faculté de la Coloquinte (21st arr.). 1833, by the architect Étienne Louraïeu (1791–1854). Right-hand page. Place de Tipasa (21st arr.). 1842, by the architect Étienne Louraïeu (1791–1854).

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Place de Montgarpet (21st arr.). 1136 – Architect: Golferbin (1105–1154). Every April since 1884 the postcard collectors’ fair has been held here. The boulevard de Montgarpet, avenue Martine Possène, rue Folgerbin, rue Valbertin and rue Castillesc are shown.

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Télé-Radio Méditerranéenne – TRM (21st arr.). 1983 – Architect: Justine Cautiers (born 1943). TRM was launched in 1981 following the announcement of the liberalization of the media in France by Brigitte Migneron (born 1938), the former editor in chief of the publishing house Mare Nostrum Éditions. The first private channel in France to broadcast both radio and television. Set up in August 1983, from September of the same year the mast broadcast throughout the country. Television broadcasting was initially limited to a radius of a hundred kilometres around Urville, then to the south of France in November that year, and finally to the whole of France in February 1984. Every Friday at 8.30 pm, the channel broadcasts a programme for homosexuals, Tolérance Parade, the first of its kind to be shown at a peak-viewing hour. The film On passe à la télé by director Philippe Néran (born 1954) came out in 1995, giving a behind-the-scenes account of the channel.

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his sector comprises a significant part of Urville. It is located to the east of the parc Saint-Michel and is known as the Laballière-Est zone. New Urville arose in the nineteenth century under the impetus of Laballière. The Corvegeades, Blanche-Menthe, Artistes, Scribe, Victoire and Géraniums quarters are the location of offices, company headquarters of the national press and art galleries. Textile and dressmaking workshops have maintained their business despite the French economic crisis following the oil crises of 1973 and 1979. New technology enterprises have arisen recently.

Place du Scribe (20th arr.). 1869 – Architect: Claude Poulis (1833–1910). The Colonne des Indes (1877) is by the sculptor Louis Sidorrieaux (1838–1909). The column is crowned by five statuettes of elephants, symbolizing the five continents to which the French colonial empire extended. The Festival of Music of the Antilles has been held here every April since 1953, the Festival of Amateur Circus since 1904, the Traditional Scandinavian Festival every June since 1967 and a second-hand book market every Wednesday and Sunday since 1894. Las amants du Scribe by author Romain Dordeuil (1862–1951) was written in 1895 and adapted for the cinema in 1949 by the director Robert Nouquem (1912–1994). Behind the place du Scribe is the tour Scribe (Scribe Tower), built in 1922 by the architect Gabriel Nadernes (1863–1930). 235 metres in height, it was the highest tower in Urville until it was superseded by the 270-metre BFU Tower in 1923.

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Radio Panorama headquarters (24th arr.). 1989 – Architect: Fabrice Franciscain (born 1956).

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1 – Palais des Alexandrins, Institute of Theatrical Arts (24th arr.). 1963 – Architect: Jorge Pauheilas (born 1916). 2 – David Jeanbriquet hospital, Institute of Public Works and Civil Engineering (13th arr.). 1867 – Architect: Édouarde Lamotte (1810–1899). Beyond the hospital is the Institute of Public Works and Civil Engineering building, constructed in 1989 by architect Fabrice Franciscain (born 1956).

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1 1 – Headquarters of Éditions La Guimbarde (25th arr.). This publishing house was founded in 1953 by Charlotte Beauvert (born 1926). The headquarters, the work of architect Georges Mursciau (born 1964), dates from 1993. 2 – Headquarters of Qart ss Yam éditions (20th arr.). The signature work of architect Jean-Jacques Rénoux (born 1957). The publishing house was founded in 1896 by Alexandre Alcrosiesc (1860–1944). 3 – Institute of Electronics and Computer Science and the headquarters of éditions Presse Station (25th arr.). Designed in 1977 by architect Thierry Ravin (born 1940), the building was finally constructed in 1989 by architect Nouredine Nebraïeb (born 1948). Presse Station was founded in 1946 by Agnes Lavallet (1901–1993).

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1 – Club Radio (13th arr.). 1989 – Architect: Anne Blotin (born 1953). 2 – Headquarters of Crépuscule Urvillois (13th arr.). 1983 – Architect: Sandrine Lefont (1950). This newspaper was founded in 1923, the brainchild of an industrialist, Antoinette Gouillot (1886–1968). 3 – Radio Météor.fm (25h arr.). 1985 – Architect: Françoise Ragui (born 1959). 4 – Grand Ours library (13th arr.). 1987 – Architect: Patricia Viorin (born 1949).

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Sports Institute and Institute of Regional Languages (24th arr.). In the foreground is the Sports Institute, built in 1960 by architect Philippe Valmieau (1913–1990). Behind it can be seen the Institute of Regional Languages, built in 1880 by architect Antoine Dubotain (1850–1910).

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Place Blanche-Menthe (14th arr.). 1857 – Architect: Claude Lamire (1807–1867). The Imperial Obelisk was erected in 1863 by sculptor Armand Pison (1850–1916). On the right can be seen the Perle theatre (1860), the work of architect Hubert Jacqueroux (1822–1892). From left to right we see the avenue d’Alger, avenue Alphonse Bargelloux, avenue Cyril Higerlain and avenue de Shanghai. Blanche-Menthe à l’aube is a painting by Simon Lebois (1852–1924) from 1894. The songs Force de l’esprit by singer Léon Delamouche (1905–1982) in 1937 and Place Blanche-Menthe à minuit by singer Faridah Ghardhadj (born 1968) in 1992 tell of this square, which also inspired the book Une escapade tranquille (1891) by author Hugo Beaubarmin (1840–1913).

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Bellemarnion hospital complex (25th arr.). 1898 – Architect: Gabriel Nadernes (1863–1930). The Chinese garden was laid out in 1887 by architect Antoine Dubotain (1850–1910). The hospital was renovated and extended in 1963 by architect Gabriel Pilget (born 1915) and in 1970 by architect Sandrine Malmousse (born 1937). It inspired L’hôpital est un univers, written in 1926 by author Jean-Marie Fidelot (1897–1965).

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Lérot hospital (25th arr.). 1913 – Architect: Gilbert Oisellon (1861–1933).

Place de Saint-Calmuis (24th arr.). 1870 – Architect: Joseph Idrain (1840–1908). In 1941, under the Vichy régime, a demonstration by shopkeepers led to 38 deaths and 84 people injured. The colonne de l’Univers (1895) is by sculptor Germain Droncillac (1856–1922). Around the square is the ATD Quart-Monde (Fourth World) stele, erected in 1987 by sculptor Amélie Pourchoix (born 1950) as testimony to the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which has been on 17 October since 1987. In the background is the Univers 2 shopping centre (1976, by architect Henri Guérault, born 1947). The boulevard Édouard Leclerc, avenue du Siam, boulevard du Tonkin, rue de Dieppe, avenue Robin Laurent, boulevard de Budapest and avenue de Saint-Calmuis all radiate from the square.

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Place des Artistes (13th, 14th and 20th arr.). 1870 – Architect: Edmond Hars (1839–1913). The fontaine des Italians was created by landscape designer Pierre Dullesc (1832–1901) in 1874. The place des Artistes inspired Un paradis urbain by the painter Étienne Montbert (1816–1899) and the songs T’en souviens-tu? by Simone Achimou (born 1919) and La belle Grand-Place by Pierre Salvan (born 1941). From left to right we see avenue Hugues Silvon, boulevard de Tokyo, boulevard Amadeus Mozart, avenue Blanche Menthe, avenue du Pantographe, boulevard du Théorème, avenue Philippe Namorron and avenue du Caroube. The Festival of Jazz, first held in 1933, takes place annually at the end of June.

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Place de la Victoire (20th arr.). 1865 – Architect: Paul le Juste (1830–1897). In the heart of the square is a copy of the Lion of Belfort of 1881 by sculptor Auguste Bartholdi (1834–1904). The place de la Victoire is the scene of numerous cultural events. Since 1946 the Postcard Collectors’ Market has been held here on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Since 1923 the Goût de la Victoire food festival has been held every November. The square inspired Le Bal de la Victoire in 1977 by singer Sébastien Lasnier (born 1952). Beyond the square, on the left, is the Theâtre National d’Urville, renovated in 1990 by architect Françoise Ragui (born 1959).

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Place des Géraniums (20th arr.). 1868 – Architect: Gustave Pezzolini (1838–1904). L’Arc de Triomphe des Francs-Tireurs (1881) is by the sculptor Francis Herroudiard (1841–1910). From left to right are the avenue de Vienne, boulevard Alphonse Jarroux, avenue Édouard Dourche, avenue Benjamin Terraiesc, avenue des Coloquintes, avenue des Géraniums and boulevard des Pigeonniers. Every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, the Géraniums second-hand market, started in 1911, is held. The square inspired the painting Place des Géraniums by the painter Victor Névicourt (1808–1876), Quand je reviens à la place de mon enfance by the writer Alfred Harnant (1843–1907) and Quand j’arrivais à Urville by the writer Elie Forsmann (1916–1997), and the films Gloire aux Francs-Tireurs by director Alfred Goujon (1916–1998), Le juste by director Louis Ferrand (born 1926), and Un Arménien à Urville by director Noëlle Drevijian (born 1940).

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he northern sector of Urville is made up of the Coteau, Butte des Burgondes, Castelrouffiau, La Tellure, Égramons and l’Encrine quarters. To the north it borders the parc Saint-Michel and the Arlaunier river. It was originally an important industrial area (chemical, medical, metallurgical, food industries, etc.), but a large part of the activities disappeared as a result of the economic crisis. High-tech related business took over from the second half of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s at the l’Encrine technology park and Égramons science centre. In recent years scientific laboratories and new technology companies have set up their headquarters in this district.

Faculté de Benarcourt (29th arr.). 1884 – Architect: Auguste Beaumarpin (1840–1913). In 1942 the faculty was subject to the Raids on the Universities, targeted at Jewish students. Beyond the faculty is the Mosque of Montervain built in 1924 by architect Roger Piallon (1892–1965). Beyond that is the church of Notre-Dame de l’Anguille, built in 1868 by architect Édouard Lamotte (1810–1899).

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North Industrial 161

Place des Burgondes and Notre-Dame des Burgondes (27th arr.). A view of Notre-Dame des Burgondes, a very popular church in Urville, seen from the place des Burgondes (built in 1866 by architect Édouard Lamotte, 1810–1899). The square is open to the north with excellent views of outlying districts of the city, and in good weather the Alps can be seen in the distance. To the south, there is a splendid view over Urville. The township is built around the church and the square. The site is visited by more than ten million tourists every year. Since 1896 the traditional Burgundian festival has been held here every November. The fact that this festival is in the district of the same name is no coincidence. The place inspired the song Les infidèles des Burgondes, performed by singer Alexandre Tingremont (1902–1973) in 1935, as well as the painting Urville depuis la butte by the painter Frédéric Blargaux (1833–1901) in 1881.

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Place Montervain (27th, 28th and 29th arr.). 1868 – Architect: Auguste Beaumarpin (1840–1913). In 1888, ten years after the ‘textile fever’ ravaged the district, having serious consequences for the workers, the staff of one of the largest factories in the cotton industry went on strike. The Cotonneries artisanales méditerranéennes company was the victim of far-reaching corruption which threatened it with bankruptcy. Almost five hundred people of the two thousand who made up the company’s workforce were threatened with the loss of their jobs. A demonstration was organized to demand the sacking of the managers of the company. In 1935 a demonstration by Italian immigrants denounced the agreements made between the French State and Italy under the fascist regime of Mussolini (1883–1945). They were initially to have marched on the place de la Liberté but were stopped at the place d’Eylau by the forces of law and order. Twenty-four were killed and thirty-six injured in what became known as the ‘Repression of the place d’Eylau’. This was

followed by a demonstration at the place de Turin, which turned into a tragedy following a bomb attack. The workers from the factories of Castelrouffiau, Égramons, Montervain, l’Encrine, Jansonnière, Mésopotamie and Buis demonstrated there against the German occupation in December 1943. The German army killed 58 people and deported 2319. In 1983 children of immigrants set out from this square on a long march to Paris to be received by President Mitterand of the French republic in a bid to gain greater recognition in France. In 1984 almost three hundred thousand demonstrators made up of workers in the textile and clothing industries gathered to protest that they had been let down by the Left-wing parties. They then headed for the place de la République to join a procession from the place du Buis. In 2002 the policies of the government of Jean-Pierre Raffarin (born 1948) aimed at reducing social security expenditure and cutting welfare payments aroused the anger of a great

number of people. A demonstration was organized on this square to denounce these measures, with almost five hundred thousand participants. In 1912 the square was described in the book Voyages dans les lumières by the writer Églantine Louillot (1877–1960).

Caravelles hospital (27th arr.). 1911 – Architect: Albert Horeau (1868–1950). The hospital was affected by the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic, with two fatal cases recorded. These two people had returned from a trip to Asia where the epidemic originated. The hospital was quarantined in order to eradicate the syndrome.

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Égramons science centre (29th arr.). 1990 – Architect: Françoise Ragui (born 1959). The new mayor of Urville, Michel Bougadier (born 1943), decided to launch this project, comprising a scientific research complex, to reinject some dynamism into this former industrial area to the north of Urville. This science centre is made up of 24 buildings forming circles on three levels, surrounding a central tower 70 metres high with an observatory at 45 metres. Numerous companies and scientific laboratories have their headquarters in this complex. Among them are Brichet Laboratoires, Nivarrel SA, Filon et Carbette, Rouguin Paramédicales, Martellon, Phitron, Faudras SA and Segnorans.

Museum and Institute of Pre-Columbian Civilizations (29th arr.). 1973 – Architect: Joseph Feinberger (1917–1985). The museum contains numerous works of art from the various communities of North and South America. The aim of the Institute is to develop research into the Indian civilizations, the Maya and Inca. Relatively little is still known about these civilizations by modern-day researchers.

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Palais du Destrier and butte de Jars (29th arr.). 1238 – Architect: Tussin (1205–1268). The palais du Destrier was the residence of the counts of Urville when they wanted to escape the city. In the background is the palais de Jars, built in 1319 by the architect Vorème (1294–1339). Three bridges span the Arlaunier: the Destrier bridge, built in 1142 by the architect Golferbin (1105–1154), the Jars bridge, built in 1317 by the architect Talmonet (1279–1324), and the Chartrin bridge, built in 1807 by the architect Dominique Monplaisir (1761–1824). On the left is the quai du Destrier, laid out in 1872 by the architect Adolphe Monginiesc (1821–1897). On the right, the quai des Alpilles, 1871, by the architect Hubert Jacqueroux (1822–1892).

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Place de Castelrouffiau (27th arr.). 1874 – Architect: Edmond Hars (1839–1913). The statue of the Unknown Communard by sculptor Édouard Gallorin (1833–1910) dates from 1877. From left to right (left-hand page) are the avenue de Castelrouffiau, avenue de Tournesillon, avenue des Burgondes, boulevard des Podarges and avenue Franklin Roosevelt. Every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday since 1897 the Castelrouffiau Horticultural Market has been held here, and every January since 1904 it has been the scene of the Grande Braderie de Castelrouffiau flea market. The song Place à Castelrouffiau performed by Annie Malmerasse (born 1944) in 1972 describes this square. In the background, to the right of the square, the Butte des Burgondes station was built, from where the funicular runs to the summit of the hill. This is the work of architect Gilbert Legris (1854–1922), based on a metal structure by Gustave Eiffel (1832–1923). Before Laballière incorporated the hill into his vast plan for the city, it was only sparsely developed, but the significant demographic expansion of Urville saw progressive development of the site. The hill is dominated by the church of Notre-Dame des Burgondes, built in 1874 by the architect Vincent Plaillol (1819–1893), its dome inspired by the Taj Mahal in India.

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Left-hand page. Place du Coteau (27th arr.). 1869 – Architect: Louis Craille (1835–1894). In the middle ground is the parc du Coteau from 1879 by landscape designer Gabriel Richin (1833–1925). From left to right, the boulevard des Podarges, avenue du Coteau and boulevard de Moscou. Every October since 1972 the square has hosted the Coteau Comic Strip Festival. Every Wednesday and Sunday the square is the meeting place of the Coteau Association of Stamp Collectors, who have been displaying their tiny works of art here since 1930. The square inspired the song L’Accordéoniste du Coteau by the singer Christian Péchart (born 1950) in 1983.

Olympic Stadium (28th arr.). The Olympic Stadium is located to the north of the city in the 28th arr. It was originally built in 1890 with a capacity of 60,000, but was destroyed during World War II. The present building dates from 1960, the work of the architect Lucien Piervaux (born 1931). It hosted the football European Championship in 1960, and this was the stadium where the French national team won this Championship in 1984 (beating Spain 2–0 in the final) and the intercontinental title against Argentina, with the same score, in 1985. In 1997 the stadium was renovated for the 1998 football World Cup. It is roofed in and was increased to a capacity of 130,000 seats. The project was the work of architect Sandrine Lefont (born 1950). The Olympic Stadium saw the French football team win its first World Cup 3–0 against Brazil in the final on 12 July 1998. A song was composed for this occasion by the group Urvillanoc, with the title Il est magique, Stade Olympique. Today, the Olympic Stadium is the home of the city’s two first division football clubs, Olympique Urville and Dynamic Racing Club Urville, and hosts international matches involving the French national football team, the Internationaux de France athletics tournament every August and many rock concerts.

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his sector comprises the Jansonnière, Mésopotamie, Fraternité, Typannons, Valmières and Planar quarters. It also includes the former medieval town of Valmières. The main activity of this sector revolves around processing industries, the press and the circulation of press publications, and drinks factories and distributors. Some quarters have seen sharp demographic expansion since the 1950s, requiring the construction of residential blocks averaging fifteen to twenty storeys in height, sometimes more, to compensate for the lack of available space.

Place du Buis (25th and 26th arr.). 1872 – Architect: Frédéric Farquin (1829–1892). The statue of the Working Woman (1877) is by sculptor Thomas Farrouas (1831–1900). In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the square was the scene of some tragic events. The numerous demonstrations here inspired director Tatiana Lejeune (born 1958) in the making of the film La manifestation in 1988. To the rear on the right is the town hall of the 25th arr., built in 1882 by architect Antoine Dubotain (1850–1910). To the rear on the left can be seen the Camille Moussin shopping centre, built in 1969 by architect Gilbert Sagée (born 1932). This is the point where the boulevard du Buis, avenue Camille Moussin, rue Arnold Böcklin and avenue Luigi Pirandello meet.

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The Northeast 171

Vinherbe business centre (25th arr.). 1989 – Architect: Fabrice Franciscain (born 1956).

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Le Serran business centre (25th arr.). 1982 – Architect: Thierry Haussergioux (born 1952).

Cité des sciences (science city) du Planar (26th arr.). On the right is the Victor Tévissé centre (1975) by architect Claude Nozelloni (born 1938). On the left can be seen the Claudine Moullers centre (1978) by architect Marie Bouvin (born 1944).

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Eurocompress (25th arr.). Innégroule (born 1955).

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1990 – Architect: Joseph

The Nouvelle Donne newspaper headquarters (28th arr.). 1992 – Architect: Loïc Averais (born 1960). The paper was founded in 1990 by Amélie Rouvaux (born 1950) and Corinne Duquin (born 1953).

Faculté de Saint Herblain (26th arr.). 1904 – Architect: Auguste Beaumarpin (1840–1913). The faculty was renovated and extended in 1961 by Beaumarpin’s colleague Philippe Valmireau (1913–1990).

Place Hottentots (25th arr.). 1871 – Architect: Vincent Mallormes (1843–1907). The Anonymous Musician column (1894) is by sculptor Armand Pison (1850–1916). This square inspired the book Je vous ai offert des roses tous les jours in 1924 by writer Jacqueline Pochert (1899–1982). It was the scene of an attack by the Croix de Feu, an underground political movement founded by veterans of World War I. Aimed at the public prosecutor, François Beaubret (1892–1964), who was investigating the Urville branch of the Croix de Feu, this attack killed three bodyguards and five journalists, but the public prosecutor was unharmed. The event occurred just after the place de Turin attack which caused the deaths of 24 people who had come to participate in a demonstration against the growth of the extreme Right in Europe.

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his sector is the main financial and commercial centre of Urville, with the headquarters of banks, insurance companies, IT and electronics companies, oil concerns, the nuclear power company and the food industry. It is bounded by the left bank of the Écrantes estuary and the parc Saint-Michel. Futurville to the south and the Cité 2000 were launched after World War II to establish Urville as a world economic and financial capital. At the end of the 1960s a new quarter was built to the north of the Cité 2000, the Acropolis. In the early 1970s these three quarters were merged and renamed Futurville 2000. During the second half of the 1990s the Nouvelle Bourse quarter was built to the west of the Cité 2000. Today, Futurville 2000 is the main commercial and financial district in Europe. Urville is the principal platform for air travel in Europe. Urville-Escoudiesc, shown in this book, is the most important of the city’s four international airports.

Faculté des Scarmattons (15th arr.). The architects Gilbert Oisellon (1861–1933) and Gabriel Nadernes (1863–1930) were responsible respectively for the faculty and the BFU tower for the 1923 world fair, which had the provocative theme of ‘Democracy: reality or fiction?’.

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Tour Médaillon (17th arr.). 2003 – Architect: Karine Niverrois (born 1961). Three hundred and twenty metres high. At the base of the tower is a congress hall with a capacity of two thousand.

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Nouvelle Bourse (New Stock Exchange) (15th and 17th arr.). This quarter has almost 150 skyscrapers, including the CBU tower (360 metres) built in 1967, the IFP tower (330 metres) built in 1974, the Galaxie tower (345 metres) built in 1992, the Noire tower (300 metres) built in 1972, the Palladium tower (275 metres) built in 1967, the BFU tower (270 metres) built in 1923, and the SAUF tower (250 metres) built in 1985. More recently, in 2003, the Médaillon tower (320 metres) was completed. Among the prestigious buildings here, three were the tallest in the world at different times: the Mégalopolis tower (384 metres) was built in 1938, and the Twin Towers (420 metres) were built in 1972 and 1974, but since 1975 the highest building in the world has been the An 2000 (Year 2000) tower (540 metres, page 181). The record will be beaten by just a few metres on completion of the Freedom Tower project, New York (under the direction of architect Daniel Liebeskind, born 1946), scheduled for 2008. This will replace the Twin Towers of 1973, the counterparts to the Twin Towers in Urville, as a memorial to their tragic destruction in the notorious terrorist attacks of 2001. Since the year 2000, Futurville 2000 has been extended to the west by the An 2000 tower which houses the Nouvelle Bourse financial centre. It is also the location of various company headquarters (banks, insurance companies, IT companies, chemical and petrochemical companies) and more than two million employees a day work there. This site has propelled Urville to a global city – it has all the necessary economic and financial mechanisms and institutions and constitutes a hub of communications networks at a global level. The concentration of skyscrapers inspired the 1993 film Le labyrinthe vertical by director Francis Gutterez (born 1951). The quarter also inspired the painting Les mégaliths de verre by painter Juliette Vardonnoux (born 1955) in 1989.

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A general view of the Cité 2000 from the An 2000 tower.

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An 2000 (Year 2000) tower (15th arr.). The highest skyscraper in the world. 540 metres high, the tower was built between 1972 and 1975 by architect Claude Nozelloni (born 1938) and opened on 11 July 1975. It has 132 storeys, has a total floor area of 145,300 square metres and is occupied by 30,000 people. This building also represents the pinnacle of the Thirty Glorious Years of economic boom in France. On the 130th storey are two restaurants, the highest in Urville. The terrace on the 131st and 132nd storeys offers a unique panorama over the whole of Urville. When conditions are particularly clear, it is possible to see the Côte d’Azur, the Alps and, more rarely, Corsica. To the right of the An 2000 Tower, from left to right, we see the IBM tower (180 metres), dating from 1977, the World Trade Center of Urville (230 metres), dating from 1982, and the Pôle Textile tower (185 metres), dating from 1972. These three buildings were, respectively, the work of architects Thierry Ravin (born 1940), Françoise Dargemont (born 1942) and Jacques Bodgenberg (born 1923).

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Urville-Escoudiesc Airport (Terminal 4), Escoudiesc commune, western Azurville. With the opening of Terminals 1 and 2 in April 1965, the new airport of Urville-Escoudiesc came into operation and brought a new era of more spacious terminals capable of handling jumbo jets. (A satellite terminal was added in 1972.) These terminals are the work of architect Gilbert Sagée (born 1932). Two years later, Terminal 3 was opened (see illustration and description on following page). In 1997 Terminal 4 (above), built by architect Georges Mursciau (born 1964), was opened. This terminal handles flights by Aeroglobus, AOM and Air Liberté (the latter two having merged under the name Air Lib). A fifth terminal opened its doors in 2004.

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Urville-Escoudiesc Airport (Terminal 3). Two years after the airport was opened in 1965 a new terminal was opened, Terminal 3, originally designed to accommodate the development of the airline Air France. It is the work of architect Sandrine Malmousse (born 1937). It consists of four sections (A and C to the north and B and D to the south). Twelve satellites in the form of five-pointed stars were added first, before it was expanded with the addition of four new sections, E, F, G and H, from 1998 to 2003. In 1999 the company entered into a major alliance with the American Delta Air Lines (Sky Team), which has since taken in Aeromexico, CSA Czech Airlines, Korean Airlines and Alitalia, with others expected to join. A new terminal has recently been added to the east of Terminal 3.

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International Cultural Centre. This daring complex was erected in 1983. It is the work of architect Jean-Jacques Jarramont (born 1946). The building houses numerous international artistic exhibitions and events (paintings, drawings, dance, music, multimedia). It has a thousand-seat hall for the organization of conferences on cultural topics of an international nature. The Centre attracts almost three million visitors every year. In the background to the left can be seen the Bir Hakeim hospital. From left to right, rue Bir Hakeim, rue James Monroe, rue Gustav Klimt and rue de Chartres.

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Jumelles towers and Léonard tower. The Jumelles towers are the tallest towers in Urville aside from the celebrated An 2000 tower. The plans for constructing these colossal structures were drawn up at the same time as those for their US equivalent, the twin towers in New York. Both structures are the work of the American-Japanese architect Minoru Yamasaki – in the case of the Jumelles towers he worked alongside the French architect Pierre Sourdines (born 1941). In the early 1960s, the US and Europe were competing in a race to build the highest structure. Three towns were competing for this title: New York and Chicago in the US, and Urville in Europe. Yamasaki, aiming for equality, decided to build both the twin towers in New York and those in Urville around 420 metres high. Despite being of the same height, however, the two projects differ in architectural style. For the Urville towers, the authorities asked Yamasaki to build buttresses, because of the seismic faults in the Urville region. The Jumelles towers were completed in 1972, each being 408m high , 40m wide and deep, and 102 stories high, built on a base of 100m by 100m and 12m high – giving a total height of 420m. They cover a total surface area of 356,400m2. In contrast to the American towers, each tower is supported by 16 buttresses. The towers were the highest in the world for a short period from 1972 to 1974, before being surpassed in height by the Sears tower in Chicago (444m) and the An 2000 tower (540m). At the foot of the Jumelles towers, the Léonard tower seems a small structure, at only 165m high. However, on its completion in 1921 it was the highest tower in Urville until it was overtaken by the Scribe tower (235m) in 1922 and by the B.F.U. tower (270m) in 1923. The Léonard tower was built by the architect Roger Piallon (1892–1965). The Electronix tower (225m) is situated in the foreground, and can be recognized by the triangular structure at the top. It was built by the architect Thierry Haussergioux (born 1952), and was completed in 1989. It houses the registered offices of the electronic and IT firm Electronix, founded in 1985.

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From 1993, Gilles Tréhin had the urge to ‘visualize’ Urville in the form of relief plans in the style of Turgot. ‘I began by setting out a general view in A2 format,’ he explains modestly; six months later the overall concept had grown considerably, through urban expansion. In 1996 ‘the Urvillist’ set to work on further A2 panels. It took him three months and a not inconsiderable number of preliminary sketches before he completed this phenomenal view of the tentacular city.

Enjoy picking out some of the buildings and landmarks of Urville on this aerial view.

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