Editing Georges-Eugène Haussmann (section)

===Criticism of the renovation===
Haussmann spent 2.5 billion francs on rebuilding Paris, a sum that staggered his critics.<ref name=jaconde/> [[Jules Ferry]] and other political rivals of Napoleon alleged that Haussmann had recklessly squandered money, and planned poorly. They alleged he had falsified accounts. While Napoleon had hired Haussmann, the political attacks were so intense that he forced Haussmann to become a scapegoat, hoping his resignation would satisfy the [[Bourgeoisie|bourgeois]] parties which had become increasingly angered during the economic depression of the late 1860s.<ref>Pinckney (1957)</ref>

Haussmann's plans, with their radical redevelopment, coincided with a time of intense political activity in Paris. Many Parisians were troubled by the destruction of "old roots". Historian Robert Herbert says that "the [[Impressionism|impressionist movement]] depicted this loss of connection in such paintings as [[Édouard Manet|Manet]]'s ''[[A Bar at the Folies-Bergère]]''." The subject of the painting is talking to a man, seen in the mirror behind her, but seems disengaged. According to Herbert, this is a symptom of living in Paris at this time: the citizens became detached from one another. "The continuous destruction of physical Paris led to a destruction of social Paris as well." The poet [[Charles Baudelaire]] witnessed these changes and wrote the poem "[[Les Fleurs du mal|The Swan]]" in response. The poem is a lament for, and critique of the destruction of the medieval city in the name of "progress":

<blockquote> ''Old'' Paris is gone (no human heart<br>
changes half so fast as a city's face)&nbsp;...<br>
There used to be a poultry market here,<br>
and one cold morning&nbsp;... I saw<br>
<br>a swan that had broken out of its cage,<br>
webbed feet clumsy on the cobblestones,<br>
white feathers dragging through uneven ruts,<br>
and obstinately pecking at the drains&nbsp;...<br><br>
Paris changes&nbsp;... but in sadness like mine<br>
nothing stirs—new buildings, old<br>
neighbourhoods turn to allegory,<br>
and memories weigh more than stone.<ref>Charles Baudelaire, ''Les Fleurs du Mal: The Complete Text of The Flowers of Evil'', Richard Howard, trans., © 1985, D.R. Godine.</ref></blockquote>

Haussmann was also criticized for the great cost of his project. Napoleon III deposed Haussmann on 5 January 1870 in order to improve his own flagging popularity. Haussmann was a favourite target of the [[Situationist International|Situationist's]] critique. Besides pointing out the repressive aims that were achieved by Haussmann's urbanism, [[Guy Debord]] and his friends, who considered [[urbanism]] to be a "state science" or inherently "capitalist" science, also underlined that he nicely separated [[leisure]] areas from work places, thus announcing modern [[Functionalism (architecture)|functionalism]], as illustrated by [[Le Corbusier]]'s precise zone tripartition, with one zone for circulation, one for housing, and one for labour.

Some of the contemporary critics of Haussmann softened their views over time.  [[Jules Simon]] was an ardent republican who had refused to take an oath to Napoleon III, and had been a fierce critic of Haussmann in parliament but in 1882, he wrote of Haussmann in the ''Gaulois'':<ref>cited in De Moncan, Patrice, ''Les jardins d'Haussmann'', p. 142–143</ref>

"He tried to make Paris a magnificent city, and he succeeded completely.  When he took Paris in hand and managed our affairs, rue Saint-Honore and rue Saint-Antoine were still the largest streets in the city.   We had no other promenades than the Grands Boulevards and the Tuileries; the Champs-Élysées was most of the time a sewer; the Bois-de-Boulogne was at the end of the world.  We were lacking water, markets, light, in those far-off times, which are only thirty years past.   He demolished neighbourhoods- one could say, entire cities.  They cried that he would create a plague; he let us cry and, on the contrary, through his intelligent piercing of streets, he gave us air, health and life.  Here he created a street; there he created an avenue or a boulevard; here a Place, a Square; a Promenade. Out of emptiness he made the Champs-Élysées, the Bois de Boulogne, the Bois de Vincennes. He introduced, into his beautiful capital, trees and flowers, and populated it with statues."<ref>cited in De Moncan, Patrice, ''Les jardins d'Haussmann'', p. 142–143</ref>