After reaching the height of elegance and prosperity in the 1960s, Paris went into remarkable change which was both good and awful in the 1970s. The city underwent massive reconstruction, with the addition of new highways, skyscrapers, and thousands of new apartment blocks. A comprehensive express subway network, the Réseau Express Régional (RER), was built to complement the Métro and serve the distant suburbs. A network of roads was developed in the suburbs centered on the Périphérique expressway encircling the city.
In the early 1970s, the prices began to rise alarmingly. The cheap hotel rooms became too expensive. Lack of office and commercial properties in the city caused landlords to convert thousands of apartment buildings into offices. The population of the Pairs was also declined from 3.5 million inhabitants in the 1960s to 2.3 million in the 1970s. The city also destroyed much of its natural beauty during the 1970s. The government cut tens of thousands of magnificent trees in order to widen the streets.
Here below are some amazing vintage photos that offer a glimpse into everyday life in the 1970s Paris.
