THE MISERABLE 13TH BECAME ONE OF FRANCE'S
MAIN INDUSTRIAL SITES
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A Rich Industrial Past: the subject of a special issue of the 13th's historical journal
It is near the river and the Austerlitz railway station that, like other stations in Paris in contrast to those of London and New York, was built on the outskirts to keep laborers away from the center.
Adapted from a métro map
The gare d'Orsay, the only station in the center of town, let visitors access the International Exhibition of 1900. A shuttle let them avoid the lugubrious outskirts.
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Among the multitude of industries was the country's largest chocolat plant, "Chocolats Lombart," whose owner pioneered pictures in advertising to attract children:
The 13th had been a Communard stronghold and its memory was powerful: "My childhood was in the 13th district behind the Panhard factory [...] that is, where the Paris Commune was part of the myths, the legends and the reality of my earliest memory.[...] The good one, which remains, it is said, when one has forgotten all the rest."
AlphonseBoudard, preface to
Elements for a History of the Commune in the 13th District by Gérard Comte, 1981
And this painting of 1913 must be based on memories:
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The plant's 800 workers looked back to La Commune as they learned to fight differently through unions and strikes:
The Beginning of the CGT Union, 1895 /zoom (please scroll down)
Sainte-Anne was a short walk from the establishment, and Monsieur Lombart financed its facade: Residents dubbed it "the chocolate facade," ironically referring to the attempt to distract them from their goals. |
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The evolution continues.
Poster at an exhibit organized by the historical magazine shown above.
75 rue de Choisy, in the heart of "Chinatown:"
End of this section.
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