keywords: france, rhone river, economic zone, roman ruins, lyon france, hydro-electric plants, shipping locks
Synopsis: This film documents the history of the Rhone River as it flows through France and how France tamed the Rhone River under the Marshall Plan rejuvenating the French economy after WWII... (read more)
Brief scenes of ancient Roman ruins that stand on the banks of the Rhone River which has served Europe as a highway and a link between the Atlantic world to the north and the Mediterranean world to the south. Scenes in Narbonne France, olives crushed to oil, cheese maker at work, farmers planting seeds on snow covered ground in Northern France. Scenes of Lyon France. Flashback to 1911, (Rove canal tunnel) an underground tunnel linking the Rhone River to the Port of Marseilles.
Scenes of spring floods along the Rhone River. Scenes of the Rhone Valley in ruins after WWII. Scenes of the Genissiat Dam. Animated map showing location of hydro-electric power plants. Shows villages that were sacrificed to build the Donzere-Mondragon project. Shows cities that were built to house the workmen and their families during the construction of this project. Shows life in these construction cities, shift change at the Donzere-Mondragon project.
Shows phases of dam construction, all types of construction equipment. After construction farms prosper with better irrigation methods and new sources of electricity while locks facilitate shipping between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Oceans.