“The road of the well-to-do who were too poor to pay taxes.” That’s one way to describe Rue des Francs-Bourgeois. It’s a name that echoes through Parisian history. Today we are standing here in front of the Rue Cité Firmin Bourgeois.
But its story begins long before its current trendy status.
The Rue des Francs-Bourgeois gets its rather curious name from alms houses. These houses were established to support the “respectable poor.” These were people whose income was too meager to afford taxes.
Before acquiring this moniker, the street was known as the Rue des Viez-Poullies. This translates to “the road of old pulleys”. The name reflects its earlier association with the weaving trade.
The name change occurred after 1334. Alms houses were founded. Their residents, being exempt from taxes due to their poverty, were called “francs-bourgeois.” One such institution was named “Maison des Francs-Bourgeois.” It served as a hospital for impoverished bourgeois.
Interestingly, during the French Revolution, part of the road was temporarily renamed Rue des Francs-Citoyens. Even during a period of radical change, the street’s connection to its past was evident.
Over time, the Rue des Francs-Bourgeois expanded. It absorbed neighboring streets like Rue Neuve Saint-Catherine and Rue du Paradis-au-Marais in 1868. This consolidation contributed to its present length and significance.
Many of Paris’s oldest buildings line the street. It now serves as a boundary between the third and fourth arrondissements.
Among the notable addresses is Nos 14-18. Here stands the Carnavalet Museum of Paris’ historical collections. Its official address is at No. 23 Rue de Sévigné.
Number 25 boasts the best-preserved aristocratic town house. This is the Hôtel de Lamoignon. Today, it functions as a public library dedicated to Parisian history. Its garden, accessible to the public since 1969, was renamed Jardin de l’Hôtel-Lamoignon – Mark-Ashton in 2018.
Vestiges of the Philippe August wall are visible at numbers 31-33 and 57. These remnants offer a glimpse into the city’s medieval past.
The Town Hall of the 7th arrondissement, formerly located at No 43, was seized by insurrectionaries in 1839. Figures like Barbès, Blanqui, and Albert Laponneraye played roles in this event.
Charles Rappoport, a theorist, resided at No 50 upon his arrival in Paris from Russia in 1895.
Hotel de Soubise stands majestically at No 60. Constructed on the site of the Hôtel de Guise, it became the National Archives in 1794. Remarkably, it was saved from destruction during the Commune. Shell fire threatened to engulf it, but the actions of Louis-Guillaume Debock and André Alavoine prevented disaster.
Léon Blum, while studying at the Lycée Charlemagne in the 1880s, resided as a boarder on the Rue des Francs-Bourgeois.
The Rue des Francs-Bourgeois continues to evolve. It’s a street where history and modernity intertwine. Each building whispers stories of revolution, philanthropy, and the lives of ordinary Parisians.