You may have noticed these marks without really noticing them. In the Rue de la Roquette and Rue de la Croix Faubin, strange marks are visible on the ground. While this may seem like a road defect, it’s not… In fact, they appear to be imprints left by… the guillotine. We tell you all about it!
An unusual Parisian curiosity: traces of the guillotine still visible in two Paris streets
There are five of them. Five more or less clear prints, visible in Rue de la Roquette and Rue de la Croix Faubin in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. At first glance, tourists and passers-by might think they’re simply road deformations, probably due to poorly executed roadworks, an accident or the effects of use and time.
But there’s nothing insignificant about these traces! They are the last remnants of the guillotine, which was in full operation from 1851 until 1899. The rue de la Roquette was the entrance to this curious morbid theater, where the condemned were chained together throughout the day… These five cuts mark the location of the five slabs that supported the foundations of the Paris guillotine.
The guillotine was responsible for 69 public beheadings in this location alone, over a period of almost 40 years. It might be mistaken to think that the guillotine, invented by Joseph Ignace Guillotin, was only used during the French Revolution. In fact, it was used until September 10, 1977, when it was finally put away… in 1981, just after the abolition of the death penalty.
Now, only a discreet sign and these five hundred-year-old traces bear witness to this horrible period in French history. A killing machine, which once allowed a form of justice to reign before France became the land of Human Rights.
Did you know this story?