The Real “No-Go Zone” of France: A Forbidden No Man’s Land Poisoned by War
When you imagine France and its scenic countryside, you might think of the picturesque villages, vineyards a plenty and endless rolling green hills to drive through on a blissful summer road trip. But there’s one corner of this scenic country that no one has been allowed to enter for nearly a century, known as the “Zone Rouge” (the red zone).
Pictured above is an artist’s impression of the forsaken territory, originally covering more than 1,200 square kilometres (460 sq miles) in the years following the Great War. Today, around 100km2 (roughly the size of Paris), is still strictly prohibited by law from public entry and agricultural use because of an impossible amount of human remains and unexploded chemical munitions yet to be recovered from the battlefields of both world wars.
Step inside the real “No Go-Zone”…
Photography (c) Olivier Saint Hilaire
After WWI, unable to keep up with the impossible task of removing endless undetonated weapons, human and animal remains, the French government decided on a forced relocation of residents which led to the creation of the Zone Rouge. Entire villages wiped off the map were considered “casualties of war”.
“Douaumont, Destroyed Village”
Once manicured farmland was abandoned, and without human presence, soon became unrecognisable thick forestland.
Read more: http://www.messynessychic.com/2015/05/26/the-real-no-go-zone-of-france-a-forbidden-no-mans-land-poisoned-by-war/
= new reply since forum marked as read
What an amazing testament to the ravages of war and the lasting consequences.
Wonderful link...I kept finding things to read about, a keeper!
Thanks 
