Walking down Rue de la Butte-aux-Cailles, towards Place Paul Verlaine

Some typical sights on Rue de la Butte-aux-Cailles.

Walking up this street, you’ll notice two establishments that evoke both the Paris Commune and a famous figure. On the right, at number 11, is the café ‘Le Merle Moqueur’; a little further up on the left, at numbers 18–20, is the restaurant ‘Le Temps des Cerises’. The latter, founded in 1976, is a Workers’ Production Cooperative (S.C.O.P.), true to the spirit of the Commune. The famous figure is, of course, Jean-Baptiste Clément, author of the eponymous song (1866), a leading figure in the labour movement, and a representative of the Commune for the 18th arrondissement. He dedicated this song—which became the anthem of the revolutionary spring—to a female ambulance worker who tended to the wounded during the Bloody Week.