Page 24 - The Kellner Affair Sample Pages

CHAPTER 8: THE END Of ALL THINGS
The lines going out of Paris stretched into the horizon. Soon,
millions became unwelcome refugees in their own country. (Peter
Larsen) carts or pushed prams and wheel barrows laden with belongings
Even small towns in the countryside were completely clogged up. Farmers began charging for a glass of water. (Peter Larsen) 224
It was to be a short reprieve. First came hundreds of thousands of refugees from Holland, Belgium and the north of France. Then thousands of bedraggled military stragglers from the battles in the north started seeping into Paris. In just a few days, it became crystal clear to everyone that things were going to hell at breakneck speed. The complacent faux reality in which Parisians had cocooned themselves collapsed like the house of cards it was. Then the government packed up and left for Bordeaux. In a matter of hours, paralyzed anxiety was transformed into outright panic. Since the threat had never been taken seriously, whatever government plans existed for the evacuation of Paris were totally inadequate to handle the pressure, as millions of citizens and thousands of businesses took to the roads.
Everything broke down: trains, roads, the métro, as people poured out in any car that would start, the entire household strapped haphazardly to the roof. Others had only their bicycles, pulled