Les Deux Magots () is a famous café and restaurant situated at 6, Place

Saint-Germain-des-Prés Saint-Germain-des-Prés () is one of the four administrative quarters of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France, located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Its official borders are the River Seine on the no ...

in Paris's 6th arrondissement, France. It once had a reputation as the rendezvous of the literary and intellectual elite of the city. It is now a popular tourist destination. Its historical reputation is derived from the patronage of

Surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

artists, intellectuals to the likes of Simone de Beauvoir and

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lit ...

, as well as young writers, such as

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

. Other patrons included

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

, Bertolt Brecht, Julia Child and the American writers James Baldwin,

Chester Himes Chester Bomar Himes (July 29, 1909 – November 12, 1984) was an American writer. His works, some of which have been filmed, include '' If He Hollers Let Him Go'', published in 1945, and the Harlem Detective series of novels for which he is be ...

and Richard Wright. The Deux Magots literary prize (Prix des Deux Magots) has been awarded to a French novel every year since 1933 at Les Deux Magots.

Origin of the name

" Magot" literally means "stocky figurine from the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

". The name originally belonged to a fabric and novelty shop at nearby 23 Rue de Buci. The shop sold silk lingerie and took its name from a popular play of the moment (19th century) entitled ''Les Deux Magots de la Chine''. Its two statues represent Chinese " mandarins", or "

magicians Magician or The Magician may refer to: Performers * A practitioner of magic (supernatural) * A practitioner of magic (illusion) * Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context Entertainment Books * ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...

" (and " alchemists", depending upon one's philosophical point of view), who gaze serenely over the room. In 1873, the business moved to its current location in the Place

. In 1884, the business changed to a café and ''liquoriste'', keeping the name. Auguste Boulay bought the business in 1914, when it was on the brink of bankruptcy, for 400,000 francs. The present manager, Catherine Mathivat, is his great-great-granddaughter.

References in literature and popular culture

In literature

* Les Deux Magots appears in ''The Chariot Makers'', by Steve Matchett, in which the author describes Les Deux Magots as: "the first café in the quarter to be blessed by the morning sun. Its clientele pay a healthy premium for drinking there, it’s only fitting they should be the first to catch the warmth of the new day." * The café figures prominently in Abha Dawesar's novel ''That Summer in Paris'' (2006). * The café is the setting for a pivotal scene in the 1998 novel ''The Magic Circle'' by Katherine Neville. The novel was displayed for several months in the windows of Les Deux Magots. * In the 2009 novel ''El hombre que amaba a los perros'' ('' The Man who Loved Dogs'') by Leonardo Padura it is one of the places where Trotsky's assassin, Ramon Mercader, spends time while waiting to be sent to Mexico to complete his assignment. * The café features prominently in Marco Missiroli's ''Atti osceni in luogo privato,'' about the early life of "Libero Marsell", whose father will be a patron of the cafè and will befriend writer

before the author's death. * The café is the site of an important event in

China Miéville China Tom Miéville ( ; born 6 September 1972) is a British speculative fiction writer and literary critic. He often describes his work as '' weird fiction'' and is allied to the loosely associated movement of writers called '' New Weird''. M ...

's novella '' The Last Days of New Paris'' (2016). *” Lolita,” chapter 5, part 1. *A Moveable Feast, chapter 8 by Ernest Hemingway.

In graphic novels

* A café with a similar name (Café Deux Magots) is seen in the fictional town of Morioh, Japan in '' Diamond is Unbreakable'', the fourth part of ''

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1987 to 2004, and was transferred to the monthly ''seinen'' manga ...

''.

In art

* 1959 color photograph by

Saul Leiter Saul Leiter (December 3, 1923 – November 26, 2013) was an American photographer and painter whose early work in the 1940s and 1950s was an important contribution to what came to be recognized as the New York school of photography.Jane Livin ...

. * 1967 figurative painting by Jean-François Debord. :fr:Jean-François Debord

In film

* Several scenes in the 1949 movie '' The Man on the Eiffel Tower'' take place here. * The café features in the 1959 film '' The Sign of Leo'' by Eric Rohmer, directed by Gérard Oury, in which the fictional Arab revolutionary leader, Mohamed Larbi Slimane ( Claude Giraud) is kidnapped, echoing the 1965 kidnapping of

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in front of nearby Brasserie Lipp. * The café features in the 2011 film ''

The Intouchables ''The Intouchables'' (french: Intouchables, ), also known as ''Untouchable'' in the UK and Ireland, is a 2011 French buddy comedy-drama film written and directed by Olivier Nakache & Éric Toledano. It stars François Cluzet and Omar Sy. Nine w ...

'', in a scene in which Philippe ( François Cluzet) and Driss (

Omar Sy Omar Sy (, ff, 𞤌𞤥𞤢𞤪 𞤅𞤭, Omar Si; born 20 January 1978) is a French actor, best known in France for his sketches with Fred Testot on the '' Service après-vente des émissions'' television show on Canal+ (2005–2012). He gain ...

) stop there after a wee-hours stroll along the Seine, meant to ease Philippe's suffering in the middle of the night.

In television

* The café features in a scene in the final episode of NBC sitcom ''

The Good Place ''The Good Place'' is an American fantasy comedy television series created by Michael Schur. It premiered on NBC on September 19, 2016, and concluded on January 30, 2020, after four seasons and 53 episodes. Although the plot evolves signific ...

''.

In music

* The café features centrally as the main location of the tale told in the song “A Rose Is A Rose” by singer Poe, with many of the café‘s more famous clientele name-checked in the lyrics, each enraptured with the enigmatic Jezebel.

In podcasts

* Cocoa from Les Deux Magots is featured heavily in '' The Amelia Project''.

Footnotes

External links

Les Deux Magots official site

List of Deux Magots literary prize winners since 1933
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deux Magots, Les Restaurants in Paris Buildings and structures in the 6th arrondissement of Paris Bakery cafés Simone de Beauvoir Coffeehouses and cafés in Paris Restaurants established in 1884 1884 establishments in France