Plan du quartier Jeanne d’Arc

Did tragedy lurk beneath the seemingly ordinary facade of the Plan du quartier Jeanne d’Arc? Let’s uncover the secrets of this place. The Plan du quartier Jeanne d’Arc, once the site of the Cité Jeanne-d’Arc, holds a story far removed from its current state. Imagine a cluster of buildings, perpendicular to the Rue Jeanne-d’Arc, teeming with life, yet burdened by hardship. This was the Cité Jeanne-d’Arc in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. Built between 1869 and 1872 by Mr. Thuilleux, it housed a staggering 5,000 people within its 860 units. The proximity to the Gare d’Austerlitz fueled rapid industrialization, drawing workers to the area. However, for many residents of the Cité, this industrial boom offered little respite. The Cité became a haven for the impoverished, the unemployed, unskilled laborers, single women, and delinquents. It quickly devolved into an unsanitary ghetto, rife with misery and crime. Disease festered in the cramped conditions. In 1877, a smallpox epidemic ravaged the Cité. Dr. Octave Fleury du Mesnil, dispatched by the city’s Insalubrious Housing Commission, identified overcrowding as the primary culprit. He recommended urgent renovations, but meaningful change remained elusive. Demolition plans surfaced in 1911 and again in 1924, but were repeatedly thwarted. By 1931, demolition seemed imminent, and residents were offered compensation to leave. Yet, even as legitimate tenants departed, others, desperate for shelter, occupied the vacant units. The Cité Jeanne-d’Arc became a hotbed of revolt and delinquency. Residents, supported by deputy André Marty, erected barricades on Rue Nationale and Rue Jeanne d’Arc to protest the expulsions, the dilapidated apartments, and the horrific sanitary conditions. Finally, in 1938, the Cité Jeanne-d’Arc was condemned. Demolition began in 1939, erasing the physical structure, but not its tumultuous history. The Rue du Docteur-Victor-Hutinel now stands where the Cité once cast its long shadow. The Plan du quartier Jeanne d’Arc, in its present form, stands as a silent testament to the struggles and resilience of those who once called the Cité home.