Page two - The re-establishment of the starting point of the roads of France has awakened very old historical memories.The zero point of the roads of France is the zero point of Paris, that is to say the kilometer point 0 of the roads leaving the capital, which is used as a reference for calculating distances with other cities in France.It is located on the Notre-Dame square, in front of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral.
Location and description
Point zero is located about fifty meters in front of the entrance to Notre-Dame, on the Île de la Cité, in the 4th arrondissement. The road marker which marks this point in the paving stones of the cathedral square takes the form of a compass rose engraved in the center of an octagonal bronze medallion; this is surrounded by a circular stone slab divided into four districts, each of which bears one of the inscriptions in capital letters: “POINT”, “ZÉRO”, “DES ROUTES” and “DE FRANCE”.
It should not be considered as a geodesic marker which would materialize a geodesic point; for example, the closest geodesic point in the RGF was until the fire of April 15, 2019 the spire of the cathedral. Following its collapse, the closest geodesic point is the spire of the Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis church, located a little less than 800 meters to the northeast.
History
Originally stood in the Middle Ages in front of the portal of the bishops and then the archbishops a post called the "Ladder of Justice" at the foot of which the condemned kneeled to make amends. Bare head and feet, holding a large yellow wax candle in their hands, they wore on their chest and back a double sign indicating the nature of their crime or a rope around their neck if they were condemned to death.
The criminals were then exposed on this gallows which served as a pillory.The scale was replaced in 1767 or 1768 by a straightjacket which was adopted as the zero point by letters patent from Louis XV
The materialization of this point in its current form was discussed for twelve years by the Municipal Council of Paris and by the Commission of Old Paris, between 1912 and 1924. The plaque was finally solemnly placed in 1924, on October 10 or 22 January according to sources. It was removed in 1966 and put back in place in 1972, in order to be able to carry out work initially aimed at the construction of an underground parking lot under the square, but which archaeological discoveries on the history of Paris ultimately led to the development in the crypt to protect them (the archaeological crypt of the Notre-Dame square).According to some analyses, it would be symbolic of the centralization of France around its capital.
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