Paris1972-Versailles2003

Well here I am nostalgic again, and even if had mentioned in other posts briefly, feel needed to have a post of its own for old times ‘sake! This is the memorable Rue Tronchet of Paris, and I like to tell you a bit more on it ;hope you enjoy it as I.

My very first job in the city of Paris took me from Versailles rive droite train station to the St Lazare train station of Paris. Ok cars was not convenient because in France when you work in big towns the cost of public transport is rembourse 50/50, and you get to use in my case my Navigo card pass even on weekends so the price was very cheap. In going there, I have told you took the metro line 12 to Concorde and then my job in Rue Castiglione of the Intercontinental Paris Hotel (see post) (today the Westin Paris Vendôme..). However, after finding the trip so difficult , yes cramped metro wagon, technical problems cancellations, and a total of 18 minutes which of course counted the walks in underground halls; someone at work gave the idea of walking;oh oh oh sublime walking in Paris!!

It became a family past time to walk in Paris after getting in with our car on private visits and walking from Gare St Lazare train station to rue Castiglione job.  It took me by the grand department stores of you know who , (see posts), and passing by the Church of the Madeleine (see post), and getting around some fancy streets such as Rue St Honoré. Before all that passed by nice quant Rue Tronchet, which became my favorite spot and breakfast or lunch or dinner over the more than 2 yrs worked around here. And this finally…., is the reason of this post.

The Rue Tronchet is a street in the 8éme and 9éme arrondissements of Paris. Starting at Place de la Madeleine and ending on Boulevard Haussmann, it links the Madeleine district and that of Europe. Very commercial, this street houses a small shopping mall at number 11 as well as many offices. The street also receives the large flea market of the 8éme arrondissement in June.

It received its name in memory of François Denis Tronchet , who was one of the defenders of king Louis XVI during his trial under the French revolution. He,also, participated in the drafting of the Civil Code.  The Rue Tronchet occupies the site of the grounds of the convent of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on the rue de la Ville-l’Évêque, occupied by the Benedictines then suppressed in 1791,during the French revolution, and of the farm of the Mathurins. It was extended in 1858 to Boulevard Haussmann by removing a section of the old rue de la Ferme-des-Mathurins, to take into account the decision to build the new Paris-Saint-Lazare train station, not in place de la Madeleine, as it had initially been envisaged but further north.

Remarkable buildings that I like passing by for long periods are/were :

No 1: formerly Madeleine-Palace Hôtel, where Jean Cocteau lived at the end of 1934

No 5: back from Mallorca and Nohant, Frédéric Chopin lived on the first floor from October 1839 to November 1841. Dinah Félix, last sister of the illustrious tragedian Rachel, died there 1909,

No 7: Pourtalès hotel. Built in 1838-1839 for Count James-Alexandre de Pourtalès, in a style inspired by the Italian Renaissance, and modified in 1865-1866 then 1869-1870 The facade and the interior courtyard with arcades are reminiscent of Tuscan palaces. A monumental staircase leads to the first floor where the apartments and the collection of works of art by Count de Pourtalès were located. The interior decor, including the gallery where the sponsor’s famous collections were displayed, was destroyed. These collections were sold for public sale in February 1865, according to the wishes of their owner. On the latter’s death, the hotel passed to his son, Count Edmond de Pourtalès-Gorgier and his wife, née Mélanie de Bussière, the embodiment of elegance and the air of the great world during the Second Empire and the beginnings of the Third Republic. The hotel was the subject of a restoration campaign in 2006-2008

No 9 Alfred de Musset / Aimée d´Alton , a small place rented by Alfred de Musset, where he had an affair with Aimée d´Alton in 1837,

No 11: is part of the Art Deco real estate complex called “Palacio de la Madeleine”, located at 25-29, place de la Madeleine, 11, rue Tronchet, and 9, rue de Castellane. It housed various departments of the Directorate General of Taxes (DGI) including the National Directorate of State Interventions (DNID) and the commission of fiscal offenses were transferred to this building in 1974, Before, this passage, this market and the surrounding office buildings are part of the “Palacio de la Madeleine”. This set of buildings was built in 1930 on the site of one of the busiest markets in Paris destroyed in 1920. With a surface area of ​​4600 meters, it had three entrances: Place de la Madeleine, Rue Tronchet and rue de Castellane.

Some of my nostalgic spots walking by here every day for more than 2 years were the Café Madeleine , hôtel Massena (where met friends for breakfast!) , Paul 35 Rue Tronchet Aux Tortues and Guerlain parfums store next door, 35 Rue Tronchet, Their webpages are :

Store Guerlain parfums : https://stores.guerlain.com/int/en_INT/boutique/france/ile-de-france/paris/paris/FR16127

Paul at rue Tronchet : https://www.paul.fr/paris_haussmann_tronchet/catalogsearch/result/?q=rue+tronchet+pain

The hôtel Massena : https://www.paris-hotel-massena.com/en/page/hotel-paris-8-arrondissement.3.html

Café Madeleine, 35 Pl de la Madeleine corner with Rue Tronchet : https://www.cafemadeleineparis.com/apex/a171847/r/cafemadeleine/contact1?session=291821726844

There you go folks, another dandy spot in my eternal Paris. So many memorable spots that will keep me busy now telling you all about it, and then some as will return to the city soon. When you walk these streets then you will understand why many said Paris is the most beautiful city in the world!! A mouvable feast indeed!! Hope we can continue to enjoy for more generations.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!

I need to have this in my blog, new text , older pictures of the National Assembly or Assamblée Nationale de France. The lower house of representative of the French government, which I have visited and you can too. Another look into the real French world. Hope you enjoy the post as I.

Not to go much into the political government trivia, just a bit for giving a better understanding of this house in France, which can be visited, The Assamblée Nationale or National Assembly is the French institution which forms, with the Senate, the Parliament of the Fifth Republic (current France). Its role is to debate, propose, amend and vote on laws, and to monitor the action of the Government. Unlike the Senate, it has the power to force the resignation of the government by passing a motion of no confidence. It sits at the Palais Bourbon (yes!!) in Paris. Since 1986, the National Assembly has had 577 members, called deputies, elected by direct universal suffrage by first past the post in two rounds for a period of five years.

In this building since 1799 has housed all the lower chambers of the French Parliament The President of the National Assembly has a role of directing the debates and organization of the work of the Assembly. He is the fourth person of the State in the order of precedence during the official ceremonies, behind the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and finally the President of the Senate. The Hôtel de Lassay is a private mansion located on rue de l ‘ University. Current residence of the President of the National Assembly, it adjoins the Palais Bourbon, seat of the lower house of Parliament. The different names given were the “Conseil des Cinq-Cents” instituted by the Constitution of Year III in August 1795, the “Chamber of Deputies of Departments”, the “Chamber of Representatives “, the ” Legislative body “, the ” Chambers of deputies “, etc. That of the National Assembly, chosen in the fervor of 1789, does not reappear, if we except the brief parenthesis of 1848 and that in 1946.

As required by article 33 of the French Constitution, the sessions are in fact public and therefore accessible to every citizen, in public forums and on video. I have been lucky to be here for sessions on two occasions and it was interesting, another way to live the real French life. It is located on the Quai d’Orsay in the 7éme arrondissement of Paris, in the row of the Pont de la Concorde and the Place de la Concorde. It is guarded by the 2nd Infantry Regiment of the Republican Guard. This site is served by the metro stations ,National Assembly (line 12) Concorde (lines 1,8, and 12) and Invalides (lines 8 and 13).

A bit on the architecture I like

The north side facade is decorated with a bas-relief pediment done from 1838 to 1841 and which represents an allegory of France, surrounded by those of Force and Justice. It remains to this day. The rest of this facade dates entirely from the First Empire (Napoleon I). At the bottom of the stands are four statues of great figures in French history: Sully, L’Hospital, d’Aguesseau and Colbert; On either side of the steps are installed a statue of Minerva and another of Themis ,Still on the sides, are two bas-reliefs ordered in 1837: Prometheus animating the Arts and Public Instruction, In the courtyard of honor is also the sphere of human rights commissioned by the National Assembly in 1989 as part of the commemorations for the bicentenary of the French revolution. It is a monumental sphere of black granite on a white marble plinth, placed on a circular lawn and partially surrounded by a hemicycle punctuated by sealed plaques, in which are inscribed the preamble and the articles of the Declaration of the Rights of man and citizen.

It houses a very precious library (and beautiful), the collection of which was made up of goods confiscated from the emigrant aristocrats (thats revolutions for you) . Among its treasures, the minutes of the trial of Joan of Arc, the manuscripts of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the collection of terracotta busts of parliamentarians by Honoré Daumier, and the Codex Borbonicus, a codex native to central Mexico. The library was decorated in the 19C by Eugène Delacroix. The painter embodied, in five domes and about twenty pendants, Science, Philosophy, Legislation, Theology and Poetry, represented in warm allegorical scenes in color. The main rooms are the Salle des Pas-Perdus, and the Salle des Quatre-Colonnes. Both are places where journalists traditionally interview deputies. They cross it to get from the meeting rooms to the hemicycle by taking the connecting corridor which adjoins the main courtyard and leads to the library , The Salle des Quatre-Colonnes welcomes in each of its angles statues of Lycurgus , Solon, Cato d’Utique and Brutus; they once adorned the Hall of the Council of Five Hundred, There is, also, the Casimir-Perier room houses statues of General Foy, Mirabeau, Portalis, Tronchet, Bailly and Casimir Perier, The conference room houses a statue of Henri IV, as well as four busts of Lamartine, Dupont de l’Eure, Cavaignac and Ernest Picard.

A bit of history I like

The house of representative or the National Assembly of France or Assamblée Nationale … Ahh this one is unique , right across from the Place de la Concorde, and sits on the Palace of Bourbon, ooops sacre bleu the site of the Bourbon royals!   The Palais Bourbon is the name commonly given to the building that houses the National Assembly.  The Palais Bourbon was built by Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Nantes, the legitimized daughter of king Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan, who had married Louis III of Bourbon-Condé, duke de Bourbonnais and 6th Prince of Condé. The Palais Bourbon and the Hôtel de Lassay were erected simultaneously, from 1722 to 1728, on land acquired by the Duchess of Bourbon in 1720 and which she ceded a part to her lover, the Marquis of Lassay.  Confiscated in 1791,during the French revolution,  the palace “before Bourbon” was nationalised. It houses in 1794 the future École Polytechnique before being assigned to the Council of Five Hundreds by decree in 1795. However, by the time they set up a room for them, the five hundred would not settle there until 1798. The Bourbon Palace will therefore be assigned to the second Chamber of Parliament under the various regimes: Council of the Five Hundred, legislative body, Chamber of Deputies, and National Assembly.  The Palais Bourbon welcomed, from 1798, all the lower chambers of the French parliaments, with the exception of a short period of 1871 to 1879 (period during which it sits in the hall of the wing of the Midi of the Palace of Versailles, following the insurrection of the commune of Paris), then after the Government and Parliament fled to Bordeaux and then to Vichy during WWII in 1940. 

For the anecdote, it was not far from my work area in Paris, where I was able to visit a couple times and listen on debates!! You too can do it just get a reservation , id papers and go for it,its worth the detour. Enjoy the visit!!! This is to reserve online : https://www.billetweb.fr/assister-a-une-seance

And here tells you the order for the day of debates especially the Finance Law working on by the govt right now, in French of course: https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dyn/seance-publique

The official National Assembly or house of Reps of France on its history : https://www2.assemblee-nationale.fr/decouvrir-l-assemblee/patrimoine

The Paris tourist office on the National Assembly of France: https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/71377/Assemblee-Nationale-Palais-Bourbon

There you go folks, a dandy off the beaten path of eternal Paris! Worth the detour, very educational ,historical ,and just gorgeous architecture to see in the  Assamblée Nationale de France, the National Assembly of France, sort of like a House of Representatives (US). Hope you enjoy the post and do come!

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!