Learn French: Le maire fait arrêter la construction. - The mayor is having the construction stopped.

La construction replaces a full verbal clause based on construire (to build). Instead of a longer, clunkier phrasing like Le maire fait en sorte qu'on arrête de construire, the nominalization packs the whole action of building into a single noun, making the sentence crisp and professional.

Why do we need the verb fait before arrêter?

This is the causative faire structure, meaning to have something done or to make someone do something. The mayor isn't personally going to the site and halting the bulldozers; he is ordering it to happen. Saying Le maire arrête la construction would imply he is physically stopping it himself.

Could we use a verbal phrase instead of the nominalization la construction here?

You could technically say Le maire fait arrêter de construire (The mayor is having people stop building), but using the noun la construction sounds much more natural and authoritative. Swapping verbs for their noun equivalents is a highly effective way to elevate your French style, especially in news or formal contexts.

What is the direct object of the causative phrase fait arrêter?

The direct object is our nominalized noun, la construction. In a causative sentence where we don't mention the agent (the person actually doing the stopping), the thing receiving the action simply follows the infinitive verb. This keeps the focus entirely on the mayor's order and the project itself.