N° 362

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Road stories

From forced labourer to public works employee

Author

Denis Glasson

Denis Glasson Historian of techniques (Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers), former member of the History Committee of the Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development (France)

Under the monarchy, French roads were for a long time maintained by a system of forced, unpaid labor imposed on serfs and non-indentured peasants. Such periodic works disrupted the multitude of farming and household tasks; progress on roads was slow and haphazard.