LOG TRAIN TO PARIS

No wood, no ovens. No ovens, no bread. No bread... riots.

Synopsis

For more than 3 centuries, from 1547 to 1923, the forests of the Morvan region of France sent timber down the rivers to Paris. This vital source of energy was controlled by powerful wood merchants. The stakes were indeed high: without wood there could be no ovens; without ovens there could be no bread; without bread there could be riots.

To keep the supply flowing uninterrupted, a floating loose-log transport system was introduced. Its meticulous organization and ingenious techniques played a vital role in the history of France.

Without these wood trains, Paris would have been a very different city.