Fountain of Mars

When Napoleon became the First Consul of the Republic after the French Revolution, he met with the man in charge of the administration of Paris (there was no mayor at that moment) and asked him what was the most urgent need for Parisians.

The man replied: « Give them water!». The older fountains had very little output, and those which delivered more water had been privatised by savvy entrepreneurs selling water.

Napoleon issued a decree stating water should be accessible for free ; he commissioned the digging of the canal Saint Martin bringing water to Paris and commissioned fifteen new fountains to be build throughout the city.

While some of them were purely functional, a few were designed by great architects to contribute to the city's beauty. In the 7th "arrondissement", the « Fountain of Mars » is decorated with Mars, the Lord of War and Hygieia, the Goddess of Health! Apparently a good match, they've been together for two centuries...