Giraudoux, the zone, and “grand Paris” To aid with the reading of two chapters of Pleins Pouvoirs

Giraudoux started to become interested in urban planning at a time when Paris’ fortifications were being torn down by the local authorities: concerns of where their decision-making power would lead ran through the author’s reflections and struggles. He was outraged by the abandonment of “green belt” projects, rallied against the proliferation of housing estates, called for equal urban rights for inhabitants of the banlieues and Parisians alike, and advocated a development plan on a “Grand Paris” scale. Such “urbanistic awareness” was unprecedented among writers of the time.