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Abstract. This article is an attempt to the study the French imperial discourse in the last third of the 19th century in correlation with the imperial space. We used the following sources: the work of the French engineer A. Duponschel “Railway to Central Africa” and his fundamental report “Transsahar railway, the colonial connection between Algeria and Sudan: a preliminary study of the project and report of the commission with general and geological maps”. These sources are first introduced into the scientific circulation in Russian historiography. The texts of A. Duponschel will be considered as an integral part of the imperial discourse, which is inseparable from the imperial space. The special role of imperial discourse in the representation and organization of the space of the empire will be emphasized. The texts of A. Dupontsel help to understand how imperial ambitions were connected with the scientific practices, and the discourse of imperialism with the space of the empire. Particular attention is paid to the representation of the Sahara desert, which was to become part of the French colonial empire and connect Algeria with Sudan. Railway projects across the Sahara would have to transform the natural spatial environment and historical landscapes, with the appropriation of this space by the Europeans, but it has never been implemented.
Keywords: imperial space, imperial discours, projet of the Transsachar railway, A. Duponchel, image of the Sahara, French colonies.