French Literature Reviews - 2026
Yves Pagès, Les chaînes sans fin. Histoire illustrée du tapis roulant
History, Politics and Society
Among the machines that haunt our daily lives, the conveyor belt is arguably the one that most insidiously permeates every sector of activity: from assembly-line belts to checkout belts in the smallest convenience stores, not to mention those dedicated to fitness and physical exercise. Shift work, consumerist rituals, and the hygienic cult of the self: three postures that, each in its own way, condemn us to the eternal repetition of a forced march.
This essay aims to trace the genealogy of the conveyor belt, which is far more winding and little-known than it might seem. Without lingering over the "treadwheel cranes" of Roman antiquity, the book reviews a host of forgotten devices—the "disciplinary treadmill" of Victorian-era prisons, the "inclined plane horse-mill" of 19th-century farmers, and the "moving sidewalk" of the 1900 Universal Exposition—before turning to more recent uses of this crucial tool in Fordist management, mass consumption, and cardiovascular stress testing.
Throughout this investigation, all kinds of historical materials are brought into play: from obscure inventors' patents to the running gags of silent cinema.
Ultimately, we find ourselves back at our very contemporary running machine, the ultimate embodiment of the myth of progress: huge leaps forward that, most of the time, get us nowhere at all.
Yves Pagès is a writer and publisher. Alongside Jeanne Guyon, he runs the publishing house Éditions Verticales and has published some fifteen books, including Petites Natures mortes au travail (2000), Le Théoriste (2001), Souviens-moi (2014), Tiens, ils ont repeint ! 50 ans d'aphorismes urbains de 1968 à nos jours (2017), and Il était une fois sur cent. Rêveries fragmentaires sur l'emprise statistique (2021).
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An article about this work can be read on en-attendant-nadeau.fr:
"What the conveyor belt does to man", by Pierre Tenne (online September 20, 2023).
It takes only a few pages to realize something obvious: the subject of Yves Pagès's *Les chaînes sans fin* is brilliantly chosen. As invisible as they are omnipresent in our daily lives, conveyor belts tell us so much about our world that it is surprising we haven't questioned them more before reading this book, which finds a remarkable way to make tangible the abstractions that have oppressed so many people for so long.
The conveyor belt occupies a central place in the history of industrialization and the evolution of modern labor practices. By tracing the genealogy of this device, the text situates its development within a broader trajectory of mechanical innovation, moving from early agricultural and penal applications to the standardized systems of Fordist management. This historical perspective highlights how technological objects have been instrumental in shaping social behaviors and economic structures. Readers interested in the intersection of industrial history and the sociology of everyday life may find this investigation of technical evolution relevant.
The conveyor belt serves as a lens through which to examine contemporary habits, including consumerist rituals and the modern emphasis on physical health. The text connects these diverse functions to a theme of repetitive motion and the myth of progress, illustrating how these mechanisms influence human activity across different sectors. By drawing on a variety of historical materials, including patents and cinematic representations, the work addresses how these machines reflect societal shifts. The study considers how these systems of movement have become embedded in the structures of daily existence.