3 ms·

> one of the things which long hampered it is the historical and technocratic notion of Paris being the sole hub of the country Is it really the 'historical an

by samhw 5y ago

> one of the things which long hampered it is the historical and technocratic notion of Paris being the sole hub of the country Is it really the 'historical and technocratic notion' which influenced it, or just the raw fact that it is the hub of the country, the place from or to which most people want to travel? Sure, that fact may itself have been determined by all kinds of historical and/or technocratic notions, but I see no reason why the TGV builders need to have been musing on history.

masklinn 5y ago
> Is it really the 'historical and technocratic notion' which influenced it, or just the raw fact that it is the hub of the country, the place from or to which most people want to travel? The former, concentrating state power in Paris, and limiting (or even outright suppressing) the importance and influence of the rest of the country (especially the southern half) has been a constant theme since the Bourbons: they underwent the project of moving france from a decentralised feudal state to a centralised absolute monarchy. This theme of centralisation of power remained a constant until very late in the 20th century e.g. regional languages remained pretty actively suppressed until the 50s (Loi Deixonne which allowed some of them to be taught at all). Even then that allowance remained limited until the 80s at the earliest. To this day, france has signed but not ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. > I see no reason why the TGV builders need to have been musing on history. Because even if they had considered the idea (which they probably had not) it would have been shot down as completely useless by pollies.
- rewma 5y ago
  > The former, concentrating state power in Paris, and limiting (or even outright suppressing) the importance and influence of the rest of the country (especially the southern half) has been a constant theme since the Bourbons: they underwent the project of moving france from a decentralised feudal state to a centralised absolute monarchy. This is a great call, and it should be noted that the same pattern has also been adopted in Spain, with the nation's hub in Madrid and the spokes in regional capitals. The notable exception is Spain's stretches of the Mediterranean corridor, which is a part of the trans-european transport network. Still, notably these stretches do not add further connections through Barcelona.
  - anthk 5y ago
    Madrid and Paris are blackholes. The Mediterranean coast and Barcelona/Valencia/Balearics are "safe" from that because the mentality of tourism/media creation (Catalonia was THE powerhouse of printed press/tv/media producing and so on) helped to crash down the Francoist regime (tourist money made most of fascists turn a blind eye to "impudity"). And OFC the Basque Country being a industrial powerhouse makes Spain overall a more balanced country than France.

by samhw 5y ago

masklinn 5y ago

> Is it really the 'historical and technocratic notion' which influenced it, or just the raw fact that it is the hub of the country, the place from or to which most people want to travel? The former, concentrating state power in Paris, and limiting (or even outright suppressing) the importance and influence of the rest of the country (especially the southern half) has been a constant theme since the Bourbons: they underwent the project of moving france from a decentralised feudal state to a centralised absolute monarchy. This theme of centralisation of power remained a constant until very late in the 20th century e.g. regional languages remained pretty actively suppressed until the 50s (Loi Deixonne which allowed some of them to be taught at all). Even then that allowance remained limited until the 80s at the earliest. To this day, france has signed but not ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. > I see no reason why the TGV builders need to have been musing on history. Because even if they had considered the idea (which they probably had not) it would have been shot down as completely useless by pollies.

rewma 5y ago
> The former, concentrating state power in Paris, and limiting (or even outright suppressing) the importance and influence of the rest of the country (especially the southern half) has been a constant theme since the Bourbons: they underwent the project of moving france from a decentralised feudal state to a centralised absolute monarchy. This is a great call, and it should be noted that the same pattern has also been adopted in Spain, with the nation's hub in Madrid and the spokes in regional capitals. The notable exception is Spain's stretches of the Mediterranean corridor, which is a part of the trans-european transport network. Still, notably these stretches do not add further connections through Barcelona.
- anthk 5y ago
  Madrid and Paris are blackholes. The Mediterranean coast and Barcelona/Valencia/Balearics are "safe" from that because the mentality of tourism/media creation (Catalonia was THE powerhouse of printed press/tv/media producing and so on) helped to crash down the Francoist regime (tourist money made most of fascists turn a blind eye to "impudity"). And OFC the Basque Country being a industrial powerhouse makes Spain overall a more balanced country than France.