The Place de Clichy, also known as "Place Clichy", is situated in the northwestern quadrant 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. S ...

. It is formed by the intersection of the

Boulevard de Clichy The Boulevard de Clichy () is a famous street of Paris, which lends its name to the Place de Clichy, resulted from the fusion, in 1864, of the roads that paralleled the Wall of the Farmers-General, both inside and out. It extends from the Place d ...

, the Avenue Clichy, the Rue Clichy, the

Boulevard des Batignolles 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 ...

, and the Rue d'Amsterdam. It lies at the former site of the ''barrière de Clichy'', an ancient portal in the

Wall of the Farmers-General A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...

, leading to the village of Clichy, outside the wall.

Description

The Place de Clichy is one of the few places in Paris where four arrondissements (the 8th, 9th, 17th, and 18th) meet at a single point. (The others are the

Pont Saint-Michel Pont Saint-Michel is a bridge linking the Place Saint-Michel on the Rive Gauche, left bank of the river Seine River, Seine to the Île de la Cité. It was named after the nearby chapel of Saint-Michel. It is near Sainte Chapelle and the Palais ...

, where the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 6th meet, and the Belleville roundabout, where the 10th, 11th, 19th and 20th come together.) The Place de Clichy is also unusual in that it has been untouched by urban planners. This explains the heterogeneous façades of the buildings in the area. The Place de Clichy has the character of a substantial crossroads, rather than that of a real ''place'' (public square). Surrounding the Place de Clichy is a lively array of shops, restaurants, and businesses, including a popular cinema. It is a hive of activity, both day and night.

History

In March 1814, at the close 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 Eu ...

, 800,000 soldiers of various foreign armies marched on Paris. After breaking through the barriers at Belleville and

Pantin Pantin () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2019 its population was estimated to be 59,846. Pantin is located on the edge of the city of Paris and is mainly formed by a plain ...

, they took the hill of

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 ...

. Paris was protected in the north from Clichy to

Neuilly Neuilly (, ) is a common place name in France, deriving from the male given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as we ...

, by 70,000 men of the

garde nationale The National Guard (french: link=no, Garde nationale) is a French military, gendarmerie, and police reserve force, active in its current form since 2016 but originally founded in 1789 during the French Revolution. For most of its history th ...

. In the face of the advancing enemy, the Maréchal de Moncey defended the barrière de Clichy. Moncey amassed 15,000 volunteers,

tirailleur A tirailleur (), in the Napoleonic era, was a type of light infantry trained to skirmish ahead of the main columns. Later, the term "''tirailleur''" was used by the French Army as a designation for indigenous infantry recruited in the French ...

s – students from the

École polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

and the École vétérinaire – and, despite their inexperience, valiantly resisted the Russian contingent until an armistice was declared on 30 March 1814.

Monument

A six-metre-tall bronze statue, executed by Amédée Donatien Doublemard and dedicated to de Moncey, stands on an ornate pedestal eight metres tall.

Metro station

Served by the Place de Clichy Métro station, the area is accessible by lines 2 and 13. Paris m 2 jms

External links

Internet portal

{{Authority control Clichy Clichy Clichy Clichy Clichy First French Empire

Description

History

Monument

Metro station

See also

External links