Privatized Highways: The Scandal That's Costing the French Dearly
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“I just love cars.”, as Emmanuel Macron put it in 2023. But since when has the car held such a special place in the hearts of the French? Not as long as one might think. Throughout the 19th century, France was primarily a country of railroads, boasting one of the densest networks in Europe. It wasn’t until the interwar period—and especially after 1945—that the car gained prominence: not naturally, but through political decisions, lobbying, and the closure of rail lines. To discuss this, we were joined by Nelo Magalhães, a researcher in environmental history and author of the book Pour concrete, build roads. Analysis.
Has France always been a country of cars? No. In the 19th century, it was a country with a very dense railway network; it became a country of cars mainly after 1945, with the rise of the automotive industry.
Why have so many rail lines closed? The government authorized the closure of 10,000 km of passenger lines and 5,000 km of freight lines in 1969, in the wake of the major strike of 1968.
Did the automobile really claim lives in the early 20th century? Yes: Hundreds of pedestrians were killed in major cities before new rules were enacted to prioritize the protection of cars over pedestrians.
How many French people rely on cars to get to work today? According to INSEE (2021), about 72% of working-age adults use their cars to commute to work.
Has rail freight disappeared in France? It will account for only 9% of freight transport in 2024, compared with 46% in 1974.
Even before the automobile existed, France built a railway system that would shape the entire country. This decision, largely forgotten today, preceded the advent of the automobile by several decades. And the way this shift took place was by no means a natural evolution, as Nelo Magalhães points out: "The real political question we need to ask ourselves when discussing infrastructure in general is: for what purposes?"
It all began with the law of June 11, 1842, the “Railroad Charter”: the government financed the infrastructure (earthworks, engineering structures) and granted operating rights to private companies, which built the tracks and rolling stock. This combination of public infrastructure and private superstructure effectively coined the term “infrastructure” and laid the foundations for the French railway system still in use today. By the end of the 19th century, the rail network had reached such a level of development that scientists of the time—as documented in archives discovered by Nelo Magalhães—expressed concern that the road network would fall into disuse, replaced by rail.
Starting in the interwar period, automobiles came to dominate the streets at the expense of pedestrians, cyclists, and streetcars, which had previously shared urban space. Trams were gradually phased out of major French cities in the 1930s, with Paris leading the way.
This shift was by no means merely a technical advancement: it was the result of a power struggle, fueled by advertising campaigns from automakers. As early as January 1933, for example, a Michelin campaign claimed that a horse caused more accidents than a car. This was one of many advertising messages that, at the time, justified giving cars priority in cities.
The toll was heavy: in the early 1970s, France recorded approximately 18,000 traffic fatalities per year, a peak reached in 1972 according to the National Interministerial Observatory for Road Safety (ONISR). Rather than limiting the role of the car, government authorities and the automotive industry focused instead on educating pedestrians to make coexistence “acceptable”:
"We're going to make the people who die and the injured feel guilty by telling them, 'If you step aside, everything will be fine.'" — Nelo Magalhães
It will take the introduction of mandatory seat belts and speed limits to bring the number of traffic fatalities down to about 3,200 per year by 2024—a level nearly six times lower, despite much heavier traffic.
It was after World War II that the shift really gained momentum, driven by industrial reconstruction, the rise of the Fordist model, and an increasingly organized road transport lobby pitted against the railroad workers.
The rail network reached its peak in terms of kilometers between the two world wars. A first wave of closures took place as early as the late 1930s, after which the network remained largely stable until the late 1960s. In the wake of the great strike of 1968, the government authorized, in 1969, the closure of 10,000 km of passenger lines and 5,000 km of freight lines operated by the SNCF. This trend then intensified in the 1970s, particularly in freight transport.
After 1945, France had approximately 450,000 railroad workers, most of whom were union members, capable of quickly bringing the country’s economy to a standstill in the event of a strike. Starting with the major strikes of the late 1940s, the trucking industry lobby put forward a simple argument to government officials, which Nelo Magalhães summarizes as follows:
"If you're sick of the strikers, build some good roads, and we'll get the trucks moving." - Nelo Magalhães
Eighty years later, the gamble has paid off far beyond what anyone could have hoped for at the time: virtually all French goods are now transported by road, carried by drivers who are largely unorganized and often in precarious employment.
A highway isn't built for cars, but for the heaviest vehicle that will travel on it: the truck. In practical terms, it takes 100 cubic meters of earthwork and about 30 metric tons of sand and gravel to build a single meter of highway, as a flat terrain without sharp curves is essential for heavy-duty traffic.
This choice of infrastructure—which is invisible to motorists—largely explains why roads and earthwork have been the leading source of materials in French capitalism for the past two centuries, far ahead of the construction industry.
Roads Designed for Trucks
This story isn't just a matter of the archives: it still directly shapes the way the French get around and spend their money on a daily basis.
According to INSEE (2021), approximately 72% of the French workforce uses a car to commute to work, a figure that has remained stable at around 74% since 2013. This figure rises to eight out of ten employees among those who work outside their municipality of residence, representing approximately 16.7 million French people every day. In 2025, a car will cost an average of about €5,000 per year per household—including purchase price, fuel, insurance, and maintenance—according to the latest industry estimates. This is significantly more than most annual rail passes.
Starting in the 1960s and 1970s, French urban planning opted to functionally separate the city into distinct zones: employment zones, residential zones, and recreational zones, each located in a different area and connected primarily by roads. This approach disrupted the traditional urban fabric and made car use virtually mandatory for a large portion of suburban and rural trips, due to a lack of adequate public transportation. As a result, in suburban areas, 91% of households own at least one car, compared to a much lower percentage in dense city centers.
It hasn’t disappeared, but its share has plummeted: rail freight now accounts for only 9% of domestic freight transport in 2024, compared to 46% in 1974—a fivefold decline over fifty years. Road freight now accounts for virtually all of the traffic, including entire European freight corridors that cross France from north to south. The government officially aims to double rail freight’s modal share by 2030, but it remains far below the European average (17% in 2023).
| Indicator | Before (road photo) | Today |
|---|---|---|
| Traffic Fatalities in France | ~18,000/year (1972) | ~3,200/year (2024) |
| Modal share of rail freight | 46% (1974) | 9% (2024) |
| Percentage of the workforce that commutes to work by car | / | 72% (2021) |
| French people leaving their towns to work | 16.7 million (2013) | stable, mostly by car |
This story is by no means inevitable: above all, it underscores that the role of the car is the result of reversible political choices, not a natural preference among the French.
Paradoxically, the bicycle initially benefited from the same movement as the automobile: at the end of the 19th century, the Automobile Club de France and cycling leagues jointly called for roads to be paved with tar. But once the car became the priority, the bicycle lost its place in the urban landscape, just as streetcars and pedestrians had before it. A useful reminder that the road “for everyone” ultimately ended up benefiting only one mode of transportation...
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Privatized Highways: The Scandal That's Costing the French Dearly
Applying the same profitability logic to the rail network (closing small lines deemed unprofitable, focusing solely on major routes) would pose a similar risk to rail travel, even though it remains the least expensive and most resource-efficient option for travel within the country today.
Ultimately, France’s shift toward car use was by no means spontaneous: it was the result of a century of infrastructure decisions, lobbying, and rail line closures, which transformed a country that was once a pioneer in rail transportation into one of the most road-dependent in Europe. Understanding this history also means understanding that, conversely, nothing stands in the way of restoring the train’s rightful place, line by line, route by route.
And the good news is that the rail network, which has been under construction since 1842, is still largely intact: France has the second-longest rail network in Europe (27,597 km), just behind Germany. Whether it’s for a weekend or a longer trip, swapping the car for the train is often more a matter of getting into the habit than a real constraint!
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Issue du monde de la communication et des médias, Sophie est Responsable éditoriale chez HOURRAIL ! depuis août 2024. Elle est notamment derrière le contenu éditorial du site ainsi que La Locomissive (de l'inspiration voyage bas carbone et des bons plans, un jeudi sur deux, gratuitement dans ta boîte mail !).
Convaincue que les changements d’habitude passent par la transformation de nos imaginaires, elle s’attache à montrer qu’il est possible de voyager autrement, de manière plus consciente, plus lente et plus joyeuse. Son objectif : rendre le slow travel accessible à toutes et tous, à travers des astuces, des décryptages et surtout, de nouveaux récits.
