Paris History Project : History of Paris Plaques

The "History of Paris" panels were installed from 1992 under the mandate of Jacques Chirac, then mayor of Paris. They are sometimes called Starck shovels or lollipops after the name of their designer, Philippe Starck. You will find the panels in front of various monuments and significant sites throughout Paris, including some where there is only a few or no remains left behind such as fortifications, convents, and prisons. Others are linked to a specific place (a street, a square, a bridge) or famous or influential people who had a connection with the place where the panel is located. The panels also cover various facets of the history of Paris, including historical facts and events, economic issues and technical innovations.

Each sign takes the form of a cast iron oar painted in dark gray, in reference to the coat of arms of Paris, which depicts a sailboat sailing on the waves and whose motto is Fluctuat nec mergitur: "It is beaten by the waves, but does not sink". The handle of the oar or shovel is pushed into the ground; the shovel, at roughly eye height, has in its upper third, in red lines, a stylised version of the ship which appears in Paris’s coat of arms, the heading Historie de Paris (History of Paris) and a short descriptive title. The lower two thirds have an explanatory text, as well as usually an illustration, in red.

Although not agreed, the total number of panels originally installed throughout Pais may have been up to 767. The city of Paris does not have a complete inventory to verify this, and over time a number of the panels have disappeared. The purpose of this blog is to include an English translation of the panels, by arrondissement, as well as to provide background notes as added context.

Acknowledgements:

This blog is based on

- The list of Paris plaques/ panels included in the following Wikipedia page: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panneau_Histoire_de_Paris.

- Map data generated as part of an APUR project, see the OSM visualisation of all the plaques throughout Paris, which is subject to the following license: CC BY-SA 3.0.

1st Arrondissement

2nd Arrondissement

3rd Arrondissement

4th Arrondissement

5th Arrondissement

6th Arrondissement

7th Arrondissement

8th Arrondissement

9th Arrondissement

10th Arrondissement

11th Arrondissement

12th Arrondissement

13th Arrondissement

14th Arrondissement

15th Arrondissement

16th Arrondissement

17th Arrondissement

18th Arrondissement

19th Arrondissement

20th Arrondissement