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A guided walking lecture led by Marie-Ange Daguillon of Histoire & Vies du 10e, Lara Bouvet and Cécile Lasserre of the Chair et Tendre company
From January 29 to December 24, 1923, anarchist Germaine Berton was imprisoned in the Saint-Lazare women’s prison, then located at 107, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis, after assassinating a leader of Action Française to “avenge Jaurès.” On October 4, 1926, on rue La Fayette, Léona Delcourt, also known as Nadja, had a chance encounter with André Breton. This unknown woman would become the heroine of his eponymous account. Germaine and Léona: both born in 1902, they inspired the Surrealists in the 1920s—a group of young people disgusted by war, passionate about freedom and searching for a new language. We invite you to discover Germaine Berton and Léona Delcourt and listen to the voices of two muses who were far from silent and left behind writings and drawings. We will visit the Françoise-Sagan Media Library (formerly Saint-Lazare prison), including its panoramic rooftop, following in Germaine Berton’s footsteps. We will then wander through the neighborhood in search of Léona Delcourt, placing these two tragic lives side by side. Lecture led by Marie-Ange Daguillon of Histoire et Vie du 10 e, with Lara Bouvet and Cécile Lasserre of the Chair et Tendre company. Practical information: Saturday, October 10, 2026, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Meeting point at the auditorium of the Françoise-Sagan Media Library, 8, rue Léon-Schwartzenberg. Reservation required. Histoire et Vie du 10e. The purpose of the “Histoire et Vies du 10 e” association is to promote the history of Paris’s 10th arrondissement and the lives of its residents, and to help preserve its heritage and memory. It also contributes to integrating the 10th arrondissement into the wider Parisian environment. It organizes exhibitions, lectures, guided tours and other cultural activities both within and outside the arrondissement.
Price: Reservations via Billetweb, by phone or in person with the librarians
Source: paris.fr — photo: Francis Picabia, Idylle, 1925, musée de Grenoble (detail)