Vive la France, vive les chauffeurs de taxi de Paris...by Jim Thomas.

Friday the 13th, will in future, forever be associated with one of the worst atrocities in inflicted on a civilian population by are small group of religious fanatics. 

As bombs exploded and to the sound of automatic weapons, the city went into lock down as all public transportation was suspended. 

People were scared, walking around, wondering how they could get back home to their families, tourists lost, wanting to go back to their hotels.

But then an extraordinary event materialised.

The Parisian Taxi drivers stepped up to the mark, turned off their meters and began a night of complimentary journeys to clear the streets.

The people of Paris were ferried to safety last night by the City's Licensed Taxi Fleet. Drivers switched off their meters and filled their Taxis with people desperate to get away from the carnage. 

With no fear for their own safety, the Paris Taxi drivers drove around the streets beckoning to the confused and distressed, taking them home to their loved ones. Later into the night, taking the walking wounded away from the city's hospitals. 

Just over 101 years ago, 6th September 1914, the French were back on their heels. Gen. Joseph Joffre organized a counterattack, and by Sept. 6 his troops were fighting the Germans along the Marne River. With the outcome and possibly the fate of France in the balance, General Joffre called for reinforcements from Paris.

But the railways were clogged and no trucks were available, so the military commander of Paris, Gen. Joseph Gallieni, hailed the city’s taxi drivers. On the evening of Sept. 6, hundreds of cabs assembled at Les Invalides, the military hospital, and by morning of the 7th, a convoy of impossibly top-heavy Renault AG1s with tiny 1.2liter 2cylinder engines was puttering their way towards the front.

The AG1 was the Checker cab of its day. Simple and sturdy, it became the standard Paris taxi in 1905. By 1907, there were 1,500 clattering over the cobblestones.

By the end of Sept. 7, some 600 taxis, each making several runs, had delivered 6,000 troops. 

It is not known whether the passengers tipped the cabbies, but they tipped the battle over to the French and became the saviours of Paris. 

The Renault AG1 was later to be christened "Miracle of the Marne.”

LAST NIGHT IT WAS THE TAXI DRIVERS, WHO WERE CHRISTENED "THE MIRACLE OF PARIS".

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