In the aftermath of the Great War, every Parisian knew the grim facade of the Saint-Lazare prison, in the Faubourg Saint-Denis. Behind the dilapidated walls of this former convent, people were punished and cared for. The only women's prison in Paris, it held as many as more than a thousand inmates: remand prisoners, women serving short sentences, prostitutes who had broken regulations, or those suffering from syphilis. The latter were treated in the special infirmary, a veritable hospital-prison.
The fate of this institution, often compared to a leprosy at the heart of the capital, was sealed in the 1920s, marked by a repressive pro-natalist policy and the anxiety over the "venereal peril." In 1932, the prison closed before being partially demolished. The infirmary, first converted into a health home for prostitutes, now houses the Françoise-Sagan media library.
The exhibition seeks to make visible and palpable this history, of which the present sites retain few traces. Through images, books, archives and objects drawn from the collections of many institutions, the route revisits the final years of the prison.
It begins with an outdoor route, on the Square Alban Satragne, where large-format photographs allow visitors to discover the former prison in its urban setting. The journey continues in the media library, where the route revisits the final years of the prison, the many gazes directed at the prisoners and what they reveal about the condition of women of the time, but also the faint traces they left themselves: writings, graffiti, imprints bearing witness to the lives of these shadows of history.
Exhibition across two sites: the Square Alban Satragne and the Françoise Sagan media library
This project was initiated by the association Histoire et vies du 10e, and supported by the Town Hall of the 10th arrondissement.
A programme of visits and activities accompanies the exhibition
Visits on the occasion of the European Heritage Days
The performance "Maison noire", a spoken and sung reading by the Cirque du Dr Paradi
A musical listening session on prison songs
A cycle of lectures, in partnership with the Comité d'Histoire de la Ville de Paris
A colloquium organised by the Centre d'Histoire du XIXe siècle
; Crédits : Bibliocité