The Canals of France: How Waterways Built a Nation

Before railways and highways, France was laced with canals—artificial rivers that moved grain, wine, timber, and revolution itself. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Canal du Midi, Pierre-Paul Riquet's 17th-century engineering marvel connecting the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, and the Canal de Briare with its iconic aqueduct. They discuss how Louis XIV's finance minister Colbert saw canals as tools of national unity, the role of canal labourers in the French Revolution, and the forgotten network of smaller waterways that fed Paris. From the Canal Saint-Martin to the Canal de Bourgogne, these quiet arteries shaped regional economies and identities. Listeners learn about the lock keepers, the boatmen who lived on their barges, and how the canals declined with rail but are now being reborn for leisure and local transport. A story of France not by road, but by water. #Canals #CanalduMidi #PierrePaulRiquet #Colbert #CanaldeBriare #CanalSaintMartin #LouisXIV #FrenchHistory #Engineering #TransportHistory #Revolution #BargeLife #Waterways #France #17thCentury #18thCentury #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo