Unlike earlier walls, the Farmers-General Wall was not intended to defend Paris from invaders but to enforce the payment of a toll on goods entering Paris ("octroi"). It was commissioned by the nobleman and scientist Antoine Lavoisier[1] on behalf of the Ferme générale (General Farm), a tax farming corporation that paid the French State for the right to collect (and keep) certain taxes. Lavoisier was a shareholder and Administrator of the Ferme générale and determined that the cost of building, staffing, and maintaining the wall would be compensated by better revenue collection. The wall's tax-collection function made it very unpopular: a play on words of the time went "Le mur murant Paris rend Paris murmurant" ("The wall walling Paris keeps Paris murmuring")[2] There was also an epigram:
Pour augmenter son numéraire (To increase its cash)
Et raccourcir notre horizon (And to shorten our horizon), La Ferme a jugé nécessaire (The Ferme générale judges it necessary)
De mettre Paris en prison (To put Paris in prison).
The Wall was five meters high and 24 km long, following the then-boundaries of the city of Paris. No buildings could be erected within 98 meters of its exterior or within 11 meters of its interior. The outside of the wall was flanked by boulevards. Along the inside, surveillance by customs officials was facilitated by a raised protected walkway (chemin de ronde), except between the barrière d'Italie (now the Place d'Italie) and the barrière d’Enfer (now the Place Denfert-Rochereau).[3] Architect Claude Nicolas Ledoux designed its 62 toll gates (barrières) in a neo-classical or even classical style.[4] The Parisian writer (and tax critic) Louis-Sébastien Mercier, who witnessed the construction, dubbed the buildings "dens of the Tax Department metamorphosed into palaces with columns." The Finance Minister. Loménie de Brienne, in 1787 worried about the very high cost of the construction and considered stopping the work, but never actually did so because it was so far advanced.
In the early years of the French Revolution, with the Wall scarcely finished, tax farming and the toll on goods were abolished. But in 1798 French municipalities were granted the octroi, which soon became their primary source of revenue. The city of Paris consequently took responsibility for maintaining the Wall and staffing its revenue officials. When in 1860 the suburban communes were annexed to Paris, the customs boundary moved out to the Thiers fortifications, with duties collected at its numerous gates (portes). Under Haussmann's auspices the Wall of the Ferme générale was quickly demolished and a series of boulevards constructed over its path. Municipal customs duties were collected until the 1940s.[3][5][6]
Some portions of the wall still exist, such as the rotunda of the Barrier of La Villette (now Place de Stalingrad), the Barrière du Trône (now Place de la Nation), the Barrière d'Enfer (now Place Denfert-Rochereau), and the rotunda of Parc Monceau. The wall itself was replaced by the route of the following streets:
On the left (south) bank of the Seine from the east: Boulevard Vincent-Auriol, Auguste-Blanqui, Boulevard Saint-Jacques, Boulevard Raspail, Boulevard Edgar-Quinet, Boulevard de Vaugirard,Boulevard Pasteur, Boulevard Garibaldi and Boulevard de Grenelle.
^Marseille, Jacques. "L'octroi: La fin tardive d'un impôt honni,” Les Echos, 1 fév 2009.
^Claustre, Pierre-Francois. “L’Octroi de Paris (1798-1943): Bilan historiographique et perspectives de recherche” Article extrait de la revue Recherches contemporaines, n° 6, 2000-2001.
Valmy-Baysse, Jean (1950). La curieuse aventure des boulevards extérieurs ("The curious adventure of the outer boulevards") (in French). Éditions Albin-Michel.
Gagneux, Renaud; Prouvost, Denis (2004). Sur les traces des enceintes de Paris. Promenades au long des murs disparus ("Along the walls of Paris. Walking along the lost walls") (in French). Paris: Éditions Parigramme / Compagnie parisienne du livre. ISBN2-84096-322-1.
Lazare, Félix and Louis. Dictionnaire administratif et historique des rues de Paris et de ses monuments ("Dictionary of the administration and history of the streets of Paris and its monuments"), 1844-1849 (in French).
Hillairet, Jacques (1985). Dictionnaire historique des rues de Paris ("Historical dictionary of the streets of Paris" (in French). Les Éditions de Minuit.
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January 16, 2023
wall, ferme, générale, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, . This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Wall of the Ferme generale news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations November 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message The Wall of the Ferme generale was one of the several city walls of Paris built between the early Middle Ages and the mid 19th century Built between 1784 and 1791 the 24 km Wall roughly followed the route now traced by line 2 and line 6 of the Metro It crossed the districts of the Place de l Etoile Batignolles Pigalle Belleville Nation the Place d Italie Denfert Rochereau Montparnasse and the Trocadero The wall was demolished in the early 1860s though elements at several of its gates remain Claude Nicolas Ledoux s Rotonde de la Villette at Place de Stalingrad One of the two customs houses at the barriere d Enfer now Place Denfert Rochereau Rotunda in the parc Monceau Barriere de Chartres Barriere du Trone near the Place de la Nation Contents 1 History 2 Current remains 3 References 4 BibliographyHistory EditUnlike earlier walls the Farmers General Wall was not intended to defend Paris from invaders but to enforce the payment of a toll on goods entering Paris octroi It was commissioned by the nobleman and scientist Antoine Lavoisier 1 on behalf of the Ferme generale General Farm a tax farming corporation that paid the French State for the right to collect and keep certain taxes Lavoisier was a shareholder and Administrator of the Ferme generale and determined that the cost of building staffing and maintaining the wall would be compensated by better revenue collection The wall s tax collection function made it very unpopular a play on words of the time went Le mur murant Paris rend Paris murmurant The wall walling Paris keeps Paris murmuring 2 There was also an epigram Pour augmenter son numeraire To increase its cash Et raccourcir notre horizon And to shorten our horizon La Ferme a juge necessaire The Ferme generale judges it necessary De mettre Paris en prison To put Paris in prison The Wall was five meters high and 24 km long following the then boundaries of the city of Paris No buildings could be erected within 98 meters of its exterior or within 11 meters of its interior The outside of the wall was flanked by boulevards Along the inside surveillance by customs officials was facilitated by a raised protected walkway chemin de ronde except between the barriere d Italie now the Place d Italie and the barriere d Enfer now the Place Denfert Rochereau 3 Architect Claude Nicolas Ledoux designed its 62 toll gates barrieres in a neo classical or even classical style 4 The Parisian writer and tax critic Louis Sebastien Mercier who witnessed the construction dubbed the buildings dens of the Tax Department metamorphosed into palaces with columns The Finance Minister Lomenie de Brienne in 1787 worried about the very high cost of the construction and considered stopping the work but never actually did so because it was so far advanced In the early years of the French Revolution with the Wall scarcely finished tax farming and the toll on goods were abolished But in 1798 French municipalities were granted the octroi which soon became their primary source of revenue The city of Paris consequently took responsibility for maintaining the Wall and staffing its revenue officials When in 1860 the suburban communes were annexed to Paris the customs boundary moved out to the Thiers fortifications with duties collected at its numerous gates portes Under Haussmann s auspices the Wall of the Ferme generale was quickly demolished and a series of boulevards constructed over its path Municipal customs duties were collected until the 1940s 3 5 6 Current remains EditSome portions of the wall still exist such as the rotunda of the Barrier of La Villette now Place de Stalingrad the Barriere du Trone now Place de la Nation the Barriere d Enfer now Place Denfert Rochereau and the rotunda of Parc Monceau The wall itself was replaced by the route of the following streets On the left south bank of the Seine from the east Boulevard Vincent Auriol Auguste Blanqui Boulevard Saint Jacques Boulevard Raspail Boulevard Edgar Quinet Boulevard de Vaugirard Boulevard Pasteur Boulevard Garibaldi and Boulevard de Grenelle On the right north bank from the west Rue de l Alboni Rue Benjamin Franklin Avenue d Iena Avenue Kleber Rue La Perouse Rue de Presbourg Rue de Tilsitt Avenue de Wagram Boulevard de Courcelles Boulevard des Batignolles Clichy Boulevard de Rochechouart Boulevard de la Chapelle Boulevard de la Villette Boulevard de Belleville Boulevard de Menilmontant Boulevard de Charonne Boulevard de Picpus Boulevard de Reuilly and Boulevard de Bercy References Edit Citizens Simon Schama Penguin 1989 p 236 Solange Marin Mur des Fermiers Generaux Encyclopaedia Universalis online a b Feugere Edouard 1904 L Octroi de Paris histoire et legislation Citizens Simon Schama Penguin 1989 p 236 Marseille Jacques L octroi La fin tardive d un impot honni Les Echos 1 fev 2009 Claustre Pierre Francois L Octroi de Paris 1798 1943 Bilan historiographique et perspectives de recherche Article extrait de la revue Recherches contemporaines n 6 2000 2001 Bibliography Edit France portalValmy Baysse Jean 1950 La curieuse aventure des boulevards exterieurs The curious adventure of the outer boulevards in French Editions Albin Michel Gagneux Renaud Prouvost Denis 2004 Sur les traces des enceintes de Paris Promenades au long des murs disparus Along the walls of Paris Walking along the lost walls in French Paris Editions Parigramme Compagnie parisienne du livre ISBN 2 84096 322 1 Lazare Felix and Louis Dictionnaire administratif et historique des rues de Paris et de ses monuments Dictionary of the administration and history of the streets of Paris and its monuments 1844 1849 in French Hillairet Jacques 1985 Dictionnaire historique des rues de Paris Historical dictionary of the streets of Paris in French Les Editions de Minuit Wikimedia Commons has media related to the wall of the Farmers General Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wall of the Ferme generale amp oldid 1129719842, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
