Chapter 15: the Marne Disaster (Part 4)
August 17, 1914: Paris: The news of the evacuation of the government and the emptying of the Louvre, the National Library, and the National Bank spreads slowly. President Poincare’ has reluctantly decided based on General Joffre’s recommendation to keep the news quiet. So, while Parisian newspapers do not report the news that morning, nevertheless the news still spreads by word of mouth.
By 9:00 a.m. word has spread throughout Paris. The government has abandoned the city! At this point alarm sets in followed by panic.
By 10:00 a.m. there is a run on the banks as Parisians seek to draw out their funds. By noon all the banks in Paris are forced to close their doors as their assets are completely gone. Armed police try to break up crowds outside the banks and riots ensue.
Likewise, stores are raided by panicked mobs seeking whatever they can get whether they can pay for it or not. Looting is widespread. People are in grab and run mode. Again, the police are forced to use deadly force in various areas.
In his headquarters Joffre is made aware of the rising unrest but is unconcerned. He is concentrating on the offensive which should be under way at this moment and is anxiously awaiting word of its success. He simply tells the Commissioner of Public Safety in Paris to “deal with it.”
For the Commissioner “deal with it” means send in squads of police in force. Within hours the jails are full to bursting. And anxious relatives and loved ones who were preparing to flee the city are gathered outside demanding the release of their loved ones. Over the day the mood of these crowds is becoming more and more ugly.
Meantime the roads out of Paris to the south become clogged as the citizens of the city flee. Cars, horses, wagons, all join a massive exodus out of the city. Traffic control is non-existent. And fights and accidents are quite common.
All of this should not be taken to mean there were no acts of kindness or compassion during this time. Many store owners throw open their doors and gave food out for free, only making sure that everyone who comes to them is able to get something until their shelves are empty.
At churches throughout the city the clergy hold prayer vigils for those whom for whatever reason are unable to leave the city and seeking some measure of comfort. And in some cases, priests are seen helping gendarmes to guide traffic in some areas of the city where the police are stretched to the limit.
As night falls looting becomes even more widespread and fires break out in several sections of the city started by communists, fascists, anarchists, hooligans, take your pick! The Parisian Fire Department finds themselves swamped trying to deal with the various calls. And getting through the streets still crowded with evacuees is difficult if not impossible.
By sunset the Great Panic has claimed 350 lives, with another 1,002 wounded. Several million francs of damage have been done. And this is only the beginning.