LE SENTIER ❘ PARISIAN WALKWAYS
PLAQ 4 rue du Nil
Tel. (+33) 1 40 39 09 54
Until Sandra and Nicolas opened Plaq in 2019, the notion of bean-to-bar chocolate was foreign in France. Today, Plaq is one of the most in-vogue chocolate producers in Paris, supplying Michelin-starred chefs and welcoming throngs of foodies to their factory boutique to taste Plaq’s pure expressions of rare cacao beans, both in bars and bonbons, and in divine desserts and chocolat chaud.
LA CAVE DU SENTIER 33 rue d’Alexandrie
www.lacavedusentier.com
The founders of this charming wine shop created it in 2021 to bring natural wine to the heart of the Sentier. With a collection of cuvées to conquer any natural wine sceptic, from Bordeaux by Château Massereau and Burgundy by Domaine Vini Viti Vinci, to Crozes-Hermitage by Dard & Ribo, plus a stunning selection of skin contact/orange wines and lively evening tastings, it’s mission accomplished!
founded in 2015 at 35 rue des Petits Carreaux. “The opening of a bookstore in a neighbourhood is generally a good indicator of its gentrifi cation,” laughs founder Alexis Argyroglo. “And today in the Sentier, a demographic, social and professional evolution is taking place which has drawn a new population with signifi cant fi nancial and cultural capital.” That population provides Petite Égypte with a large, privileged clientele, but it’s not the only reason he chose to open a shop here. “I’m fascinated by the social, industrial, and commercial history of the Sentier, yet it’s actually been the subject of very little research,” he says. “In coming here, I wanted to help to celebrate this history, to see it recognised as a unique part of French heritage.” Petite Égypte launched a writer’s residence programme and invited the historian Manuel Charpy to take a fresh look at the neighbourhood’s past, created a newsletter to present newly discovered archives, and published a new edition of the only authoritative history of the Sentier written to date – 36 rue du Caire by Nadine Vasseur, a journalist whose father, a Holocaust survivor, founded a factory in the Sentier. As Vasseur recounts, the Sentier as we know it fi rst took shape in the 17th century. In 1634,
BRASSERIE DUBILLOT 222 rue Saint-Denis
Tel. (+33) 1 88 61 51 24
Situated on an historic street that had fallen into decline in recent years, this ebullient restaurant represents a revival not only for the Sentier but for the French brasserie itself, an institution whose reputation had suffered of late. With classic recipes revisited with farm-fresh produce and a twist, plus chic and spacious rooms and a warm and attentive staff, Dubillot is the brasserie 2.0.
Nadine Vasseur’s book at the Petite Égypte bookshop
a medieval wall circling Paris was demolished and replaced by two streets which still run diagonally across the neighbourhood today – Rue d’Aboukir and Rue Cléry. Soon after, a notorious slum known as the Cour des Miracles – described by Victor Hugo as “a city of thieves, a hideous wart on the face of Paris” – then situated between today’s Rue Dussoubs and Place du Caire, was razed to the ground as well. These changes led to a real-estate boom, with aristocrats and notables building lavish hôtels particuliers throughout the area. A prime example is the splendid 17th-century Hôtel de Saint-Chaumond, visited today through a short passageway at 226 rue Saint-Denis.
In 1723, the powerful Compagnie des Indes, founded in 1664 to import riches from Asia, was established nearby on Rue d’Aboukir. Their clientele included the mistress to Louis XV, Madame de Pompadour, who lived at 33 rue du Sentier. As the best-preserved area in Paris from the Louis XIV and XV periods, numerous mid-17th- century buildings remain in the Sentier, like the Pointe Trigano, the narrowest apartment building in Paris, situated at 98 rue de Cléry. Napoleon also left his mark on the neighbourhood, by commemorating his ❯❯
Aug/Sep 2022 FRANCE TODAY ❘ 51
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