Paris

Hôtel de Ville

Building that houses the local administration of the city. It is the seat of the municipality of Paris since 1357. In July 1357, Étienne Marcel, provost (or mayor) of the merchants of Paris, remodeled a land on the edge of the river that served as a river port and at the same time merged it with a square , the "Place de Grève", a place where Parisians met often, particularly to observe public executions.

During the Franco-Prussian War, the building played a key role in several political events. On October 30, 1870, the revolutionaries stormed the building and captured the National Defense Government, while making repeated demands for the establishment of a communal government. The government of the time was 'rescued' by soldiers who entered the Hôtel de Ville through an underground tunnel, which still connects the Hôtel de Ville with a nearby barracks.

On January 18, 1871, crowds gathered in front of the building to protest the speculative surrender to the Prussians, and were dispersed by soldiers firing from the building, which inflicted several casualties. The Paris Commune chose the Hôtel de Ville as its headquarters and when the "anticommunard" troops approached the building, the communards set fire to the Hôtel de Ville, destroying almost all the existing public records of the French revolutionary period. The fire swallowed the building from the inside, leaving only an empty stone shell, which has been restored for what they observe today.