📍 In 1969, the iconic Les Halles, Paris’ bustling wholesale market at the city’s heart, closed its doors. The space had become too cramped to meet the demands of an ever-expanding metropolis and was replaced by the enormous, modern Rungis market on the city’s outskirts.
💪 This marked the end of the unique atmosphere of the Baltard pavilions: the ceaseless movements of the “forts des Halles” hauling heavy loads on their shoulders with the help of sturdy coltins, the bustling workers, the smells of fresh produce, and the warm meals of onion soup and charcuterie served in nearby bistros.
🌟 An entire era, immortalized by Émile Zola in The Belly of Paris, vanished, leaving behind a sense of nostalgia for what once was.
🏛️ Only one pavilion was preserved and can now be seen in Nogent-sur-Marne. On the historic grounds of Les Halles, a recently modernized shopping center has stood since 1974, replacing the market that had been feeding Paris and its surrounding regions since the Middle Ages.