⚠️ The date shown at the top of this event comes from the official source. The original description mentions other dates that may be outdated.
Guided tours of the exhibition from September 17 to December 13
In the aftermath of the Great War, every Parisian knew the grim façade of Saint-Lazare Prison in the faubourg Saint-Denis. Behind the crumbling walls of this former convent, women were both punished and treated. The only women's prison in Paris, it held at times more than a thousand inmates: women awaiting trial, women serving short sentences, prostitutes who had violated regulations, and women with syphilis. The latter were treated in the special infirmary, a veritable prison hospital. The fate of this institution, often compared to a leprous sore in the heart of the capital, was decided in the 1920s, a decade marked by a repressive pronatalist policy and fears of the “venereal peril.” In 1932, the prison closed before being partially demolished. The infirmary, initially converted into a health facility for prostitutes, now houses the médiathèque Françoise-Sagan. Guided tours open to everyone will be offered as part of the Journées Européennes du Patrimoine and then throughout the exhibition, from September 17 to December 13: - Saturday, September 19 at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. - Sunday, September 20 at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. For group tours, please send your request to the following address: [email protected]
Price: Book online, by phone, or in person with the librarians
Source: paris.fr — photo: Henri Manuel, Cloakroom with Hats and Shoes, Prison Saint-Lazare, 1929-1931, Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris