Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Paris in 1901

From Vanessa Couchman:
This district of Paris, on the Rive Droite of the River Seine, was a favourite destination for migrants from Aveyron and the Auvergne in the late 19th century. They established a number of restaurants here, often combined with a coal merchant’s business. 
On moving from Aveyron, Marie-Thérèse’s destination is la rue Daval, in the 11tharrondissement, not far from La Bastille. The street is the location of the Bistrot Mazars, an Aveyronnais Restaurant run by Marie-Thérèse’s Aunt Berthe and Uncle Henri. They have moved to Paris from Aveyron in search of a more profitable occupation. The Bistrot Mazars is an invention, and there was never a restaurant by that name in the rue Daval. But it seems a plausible location. 
Like many of these neighbourhood restaurants, the Bistrot Mazars has its regular clientele, mostly people who worked or lived nearby. But Aunt Berthe has ambitions to expand both the restaurant’s capacity and its reputation. 
Now a trendy and lively part of Paris, the 11th arrondissement is bordered by Père Lachaise cemetery. Le boulevard Richard-Lenoir, the home of Simenon’s fictional Commissaire Maigret, is also located in the 11th. (Read more.)
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