Before the French Revolution, a week had only seven days. After the Revolution, it became ten days.
The Italian Republic's founding celebrations lasted two French weeks—twenty days—and finally ended at the beginning of February. After returning to Paris, Napoleon did not immediately throw himself back into work. He gave Georgiana a gift.
The filthy central market of Paris was beyond saving before the sewers were repaired and the drainage problem resolved. So he had Cambacérès build Les Halles beside it. It was a large wholesale and retail market, a "blessing" for women buying vegetables. Given the choice, who would buy groceries in such a filthy market? Before Les Halles officially opened, they went to "inspect" it. There were fountains and sculptures inside. Though the market stood in a low-lying area, it had been planned in advance and had dedicated market managers, so there was no need to worry about sewage flowing everywhere as it did in the neighboring central market.
In addition, Napoleon intended to build a water distribution tower. The ruins of Pompeii had already been discovered, and archaeological excavations had revealed the complete ancient Roman water supply system. Spring water brought in from the mountains outside the city was not immediately diverted to the public fountains. It first had to enter a distribution tower within the city. There were ten holes in the stone blocks, and the spring water flowed through them into the diversion channels.
Seville in Spain preserved a remarkably intact Roman aqueduct. It divided Seville into a new city and an old city. Napoleon intended to do the same, using the canal to divide Paris into ten districts.
He did not intend to use stone, but ancient Roman concrete. Many Renaissance buildings had used ancient Roman concrete, which was made by mixing volcanic ash, lime,