Paris under Water: How the City of Light Survived the Great Flood of 1910 by Jeffrey H. Jackson (review)

croissante, quoique encore insuffisante. Mais il souligne aussi les “obstacles au ‘New Deal écologique’”: “manque de vigilance et de cohérence politiques”, “dossiers ignorés” (OGM, eau, nucléaire), doutes sur le “financement des mesures annoncées”, résistance d’acteurs institutionnels (parlementaires, Grands Corps et ingénieurs dominant les ministères techniques comme Agriculture, Énergie, Transports) et la “capacité de pression [...] incertaine” des ONG (53–57). L’entretien final avec Dominique Bourg (Université de Lausanne) est riche. Les apports du Grenelle incluent la reconnaissance des périls, la participation collective qui accroît “l’acceptabilité des mesures environnementales” (63), le volontarisme des autorités, leur “investissement symbolique inédit” (61), une approche systémique des problèmes (“Tout se tient” 59), et certaines propositions structurantes. Ses faiblesses sont l’exclusion de certains sujets et acteurs, la difficulté de l’application des mesures (fiscalité verte, développement d’infrastructures routières et immobili ères durables) et l’institutionnalisation “éphémère d’une concertation” (58) qui ne modifie pas en profondeur les esprits. La loi Grenelle I fut adoptée par le Parlement le 23 juillet 2009, la loi Grenelle II du 12 juillet 2010 la complète et coordonne les dizaines de décrets d’application; donc un premier bilan est possible. Justement, le site Web officiel du Grenelle communique plusieurs rapports indépendants et sérieux d’évaluation (). Monterey Institute of International Studies (CA) Michel Gueldry JACKSON, JEFFREY H. Paris under Water: How the City of Light Survived the Great Flood of 1910. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. ISBN 978-0-230-61706-3. Pp. 262. $27. With an intensity that recalls Camus’s La peste, Jackson traces the Paris flood of 1910. Beginning with a personalized account of an unsuspecting Parisian caught in the grips of rising waters and continuing with reports by other victims or observers, he holds us in suspense to the very end. Surprisingly, this event has receded into history much as the flood waters abated after ten traumatic days. In fact, the author learned about it by accident as he explored the Paris catacombs. His decision to commemorate the centenary of this destructive event has produced a readable and well-documented account of survival. The flood of 1910, like others that go back to Roman times, traces its roots to prehistoric geological developments. Yet the 1910 flood was also the handiwork of modern urbanization, especially Haussmann’s late nineteenth-century transformations . Residents were caught off guard on 21 January 1910, and dismissed the warning signs. Then as the ominous waters continued to rise, no one could ignore the reality. The flood forced people from their homes, curtailed the food supply, and inflated prices. It left many homeless. The streets were dark and dangerous as electricity failed. City Council members debated and disagreed among themselves. Surrounding departments were even harder hit than Paris as the tributaries of the Seine overflowed. Goods were destroyed in the inundated basements of stores and factories. Refuse from beneath the city spewed forth into the newly-formed waterways. People feared outbreaks of disease. Yet the situation was not without its positive side. Police under the Javert-like prefect Louis Lépine did their utmost to remedy the deteriorating conditions. They provided boats and worked to prevent crime and looting. Ingenious citizens created 196 FRENCH REVIEW 85.1 passerelles to facilitate pedestrian traffic. The distrusted military arrived, criticism and controversy notwithstanding. Images of past political battles, such as the Dreyfus Affair, remained deeply ingrained in the French mentality. However, various less controversial charitable groups, such as the French Red Cross, the Sisters of Charity, and local churches brought aid to the homeless. In his account of the disaster, Jackson, like the Parisians of 1910, measures its impact by the statue of the stone Zouave on the Pont de l’Alma. Jackson compares the attack of the flood to a city under siege, and contrasts the City of Light with a City of Mud and Filth. In addition, he inserts photographs from the flood. These pictures are listed in the index with their respective chapters but without page numbers, which makes it somewhat difficult to locate them. Jackson has used authentic...