The Boulevard Mortier is a

boulevard A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway. Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls. In American usage, boulevards may ...

in the

20th arrondissement The 20th arrondissement of Paris (known in French as the ''XXe arrondissement de Paris'' or simply as "''le vingtième''") is the last of the consecutively numbered arrondissements of the capital city of France. Also known as Ménilmontant () af ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It is one of the

Boulevards of the Marshals The Boulevards of the Marshals (french: link=no, Boulevards des Maréchaux) are a collection of thoroughfares that encircle the city of Paris, France, just inside its city limits. Most bear the name of a Marshal of the Empire, marshal of the Firs ...

, which circle the outer parts of the city.

Route

The boulevard starts at Porte de Bagnolet and ends at Porte des Lilas, where it is continued by boulevard Sérurier. The housing estate is located on the west side, near Porte de Bagnolet. The boulevard was accessible through the Petite Ceinture bus line. Now it can be reached through the Métro Line 3.

History

Fortifications de la porte de Versailles (Paris)

The French war department had completed the

Thiers wall The Thiers wall (''Enceinte de Thiers'') was the last of the defensive walls of Paris. It was an enclosure constructed between 1841 and 1846 and was proposed by the French prime minister Adolphe Thiers but was actually implemented by his succe ...

including fortifications, a dry moat, a ''Rue Militaire'' and a large bermaround 1840. In 1859, the military engineering service gave conditional control to the Paris city council. The expansion of the land area of Paris in 1860, by annexing bordering communities, created a situation where everything within the Thiers wall was Paris and everything without was not. The Thiers wall, with its accompanying berm and moat, led to a profound disruption and complication of the synergistic relationship between Paris and its suburbs. Paris city council started upgrading and conversion of some sections of the ''Rue Militaire'' into boulevards in 1861, with the (yet unnamed) Boulevard de Mortier one of the first stretches to open. In 1864, the boulevard was named after

Édouard Mortier Édouard is both a French given name and a surname, equivalent to Edward in English. Notable people with the name include: * Édouard Balladur (born 1929), French politician * Édouard Boubat (1923–1999), French photographer * Édouard Colonne (1 ...

(1768–1835), Duke of Trévise and

Marshal of France Marshal of France (french: Maréchal de France, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished ( ...

. Each section of the upgraded ''Rue Militaire'' was then named for a marshal of the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental E ...

(1804–1814) who served under

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, leading to the entire ring being collectively called the

. The Boulevards of the Marshals concept was almost fully realized by 1932, though the final three sections, closing the ring, would not be completed until 2005. Of the 22 boulevards, 19 have been named for Mortier or one of his fellow First Empire marshals.

Important building

* After No. 19 is rue Camille-Bombois, a narrow street with a stairway that goes up to rue Irénée-Blanc; it belongs to the

Campagne à Paris Campagne (, meaning "countryside") may refer to several places: France Campagne is the name or part of the name of several communes in France: * Campagne, Dordogne, in the Dordogne department * Campagne, Hérault, in the Hérault department * ...

estate. * On 24 August 1944, the group ''

Francs-Tireurs et Partisans The ''Francs-tireurs et partisans français'' (FTPF), or commonly the ''Francs-tireurs et partisans'' (FTP), was an armed resistance organization created by leaders of the French Communist Party during World War II (1939–45). The communist par ...

'' of Saint-Fargeau attacked an SS row at a barricade located at No. 67, at the crossing of Boulevard Mortier and rue de la Justice. * Jacques Duclos is said to have resided at No. 82–88 in July 1940. * No 141: , headquarters of the

Directorate-General for External Security The General Directorate for External Security (french: link=no, Direction générale de la Sécurité extérieure, DGSE) is France's foreign intelligence agency, equivalent to the British MI6 and the American CIA, established on 2 April 1982. ...

(DGSE). Boulevard Mortier, 141.jpg, Caserne des Tourelles, headquarters of the DGSE. Travaux T3 - Station porte des Lilas - Aout 2012.jpg, The ''Porte des Lilas'' station. P1120201 Paris XX boulevard Mortier T3b rwk.JPG, The boulevard heading to Porte de Bagnolet after roadworks for the tramway Line 3a ended in August 2012.

References

{{Reflist Boulevards in Paris Streets in the 20th arrondissement of Paris 1863 establishments in France