The Freycinet Plan (french: Plan Freycinet) was an ambitious
public works
Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...
programme, launched in 1878 by the Minister of Public Works
Charles de Freycinet
Charles Louis de Saulces de Freycinet (; 14 November 1828 – 14 May 1923) was a French statesman and four times Prime Minister during the Third Republic. He also served an important term as Minister of War (1888–1893). He belonged to the Opp ...
, principally for the construction of
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
s, but also for
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...
s and maritime
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
s. In its initial codification – which very largely was superseded – the plan foresaw the
hypothecation
Hypothec (; german: Hypothek, french: hypothèque, pl, hipoteka, from Lat. ''hypotheca'', from Gk. : hypothēkē), sometimes tacit hypothec, is a term used in civil law systems (e.g. law of entire Continental Europe except Gibraltar
)
, ...
of 3 billion francs to the railway lines, 1 billion to the canals and 500 million to the ports.
Characteristics
The project became part of the Finance Act in January 1878. Freycinet, being close to
Léon Gambetta
Léon Gambetta (; 2 April 1838 – 31 December 1882) was a French lawyer and republican politician who proclaimed the French Third Republic in 1870 and played a prominent role in its early government.
Early life and education
Born in Cahors, Ga ...
and
Léon Say
Jean-Baptiste-Léon Say (6 June 1826, Paris – 21 April 1896, Paris) was a French statesman and diplomat.
One of the 19th-century's noted economists, he served as French Finance Minister from 1872 until 1883.
Biography
The Say family is a mos ...
, the Minister of Finance, organised a meeting between them all to prepare the political terrain. A first law was voted in on 18 May 1878, creating the Compagnie des
Chemins de Fer de l'État
The Chemins de fer de l'État ("State Railways"), often referred to in France as the Réseau de l'État ("State Network"), was an early state-owned French railway company.
History
The company was established by state order of the Third Republic ...
("State Railway Company"), by acquisition of several other companies.
On 8 June, a report was published. The main objective of the Freycinet plan was to give every French person access the railway, so as to favour the economic development of the country and to open up remote areas. It was made law on 17 July 1879.
The plan foresaw the construction of of railway. They were built both by large private companies, mostly underwritten by the State, and by the State itself: Freycinet had formed the State Railway Company with the law of 18 May 1878.
In 1879, Freycinet became
President of the Council of Ministers
The President of the Council of Ministers (sometimes titled Chairman of the Council of Ministers) is the most senior member of the cabinet in the executive branch of government in some countries. Some Presidents of the Council of Ministers are th ...
. He chose
Henri Varroy to succeed him as Minister for Public Works and implement his plan. He brought in the engineer
Alfred Picard, who was named Director of Railways in 1882.
The implementation of the Freycinet Plan took until 1914, and it was completed fully. However, many
chefs-lieux were only served by small meandering
metre gauge railways, of somewhat mediocre quality.
Classification of lines
The 181 lines listed below are numbered and designated in conformance with the law of 17 July 1879, and represent a total of of route.
* The first list proposed by Freycinet starting in 1878 comprised 154 new lines and 53 lines already with concessions as
''voies ferrées d'intérêt local'', and this list was discussed at length both in committee and by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.
* 94 lines, totalling , were the object of amendments referred to the Minister of Public Works, and were not put into law.
Motivation
Beside the economic considerations, the plan had a political objective: to promote the
Third Republic in the rural areas, who were often hostile to the new régime.
Criticism
According to some analysts, the Freycinet Plan caused considerable upheaval and can be shown to have been a cause of difficulties in French industry at the end of the 19th century, in the competitive international economy.
Albert Broder, Professor of History at the University of Paris-XII, explains this forcefully:
References
*
* {{cite book, language=French, first=Alfred, last=Picard, author-link=Alfred Picard, title=Les chemins de fer français, publisher=J. Rotschild, year=1884, volume=III, pages=632–698
History of rail transport in France