Ménilmontant

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rue de Ménilmontant, the main street of Ménilmontant, with central Paris and the Centre Georges Pompidou in the distance.

For other uses, see Ménilmontant (disambiguation).

Ménilmontant is a neighborhood of Paris, France, located in the twentieth arrondissement. It is tenderly nicknamed "Ménilmuche" by locals.

[edit] History

Ménilmontant, originally a hamlet within the independent commune (municipality) of Belleville, was annexed to the City of Paris in 1860 like the other suburban communes surrounding Paris. The name is said to come from Mesnil Mautemps, meaning "the bad weather house", "the bad weather settlement". Mautemps was corrupted into Montant (meaning "upward") in the 16th century probably due to the location of Ménilmontant on a hill overlooking Paris.

Before the 1860 annexation, Ménilmontant was beyond the octroi (tax border) of Paris, and so wine was cheaper there, which is why numerous guinguettes (pubs) developed in the 18th century.

After the 1860 annexation, Ménilmontant remained a working-class neighborhood, called Ménilmuche in French slang.

[edit] Transportation

Ménilmontant is served by the Métro station Ménilmontant.

[edit] In popular culture

Ménilmontant was the setting of the classic French movie Casque d'or (1952), which starred Simone Signoret, the fantasy short The Red Balloon (1956), and the silent experimental short Ménilmontant (1926) directed by Dimitri Kirsanoff.

The chase scene in the 2002 film The Bourne Identity, where Franka Potente and Matt Damon tear around Paris in a Mini, was filmed partly in Ménilmontant.

Ménilmontant is also a song by the French singer Charles Trenet.