Editing Georges-Eugène Haussmann (section)

===The debate about the military function of Haussmann's boulevards===
Some critics and historians in the 20th century, notably [[Lewis Mumford]], argued that the real purpose of Haussmann's boulevards was to make it easier for the army to crush popular uprisings. According to these critics, the wide boulevards gave the army greater mobility, a wider range of fire for their cannon, and made it harder to block streets with barricades. They argued that the boulevards built by Haussmann allowed the French army to easily suppress the [[Paris Commune]] in 1871.<ref name="arthistoryarchive.com">[http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/architecture/Haussmanns-Architectural-Paris.html Haussmann's Architectural Paris – The Art History Archive], checked 21 October 2007.</ref><ref>Mumford, Lewis, ''The City in History: Its Origins, Its Transformations, Its Prospects'' (1961)</ref>

Other historians disputed this argument. They noted that while Haussmann sometimes mentioned the military advantages of the boulevards when seeking funding for his projects, it was never the main purpose. Their main purpose, according to Napoleon III and Haussmann, was to improve traffic circulation, provide space and light and views of the city landmarks, and to beautify Paris.<ref>Milza, Pierre, ''Napoleon III'' (2007)</ref>

Haussmann did not deny the military value of the wider streets. In his ''Memoires'', he wrote that his new [[Boulevard de Sébastopol|boulevard Sebastopol]] resulted in the "gutting of old Paris, of the quarter of riots and barricades."<ref name="Moncan, p. 34">de Moncan, ''Le Paris d'Haussmann'', p. 34.</ref> He admitted he sometimes used this argument with the parliament to justify the high cost of his projects, arguing that they were for national defense and should be paid for, at least partially, by the state. He wrote: "But, as for me, I who was the promoter of these additions made to original project, I declare that I never thought in the least, in adding them, of their greater or lesser strategic value."<ref name="Moncan, p. 34"/> 

The Paris urban historian Patrice de Moncan wrote: "To see the works created by Haussmann and Napoleon III only from the perspective of their strategic value is very reductive. The Emperor was a convinced follower of [[Henri de Saint-Simon|Saint-Simon]]. His desire to make Paris, the economic capital of France, a more open, more healthy city, not only for the upper classes but also for the workers, cannot be denied, and should be recognised as the primary motivation."<ref name="Moncan, p. 34"/>

During the suppression of the Paris Commune in 1871, the newly built-boulevards were not a major factor in the Commune's defeat.  The Communards were defeated in one week, not because of Haussmann's boulevards, but because they were outnumbered by five to one. They had fewer weapons and fewer men trained to use them, they had no plan for the defense of the city. They had very few experienced officers and there was no single commander, with each neighborhood left to defend itself, and they had no hope of military support from outside of Paris.<ref>Rougerie, Jacques, ''La Commune de 1871'', (2014), p. 115–117</ref>