Belleville () is a
neighbourhood
A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural a ...
of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, parts of which lie in four different
arrondissements
An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands.
Europe
France
The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements' ...
. The major portion of Belleville straddles the borderline between 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 ...
and the
19th along its main street, the ''Rue de Belleville''. The remainder lies in the
10th and
11th arrondissements.
It was once the independent
commune (municipality) of
Belleville which was annexed by the City of Paris in 1860 and divided between two arrondissements. Geographically, the neighborhood is situated on and around a hill which vies with
Montmartre
Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...
as the highest in Paris. The name Belleville literally means "beautiful town".
History
Historically, Belleville was a working-class neighborhood. People living in the independent village of Belleville played a large part in establishing the
Second French Republic through their actions during the
Revolution of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...
. In 1871, residents of the incorporated neighborhood of Belleville were some of the strongest supporters of the
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871.
During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defende ...
. When the Versailles Army came to reconquer Paris in May of that year, it faced some of the toughest resistance in Belleville and in neighboring
Ménilmontant
Ménilmontant () is a neighbourhood of Paris, situated in the city's 20th arrondissement. It is roughly defined as the area north of the Père Lachaise Cemetery, south of Parc de Belleville, and between ''Avenue Jean-Aicard'' on the west and ...
. The bloody street fighting persisted in the two eastern districts, and the last of the barricades is said to have been in the ''Rue Ramponeau'' in Belleville.
During the first half of the 20th century, many immigrants settled there:
German Jews fleeing the
Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in 1933, and
Spaniards
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ...
in 1939. Many
Algeria
)
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, map_caption =
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, relig ...
ns and
Tunisian Jews arrived in the early 1960s.
Belleville is home to one of the largest congregations of the
Reformed Church of France. The Église Réformée de Belleville has been in the area since shortly before World War
Culture
Today, Belleville is a colourful, multi-ethnic neighbourhood and also home to one of the city's two
Chinatowns, the other located in the
13th arrondissement near the
Place d'Italie. Since the 1980s, an important Chinese community has been established there. There are many restaurants and associations and stores offering Chinese products. A fairly large and popular outdoor market is held there every Tuesday and Friday along the Boulevard de Belleville, where many local
Île-de-France
The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...
farmers sell their produc
During the 1980s Parisian artists and musicians, attracted by the cheaper rents, the numerous vacant large spaces, and the old Paris charm of its smaller streets (Belleville was ignored, perhaps spared, during much of the architectural modernisation efforts and reparations of the 1960s and 1970s, the greatest exception being the area around the
Place des Fêtes), started moving there. Many artists now live and work in Belleville and studios are scattered throughout the ''quartier''. Some abandoned factories have been transformed into art
squats, where several alternative artists and musicians, such as the band
Les Rita Mitsouko began their careers.
Belleville is one of the most important neighbourhoods in Paris when it comes to Street Art. For example, Rue Denoyez or Place Frehel are a changing display of wall covering street art.
The demographics of the neighbourhood have undergone many changes throughout the decades. While Armenians, Greeks, and Ashkenazi Jews were once the predominant ethnic groups, North Africans, and more recently, sub-Saharan Africans have been displacing these others.
Within the neighbourhood there is a cemetery and park, the
Parc de Belleville
The Parc de Belleville, one of the parks and gardens of the 20th arrondissement of Paris, is situated between the Parc des Buttes Chaumont and the Père Lachaise Cemetery.
Description
The Parc de Belleville is located on the hill of Belleville ...
, which ascends the western slope of the hill and offers, in addition to a panoramic view of the Paris skyline, a strikingly modern contrast to the classical gardens of the city centre and the eccentric nineteenth century romanticism of the nearby
Parc des Buttes Chaumont. A
School of Architecture
This is a list of architecture schools at colleges and universities around the world.
An architecture school (also known as a school of architecture or college of architecture), is an institution specializing in architectural education.
Africa
...
is also located in Bellevill
The iconic French singer
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf (, , ; born Édith Giovanna Gassion, ; December 19, 1915– October 10, 1963) was a French singer, lyricist and actress. Noted as France's national chanteuse, she was one of the country's most widely known international stars.
Pi ...
grew up there and, according to legend, was born under a lamppost on the steps of the ''Rue de Belleville''. A
commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...
can be found at number 72. A true ''Bellevilloise'', Piaf sang and spoke the
French language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in N ...
in a way that epitomised the ''accent de Belleville'', which has been compared to the
Cockney
Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or ...
accent of
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
, although the Parisian dialect is nowadays rarely heard. Belleville is prominently featured in the 2007 biographical film of her life, ''
La Vie En Rose
"La Vie en rose" (; ) is the signature song of popular French singer Édith Piaf, written in 1945, popularized in 1946, and released as a single in 1947. The song became very popular in the US in 1950, when seven versions reached the ''Billboard ...
''.
Other famous ''Bellevillois'' include film director
Maurice Tourneur Maurice may refer to:
People
* Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
*Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and L ...
, legendary French
can-can dancer
Jane Avril and popular singer and actor
Eddy Mitchell
Claude Moine (; born 3 July 1942), known professionally as Eddy Mitchell, is a French singer and actor. He began his career in the late 1950s, with the group Les Chaussettes Noires (The Black Socks). He took the name ''Eddy'' from the American ...
. The filmmaker
Maïwenn grew up in Belleville and lives there now.
In popular culture
Belleville is the subject of several French songs, including Eddy Mitchell's "Belleville ou Nashville?" and
Serge Reggiani's "Le Barbier de Belleville." Belleville was also the location of the book
La Vie Devant Soi by Romain Gary.
Belleville was named one of the unique neighborhoods in the world in 2016.
Belleville is also commemorated as the title of one of the most famous of the works of
Django Reinhardt.
In
Puccini's opera "
Il Tabarro
''Il tabarro'' (''The Cloak'') is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on 's play ''La houppelande''. It is the first of the trio of operas known as '' Il trittico''. The first performance was giv ...
" (first part of the triple bill "
Il Trittico") the lovers sing of their shared longing for the place where they both grew up, "Belleville è il nostro suolo e il nostro mondo! Noi non possiamo vivere sull'acqua!" (Belleville is our own soil and all our world! We cannot live forever on the water!) in comparison to the dreary nomadic life of working on a river barge.
[Adami, Giuseppi]
Il Tabarro (libretto)
1918.
Transportation
Belleville is served by the
Metro stations
Belleville,
Pyrénées and
Jourdain.
Films shot in Belleville
* ''
Monsieur Ibrahim'' (''Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran''), 2003, directed by
François Dupeyron
* ''
The Bourne Identity'', 2002, 'Hotel de la Paix' scene, directed by
Doug Liman
Douglas Eric Liman (; born July 24, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing the films '' Swingers'' (1996), '' Go'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' (2005), ''Jumper'' (2008), '' Ed ...
* ''
Madame Rosa
''Madame Rosa'' (french: La vie devant soi) is a 1977 French drama film directed by Moshé Mizrahi, adapted from the 1975 novel ''The Life Before Us'' by Romain Gary. It stars Simone Signoret and Samy Ben-Youb, and tells the story of an elderly ...
'' (''La Vie Devant Soi''), 1975, directed by
Moshé Mizrahi
Moshé Mizrahi ( he, משה מזרחי; 5 September 1931 – 3 August 2018) was an Israeli film director.
Biography
He was born in Egypt, migrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1946, and studied filmmaking in France in 1950. He directed the Oscar- ...
* ''
The Red Balloon'' (''Le Ballon Rouge''), 1956, directed by
Albert Lamorisse
Albert Lamorisse (; 13 January 1922 – 2 June 1970) was a French filmmaker, film producer, and writer of award-winning short films which he began making in the late 1940s. He also invented the strategic board game '' Risk'' in 1957.
Life
Lamo ...
* ''
Rue des Cascades'' (a.k.a. Un Gosse de la Butte), 1964, directed by
Maurice Delbez
Maurice Delbez (28 July 1922 – 23 March 2020) was a French film director.
Biography
From the age of 12, Delbez attended the Lycée Charlemagne in Paris. His parents sold their bistro and took up multiple jobs to help pay for this education. D ...
* ''
Golden Helmet'' (''Casque d'or''), 1951, directed by
Jacques Becker
Jacques Becker (; 15 September 1906 – 21 February 1960) was a French film director and screenwriter. His films, made during the 1940s and 1950s, encompassed a wide variety of genres, and they were admired by some of the filmmakers who led th ...
* ''
Polisse
''Polisse'' (released at some film festivals as ''Poliss'', ) is a 2011 French crime drama film written, directed by and starring Maïwenn. It also stars Joeystarr, Karin Viard, Marina Foïs, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Emmanuelle Bercot and Riccardo ...
'', 2011, directed by
Maïwenn
References
External links
Website of a Belleville business association
{{authority control
Districts of Paris
19th arrondissement of Paris
20th arrondissement of Paris
Chinatowns in Europe
Ethnic groups in France
Former communes of Seine
Squatting in France