Expropriation
The extent to the construction in Paris that occurred during the renovation was immense. A reconstruction of this size would be impossible in any country in the world at this time due the cost and the power that Haussmann was given over the city. Haussmann was given the ability to expropriate all of the land on either side of the roads that he was renovating, and although the owners of the land were compensated it did not change the fact that they were thrown out of their houses and forced to live the outer neighbourhoods of Paris. This generated great public resentment towards Haussmann and against Napoleon III as many Parisians were never able to return to their land.
The Cost of the Renovation
The final cost of the renovation in the late 1860's was more then 2.5 billion Francs, which would be worth close to 15 billion current US dollars. This sum infuriated the French government which had lost a significant amount of power during the 1851 coup d'etat and were unable to control Haussmann's spending. Right wing members of the French government claimed that Haussmann had mismanaged the money, and wasted much of it due to poor planning. Some members even claimed that he had used some of the funds for his personal expenses and had transferred portions of the money into his own bank accounts. These claims and the growing resentment from the Paris citizens eventually lead to Haussmann being fired.
Social Controversies
The renovation in Paris was the cause of a steep rise in rent in the neighbourhoods that were reconstructed and those surrounding them. This mean't that the citizens whose land had been expropriated were often not able to return to their neighbourhoods when the construction was complete as they were unable to afford the rent. Instead they moved to the outer arrondissements surrounding Paris proper while richer citizens bought the newly renovated land. There are some historians who believe that Napoleon III did this intentionally as a way to prevent another uprising of the working class, because he broke up the communities preventing them from organizing ensuring that they would not pose a threat. There was also some controversy surrounding where the reconstruction occurred. Many neighbourhoods in Paris that were poorer were often left untouched with minimal construction done to improve the quality of life, the same was also true of neighbourhoods that had opposed Napoleon III's election as Prince President and his coup d'etat. There was also some outcry concerning the destruction of historical buildings and locations during the renovation as many historical medieval neighbourhoods were tore down to make way for the construction of newer buildings.