Antananarivo corresponds to the upper city, the current lower city is covered with marshes and rice fields. The French then drained around twenty hectares of marshes and rice fields at the foot of the upper town to create the Analakely district.
The development works include the construction of Avenue Fallières, later named Avenue de la Libération, and today Avenue de l'Indépendant, the large Analakely staircases and numerous buildings including the Soarano station.