route nationalen.

Etymology: < French route nationale one of a system of public long-distance roads in France, originally radiating from Paris (1830 (see note); earlier in more general senses, also with reference to countries other than France (1792 or earlier); compare national road n.) < route route n.¹ + nationale , feminine of national national adj.The system of public roads in France was instituted by Napoleon in 1811 and comprised (in the French terminology) routes départementales , i.e. (local) roads administered by the department and routes impériales , i.e. countrywide roads administered by the state (the phrase was already in use unofficially: 1805 or earlier). In 1824 under the restored monarchy the routes impériales were reorganized and renamed routes royales , which in turn were renamed routes nationales in 1830; nowadays the state-run routes nationales are contrasted with the privately-run autoroutes (see autoroute n.) and the routes départementales run by the department. (Compare also earlier use of route royale in a more general sense from the second half of the 18th cent., also with reference to other countries.)