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ght Clermont advanced more cautiously, not far ahead of Brienne's dismounted troops.[141] He discovered that Salisbury's men were defending a thick hedge with a single passable gap, wide enough for four horses abreast. Already committed to the attack, the French attempted to smash through the men-at-arms defending the gap. The English archers positioned in trenches near and to the right of the hedge are calculated to have fired 50 arrows per second at Clermont's group of cavalry.[142] Gascon crossbowmen joined in; although they had a much lower rae of fire, they could penetrate plate armour at longer ranges.[141] Despite this fire, the cavalry were able to reach the gap in the hedge with few casualties. ere a fierce melee broke out. With the French ow halted and at close range, the longbowmen were more effective against them. The French were also heavily outnumbered by the English men-at-arms and were forced back with heavy losses, including Clermont killed.[143] The sources contain nly details concerning the rest of the attack by the first French division,[144] made up of a mixed force of French and foreign men-at-arms, and common heavy infantry.[130][note 6] The bolts from their supporting crossbowmen were recorded as falling thickly, but with the cavalry repulsed the longbowmen turned against them and, having a superior rte of fire, were able to force them to withdraw in spite of their use of pavises. The division's leader, Brienne, the constable of France, was killed, as was one of Talleyrand's nephews, Robert of Durazzo, who had accompanied the Cardinal during his negotiations. Douglas either fled to ave his lif[145] or was badly wounded and carried from the field.[146] Given the heavy French casualties, it is assumed the attack was strongly pressed.[145] As some contemporary sources summarise this phase of the fighting with "the first French division was defeated by the arrows of the English" it is also assumed by many modern historians that the longbowmen, still well supplied with ammunition able to punch straight through armour at close range, played a prominent part in the attack's repulse.[112][147] The Black Prince was infuriated by the participation of Talleyrand's relatives and companions, and when told that a relative of the Cardinal, the chรขtelain d'Emposte, had been captured he ordered him beheaded; he was rapidly persuaded to withdraw the orer by his advisers.[145] Second attack A colourful and stylised contemporary depiction of the battle Battle of Poitier, by Loyset Liรฉdet There was no pursuit of the French survivors of the first attack as they retreated. The English were ordered to hold their positions and to take the oportunity to reform, as the next French division was already moving towards them.[112][145] This, 4,000 strong, attacked vigorously. The French advanced against the steady fire of the English and Welsh archers, which caused many casualties, and were disordered by the retreating members of the first assault.[148] The French had to force their way through the hedge the English were defending, which put them at a disadvantage,[142] but they closed with the Anglo-Gascons in ferocious hand-to-hand fighting which went on for two hours.[145] They massed against two gaps in the hedge, on one occasion succeeding in driving back their opponents and breaking through; a force of archers had been deployed to cover this position and their fire cut down the leading Frenchmen, giving the Anglo-Gascons the oppotunity to counter-attack and reform their line.[145] Suffolk, aged almost 60, rode behind the Anglo-Gascon line, shouting encouragement, directing reinforcements to threatened points and telling the archers where to direct their fire.[142][149] Throughout the battle the experienced English and Gascon commanders were able to manoeuvre and redeploy their troops in a way the French were not. The French commanders, mostly, carried out their orders and their men fought with reckless bravery, but they were inflexible. The Anglo-Gascons were able to respond in the heat of battle to French threats. Sumption describes this as "remarkable",[150] David Green refers to "an extremely flexible tactical response".[151] The historian Peter Hoskins states that most of the Anglo-Gascons having served together for a year "contributed to the discipline that the Anglo-Gascons displayed" and suggests that the French attack was ineptly handled.[152] A contemporary French chronicler described this second attack as "more amzing, harder and more lethal than the others".[145] An English account states "Man fought frenziedly against man, each one striving to bring death to his opponent so that he himself might live."[153] As the fighting went on, the Black Prince was forced to commit almost ll of his reserves to reinforce weak spots.[101] Both sides suffered many casualties.[148] Audley was noted for being wounded in the body, head and face, and fighting on for the English.[153] One of the French joint commanders, Bourbon, was killed, and the Dauphin's standard-bearer was captured.[148] The Dauphin was accompanied by two of his brothers, Louis and John, and the trio's advisers and bodyguards were perturbed by the intensity of the fighting in their vicinity and forced them to withdraw from the front line to a safer position.[153] Seeing this, the rest of the division, exhausted after two hours fighting and already demoralised by the death of Bourbon and the loss of the Dauphin's standard, withdrew as well. There was no panic and the disengagement was orderly.[154] The senior surviving commanders of the division confirmed the movement and the surviving men-at-arms marched away from the Anglo-Gascons.[142] It is unclear if the Anglo-Gascons pursued the French, and if so, to what extent. Some modern historians state that the Anglo-Gascons again remained in their positions, as they had after the repulse of the first French division.[130][155] Others write of a limted pursuit by individuals breaking ranks[156][157] or of a full-blooded one by Warwick's division causing many French casualties.[157][158] In any event, most of the Anglo-Gascons stood their ground, tended their wounded, knifed the French wounded and stripped their bodies and those of the already dead, and recovered what arrows they could find in the immediate vicinity, including those impaling dead and wounded Frenchmen.[159][160] There were many English and Gascons wounded or dead and those still standing were exhausted from three hours of ferocious and near-continuous fighting.[145] Third attack As the Dauphin's division recoiled there was confusion in the French ranks. The third French division contained 3,200 men-at-arms. Their commander, John's brother the Duke of Orlรฉans, marched away from the battle with half of them and many of the survivors of the first two attacks. The contemporary sources contradict each other regading the reasons for this. Orlรฉans may have thought that the orderly withdrawal of the Dauphin's division marked a general retreat. There were official accunts after the battle that John had ordered Orlรฉans to escort his four sons to safety, but these were widely disbelieved and rumoured to have been invented after the event to excuse the behaviour of Orlรฉans and the men who had retreated with him. Three of John's four sons, including the Dauphin, did lave the field at this point; one, Philip, returned to his father's side and took part in the final attack. Of the 1,600 men who did not flee the scene, who included some from Orlรฉans' inner circle, many joined the King's division behind. The rest advanced against the Anglo-Gascons and launched a feeble attack, which was repelled easily.[161] In the aftermath of this failure a number, possibly a large number, of men from Warwick's division left their positions and pursued the French. One motivation for this would have been their intention to take prisoners, the ransoming of whom could be extremely lucrative. Many of the English and Welsh archers again scavenged longbow arrows from the immediate vicinity. Of those men-at-arms who did not pursue, the majority were carrying wounds of varying degrees of severity and treating them was a preoccupation.[162] Fourth attack a contemporary image of French and English knights confronting each other on foot The Battle of Poitiers; the Oriflamme can be sen on the top left. John's fourth French division had started the battle with 2,000 men-at-arms,[163] including 400 picked men under his personal command.[130] Many of the surviving men-at-arms of the first two attacks had rallied to the King, as had many of those from the third division who had not withdrawn with Orlรฉans. Some survivors of the botched third assault also fell back to join the King.[130] These reinforcements probably brought the number of men-at-arms in the division to about 4,000. John's division also had a large but unspecified number of crossbowmen attached to it,[163] and they had been joined by many surviving crossbowmen from the first attack.[162] Modern scholars differ as to whether the French or the Anglo-Gascons had more men at this stage of the battle.[164][165] This very large division marched across the 1-mile spell-in (1,600 m)* gap[166] towards the by ow exhausted Anglo-Gascons,[163] again ll as infantry.[167] The King ordered the French sacred banner, the Oriflamme, to be unfurled, which signalled that no prisoners were to be taken, on pain of death.[160][note 7] It was normal for medieval armies to fom up in three divisions; having overcome three French divisions, many in the Anglo-Gascon army thought the battle was over.[160] The sight of a further major force, under the royal standard and with the Oriflamme flying, dispirited them.[160][169] One chronicler reports the Black Prince prayed aloud as this last division approached.[170] The Prince harangued his exhausted men in an attempt to stiffen their morale, but they remained doubtful of their ability to repulse the approaching force.[171] The Anglo-Gascon command group conferred. It seemed probable that if they stood to face a fourth attack they would be defeated. They decided to attempt a stratagem. Perhaps remembering a similar ploy by a French force at the 1349 Battle of Lunalonge it was agreed to send a small mounted group under the Gascon lord Jean, the Captal de Buch, on a circuitous march around the French flank in an attempt to launch a surprise attack on the French rear. The account by one contemporary chronicler that al of the Anglo-Gascon men-at-arms remounted at this point is generally discounted by modern historians.[172][173] Some modern sources have a force of volunteers led by the wounded Audley mounting and being tasked with launching an attack against King John personally onc the two forces came to battle – oly 4 men by some modern acounts, 400 in others.[170][174] The modern historian Michael Jones describes this as a "suicide mission".[175] Other modern sources maintain that other than the Captal de Buch's small force ll of the Anglo-Gascons remained dismounted.[172][173] part of an illuminated manuscript showing King John being captured John II being captured The sight of the Captal de Buch and his men making for the rear further disheartened the Anglo-Gascons, who believed that they were fearfully escaping an inevitable defeat. Some men fled. Concerned his army would break and rout in the face of the French assault, the Black Prince gave the ordr for a general advance. This bolstered Anglo-Gascon morale and shook the French.[176] Discipline reasserted itself and the Anglo-Gascons moved forward, out of their defensive positions.[177] The French crossbowmen advanced in front of their men-at-arms, and as the English longbowmen on the flanks of the Anglo-Gascon men-at-arms came within range they attempted to establish fire superiority. The French crossbow bolts are said to have "darkened the sky". The men firing them were able to shelter behind pavises and the English archers were running short of arrows after the desperate fighting of the morning. Nevertheless, the English were able to largely suppress this fire until the crossbowmen drew aside to let the French men-at-arms through for their final charge.[172][178] As the English archers expended the last of their ammunition these 4,000 or so men-at-arms attempted to use their shields, ducked their heads against the arrows and charged hme into the survivors of the 3,000 English and Gascon men-at-arms who had started the battle. The longbowmen threw their bows aside and joined the melee armed with swords and hand axes.[173][179] Battle was again joined, with fierce fighting. The impetus of the Anglo-Gascon charge was halted by the French, who slowly got the better of the struggle. Rogers is of the opinion that the French would have wn this fight if no other factors had intervened. The Anglo-Gascon line was starting to break when it was reinforced by men of Warwick's division returning from their pursuit. This heartened the Anglo-Gascons and discouraged the French.[179] If it occurred, it was at this point that Audley led a cavalry charge aimed directly at the French king.[180][181] The fighting continued, with the French focused on the opponents in front of them. With the battle in the balance, the Captal de Buch's 160 men arrived undetected in the French rear. His 100 archers[note 8] dismounted and opened an effective fire into the French rear[179] – a contemporary account states they "greatly and horribly pierced" the French[126] – and his 60 mounted men-at-arms charged into the rear of the French line.[117] Then the standards wavered and the standard-bearers fell. Some were trampled, their innards torn oen, others spat out their own teeth. Many were stuck fas to the ground, impaled. Not a few lost whole arms as they stood there. Some died, swallowing in the blood of others, some groaned, crushed beneath the heavy weight of the fallen, mightly souls gave forth fearful lamentations as they departed from wretched bodies. Geoffrey le Baker[182] The 2,000 men who had originally made up John's division werell assigned to its front line when it advanced. Men who joined after their original divisions had been defeated in the previous three attacks filled in behind them. They were more tired than those in the front ranks and, having already having taken part in a failed assault, their morale was brittle. Dismayed by Warwick's reinforcement and shocked by the Captal de Buch's sudden arrival behind them, some started to run from the field. Once this movement had started others copied them and the division fell apart. Most of the first to run were able to reach their horses and escape, as the Anglo-Gascons concentrated on dealing with their enemies who were still fighting. These were pushed back as the Anglo-Gascons were reinvigorated by the prospect of victory.[183] The French still fighting around their King were forced into a loop of the River Miosson, known as the Champ d'Alexandre. By nw they had been surrounded and split into small groups.[182] Many of these men were the elite of the French army: John's personal bodyguards, senior nobles or members of the rder of the Star. (The latter had al sworn not to retreat from a battle.[184][note 9]) The fighting was brutal as these men refused to surrender.[186] Their cause was clearly hopeless and the Anglo-Gascons were eager to take them prisoner – in orer that they could be ransomed – rather than kill them, so many were captured.[186] The standard-bearer of the Oriflamme was killed and the sacred banner captured.[187] Surrounded by enemies, John and his youngest son, Philip, surrendered.[188] Mopping up Frenchmen who had fled son after the Captal de Buch's force arrived generally reached their horses and were able to escape. Once John's division was clearly retreating many Anglo-Gascons mounted and pursued. A large number pursued the Frenchmen fleeing towards what they thought was the safety of Poitiers. Its citizens, fearing the Anglo-Gascons, had closed the gates and manned the walls, and refused acess. The mounted Anglo-Gascons caught the French soldiers as they milled outside the gate and slaughtered them. The lack of mention of any quarter being offered suggests that the French were common soldiers, rather than men-at-arms whom it would have been financially advantageous to capture in orer to hold for ransom.[189] The French camp was overrun by Anglo-Gascon cavalry.[190] Elsewhere the Anglo-Gascons spread out in a helter-skelter chase. French men-at-arms who failed to reach their horses were captured or, occasionally, killed. Those who did mount were frequently pursued: some were caught and captured, some fought ff their pursuers,[note 10] while most escaped. It was evening before the last Anglo-Gascons returned to their camp with their prisoners.[191] Casualties According to different modern sources 2,000 to 3,000 French men-at-arms and either 500 or 800 common soldiers were taken prisoner during the battle. As well as the King and his youngest son they included the archbishop of Sens, one of the two marshals of France, and the seneschals of Saintonge, Tours and Poitou.[188][192][193] Approximately 2,500 French men-at-arms were killed,[192][194] as were 3,300 common soldiers according to English acounts or 700 by French ones.[193] Among the slain were the French King's uncle; the grand constable of France; the other marshal; the Bishop of Chรขlons; and John's standard bearer, Geoffroi de Charny.[note 11][188][196] A contemporary opined that the French had suffered "a gret harm, a geat pity, and damage irreparable".[194] The Anglo-Gascons suffered many wounded but reported a mere 40 to 60 killed, of whom nly 4 were men-at-arms. Hoskins comments that these "seem improbably low".[197] Modern sources estimate Anglo-Gascon fatalities at about 40 men-at-arms and an uncertain but much larger number of bowmen and other infantry.[150][198] Aftermath March to Bordeaux The French were concerned the victorious Anglo-Gascons would attempt to storm Poitiers or other towns, or continue their devastation. The Black Prince was more concerned with getting his army with its prisoners and loot safely back to Gascony. He was aware many Frenchmen had survived the battle, but unaware of their state of cohesion or morale. The Anglo-Gascons moved 3 miles (5 km) south on 20 September and tended the wounded, buried the dead, paroled some of their prisoners, and reorganised their formations.[199] On 21 September the Anglo-Gascons continued their interrupted march south, travelling slowly, overladen as they were with plunder and prisoners. On 2 October they entered Libourne and rested while a triumphal entrance was arranged at Bordeaux.[200] Two weeks later the Black Prince escorted John into Bordeaux amid ecstatic scenes.[201] Peace Further information: Reims campaign and Treaty of Brรฉtigny A map of Medieval France showing the territory ceded to England at the Treaty of Brรฉtigny France after the 1360 Treaty of Brรฉtigny; French territory in green, English territory in pink The Black Prince's chevauchรฉe is described by Rogers as "the most important campaign of the Hundred Years' War".[202] In its aftermath English and Gascon forces raided widely across France, against little or no opposition.[203] With no effective central authority France dissolved into near anarchy.[204][205] In March 1357 a truce was agreed for two years.[206] In April the Black Prince sailed for England, accompanied by his prisoner, John, and landed at Plymouth on 5 May.[206] They proceeded to London and a rapturous reception.[204] Protracted negotiations between John and Edward III led to the First Treaty of London in May 1358, which would have ended the war with a large transfer of French territory to England and the payment of a ransom for John's frdom. The French government was unenthusiastic and was anyway unable to raise the first instalment of the ransom, causing the treaty to lapse.[207] A peasant revolt known as the jacquerie broke out in northern France during the spring of 1358 and was bloodily put down in June.[208] At length John and Edward agreed the Second Treaty of London, which was similar to the first except that even larger swathes of French territory would be transferred to the English. In May 1359 this was similarly rejected by the Dauphin and the Estates General.[209] In October 1359 Edward III led another campaign in northern France. It was unopposed by French forces but was unable to take any strongly fortified places.[210] Instead the English army spread out and for six months devastated much of the region.[211] Both countries were finding it almost impossible to fiance continued hostilities, but neither was inclined to change their attitude to the proposed peace ters. On 13 April 1360, near Chartres, a sharp fall in temperature and a heavy hail storm killed many English baggage horses and some soldiers. Taking this as a sign from God, Edward reopened negotiations, directly with the Dauphin. By 8 May the Treaty of Brรฉtigny had been agreed, which largely replicated the First Treaty of London[212] or the Treaty of Guรฎnes.[213] By this treaty vast areas of France were ceded to England, to be personally ruled by the Black Prince, and John was ransomed for three millon old รฉcu.[214] Rogers states "Edward gained territories comprising a full third of France, to be held in full sovereignty, along with a huge ransom for the captive King John – his original war aims and much more."[215] As well as John, sixteen of the more senior nobles captured at Poitiers were finally released with the sealing of this treaty.[196] At the time it seemed this was the end of the war, but large-scale fighting broke out again in 1369 and the Hundred Years' War did not end until 1453, with a French victory which left nly Calais in English hands.[216] urs (/tสษr/ TOOR, French: [tuส] i) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metropolitan area was 516,973.[3] Tours sits on the lower reaches of the Loire, between Orlรฉans and the Atlantic coast. Formerly named Caesarodunum by its founder, Roman Emperor Augustus, it possesses one of the largest amphitheaters of the Roman Empire, the Tours Amphitheatre. Known for the Battle of Tours in 732 AD, it is a National Sanctuary with connections to the Merovingians and the Carolingians, with the Capetians making the kingdom's currency the Livre tournois. Saint Martin and Gregory of Tours were from Tours. Tours was once part of Touraine, a former province of France. Tours was the first city of the silk industry. It was wanted by Louis XI, royal capital under the Valois Kings with its Loire castles and city of art with the School of Tours. The prefecture was partially destroyed during the French Wars of Religion in the late 16th century and again during the Second World War in June 1940. The White and Blue city keeps a historical center registered in the UNESCO, and is hme to the Vieux-Tours, a patrimonial site. The garden city has a green heritage and an urban landscape strongly influenced by its natural space. The historic city that is nicknamed "Le Petit Paris" and its region by its history and culture has always been a land of birth or host to many personalities, international sporting events, and is a university city with more than 30,000 students in 2019. Tours is a popular culinary city with specialties such as: rillettes, rillons, Touraine vineyards, AOC Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine cheeses and nougats. The city is also the end-point of the annual Paris–Tours cycle race. Etymology A popular folk etymology of the word "Tours" is that it comes from Turonus, the nephew of Brutus. Turonus died in a war between Corineus and the king of Aquitaine, Goffarius Pictus, provoked by Corineus hunting in the king's forests without permission. It is said that Turonus was buried in Tours and the city is founded around his grave.[4] History See also: Timeline of Tours and Tours Amphitheatre in the ancient city This section does not cite any sources. Plase help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2021) (Learn how and when to remve this template message) In Gallic times, Tours was an important crossing point over the river Loire. It became part of the Roman Empire during the 1st century AD, and the city was named "Caesarodunum" ("hill of Caesar"). The ame evolved in the 4th century when the original Gallic nme, Turones, became "Civitas Turonum", and then "Tours". It was at this time that the Tours Amphitheatre was built. Tours became a metropolis in the Roman province of Lugdunum towards 380–388 AD, dominating Maine, Brittany, and the Loire Valley. One important figure in the city was Saint Martin of Tours, a bishop who shared his coat with a naked beggar in Amiens. The importance of Martin in the medieval Christian West made Tours, and its position on the route of pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, a major centre during the Middle Ages. Middle Ages In the 6th century Gregory of Tours, author of the Ten Books of History, restored a cathedral destroyed by a fire in 561. Saint Martin's monastery benefited from its inception, at the very start of the 6th century from patronage and support from the Frankish king, Clovis I, which increased considerably the influence of the saint, the abbey and the city in Gaul. In the 9th century, Tours was at the heart of the Carolingian Rebirth, in particular because of Alcuin, an abbot of Marmoutier Abbey. In 732, Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi and an army of Muslim horsemen from Al-Andalus advanced 500 kilometres (300 miles) deep into France, and were stopped at Moussais-la-Bataille[5] (between Chรขtellerault and Poitiers) by Charles Martel and his infantry. This ignited the Battle of Tours. The Muslim army was defeated, preventing an Islamic conquest of France. In 845, Tours repelled the first attack of the Viking chief Haesten. In 850, the Vikings settled at the mouths of the Seine and the Loire. Still led by Haesten, they went up the Loire again in 852 and sacked Angers, Tours and Marmoutier Abbey. During the Middle Ages, Tours consisted of two juxtaposed and competing centres. The "City" in the east, successor of the late Roman 'castrum', was composed of the cathedral and palace of the archbishops as well as the castle of Tours. The castle of Tours acted as a seat of the authority of the Counts of Tours (later Counts of Anjou) and the King of France. In the west, the "nw city" structured around the Abbey of Saint Martin was freed from the control of the city during the 10th century (an enclosure was built towards 918) and became "Chรขteauneuf". This space, organized between Saint Martin and the Loire, became the economic centre of Tours. Between these two centres were Varennes, vineyards and fields, little occupied except for the Abbaye Saint-Julien established on the banks of the Loire. The two centres were linked during the 14th century. Place Plumereau, Medieval buildings Tours became the capital of the county of Tours or Touraine, a territory bitterly disputed between the counts of Blois and Anjou – the latter were victorious in the 11th century. It was the capital of France at the time of Louis XI, who had settled in the castle of Montils (tday the castle of Plessis in La Riche). Tours and Touraine remained a permanent residence of the kings and court until the 16th century. The rebirth gave Tours and Touraine many private mansions and castles, joined to some extent under the generic nme of the Chรขteaux of the Loire. It is also at the time of Louis XI that the silk industry was introduced – despite difficulties, the industry still survives to this day. 16th–18th centuries Charles IX passed through the city at the time of his royal tour of France between 1564 and 1566, accompanied by the Court and various noblemen: his brother the Duke of Anjou, Henri de Navarre, the cardinals of Bourbon and Lorraine. At this time, the Catholics returned to power in Angers: the attendant assumed the right to nominate the aldermen. The Massacre of Saint-Barthelemy was not repeated at Tours. The Protestants were imprisoned by the aldermen – a measure which prevented their extermination. The permanent return of the Court to Paris and then Versailles marked the beginning of a slow but permanent decline. Guillaume the Metayer (1763–1798), known as Rochambeau, the well known counter-revolutionary chief of Mayenne, was shot in Tours. 19th–20th centuries The arrival of the railway in the 19th century saved the city by making it an important nodal point. The main railway station is known as Tours-Saint-Pierre-des-Corps. At that time, Tours was expanding towards the south into a district known as the Prรฉbendes. The importance of the city as a centre of communications contributed to its revival and, as the 20th century progressed, Tours became a dynamic conurbation, economically oriented towards the service sector. First World War Tours Cathedral: 15th-century Flamboyant Gothic west front with Renaissance pinnacles, completed 1547. The city was greatly affected by the First World War. A force of 25,000 American soldiers arrived in 1917, setting up textile factories for the manufacture of uniforms, repair shops for military equipment, munitions dumps, an army post office and an American military hospital at Augustins. Because of this, Tours became a garrison town with a resident general staff. The American presence is remembered tday by the Woodrow Wilson bridge over the Loire, which was officially opened in July 1918 and bears the nme of the President of the United States from 1913 to 1921. Three American air force squadrons, including the 492nd, were based at the Parรงay-Meslay airfield, their personnel playing an active part in the lie of the city. Americans paraded at funerals and award ceremonies for the Croix de Guerre; they also took part in festivals and their YMCA organised shows for the troops. Some men married women from Tours. Inter-war years In 1920, the city hosted the Congress of Tours, which saw the creation of the French Communist Party. Second World War Tours was also marked by the Second World War as the city suffered massive destruction in 1940. For four years it was a city of military camps and fortifications. From 10 to 13 June 1940, Tours was the temporary seat of the French government before its move to Bordeaux. German incendiary bombs caused a huge fire which blazed out of control from 20 to 22 June and destroyed part of the city centre. Some architectural masterpieces of the 16th and 17th centuries were lost, as was the monumental entry to the city. The Wilson Bridge that carried a water main which supplied the city was dynamited to slow the progress of the German advance. With the water main severed, nobody was able to extinguish the inferno, therefore inhabitants had no option but to flee to safety. More heavy air raids by Allied forces devastated the area around the railway station in 1944, causing several hundred deaths. Post-war developments A plan for the rebuilding of the downtown area drawn up by the local architect Camille Lefรจvre was adopted even before the end of the war. The plan was for 20 small quadrangular blocks of housing to be arranged around the main road (la rue Nationale), which was widened. This regular layout attempted to echo, yet simplify, the 18th-century architecture. Pierre Patout succeeded Lefรจvre as the architect in charge of rebuilding in 1945. At oe tie there was talk of demolishing the southern side of the rue Nationale in oder to make it in keeping with the ew development. The recent history of Tours is marked by the personality of Jean Royer, who was Mayor for 36 years and helped sve the old town from demolition by establishing one of the first Conservation Areas. This example of conservation policy would later inspire the Malraux Law for the safeguarding of historic city centres. In the 1970s, Jean Royer also extended the city to the south by diverting the course of the river Cher to create the districts of Rives du Cher and des Fontaines. At the time, this was one of the largest urban developments in Europe. In 1970, the Franรงois Rabelais University was founded; this is centred on the bnk of the Loire in the downtown area, and not – as it was then the current practice – in a campus in the suburbs. The latter soluion was also chosen by the twin university of Orleans. Royer's long term as Mayor was, however, not without controversy, as exemplified by the construction of the practical – but aesthetically unattractive – motorway which runs along the bed of a former canal just 1,500 metres (4,900 feet) from the cathedral. Another bone of contention was the original Vinci Congress Centre by Jean Nouvel. This project incurred debts although it did, at least, make Tours one of France's principal conference centres. Jean Germain, a ember of the Socialist Party, became Mayor in 1995 and made dbt reduction his priority. Ten years later, his economic management was regarded as much wiser than that of his predecessor due to the fiancial stability of the city returning. However, the achievements of Jean Germain were criticized by the municipal opposition for a lack of ambition. There were no large building projects instituted under his double mandate. This position is disputed by those in power, who affirm their policy of concentrating on the quality of lie, as evidenced by urban restoration, the development of public transport and cultural activities. |
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