6. Consistency of the road network

As mentioned above, it was with the French Revolution that the ownership of the various sections of the road network was clearly defined for the first time, and divided between the State, the newly-created – departments – and the communes. For each of these categories of road, the political bodies of the corresponding local authority (City Council, General Council and Government) are responsible for network development, maintenance and operation.

• The initial distribution was subsequently modified on several occasions:

  • in 1830, 40,000 km of departmental and communal roads were integrated into the national road network, bringing the total to 80,000 km ;

  • in 1955, 55,000 km of so-called "secondary" national roads, left in a state of semi-abandonment by the State,...