The Conciergerie / Palais de Justice complex on the Ile de la Cité
Le Palais de Justice: A Short Dark History
Paris Kiosque - October 1996 - Volume 3, Number 10
Copyright (c) October 1996 Jacqueline Donnelly - used with permission
If you have a sense of history and human drama, then you must visit
the "Palais de Justice"
which lies along the Seine on the Ile de la Cité. You have
undoubtedly noticed its surly
dark stone towers with their medieval style conical roofs as you
walked along the right
bank. This building looks ominous as if it has a dark history and
indeed it does.
The name "Palais de Justice" or Palace of Justice is in itself ironic
since it is no longer a
palace, and as we will see, during the French revolution of 1789, had
nothing to do with
justice!
History
This site has been popular as a residence from the early Roman
governors, and throughout
the reigns of the French dynasties of kings. . The most noteworthy
monarch to us might
be Saint Louis, who lived in the Palace, and built the adjacent
"Saint Chapelle", an
intimate two-tier masterpiece of stained glass and light gothic style,
to house what was
believed to be the relics of the Crucifixion. This chapel should be
visited in the late
afternoon when the light filters through in a mystical, prismatic effect.
The building was later abandoned as a royal residence, and
subsequently housed
governmental offices, and parliament, acquiring the name "Palace of
Justice".
The Scary Part
In the early 1300's, the palace expanded with the building of a new
wing called the
Conciergerie. It is the oldest prison in Paris and from earliest times,
was the most
dreaded. Imagine the cold, vaulted ceilings, dark, vermin-infested
cells, where prisoners
were "oubliettes" or forgotten ones, left to die.
These conditions were ideal for the plague which twice struck the
already condemned
prisoners, shortening their stay at the Conciergerie.
It was decided to clean up the place, but the eruption of the French
Revolution in 1789
made that impossible.
Daily, new residents arrived who were denounced for being guilty or
suspected of being
guilty of acts against the Revolutionary government. At first, the
nobility was arrested and
imprisoned, but soon the butlers and maids who worked for the rich,
as well as the
merchants who sold to them, were imprisoned. It was an ideal time in
history to get rid of
a boss or competitor, maybe even a family member with a whisper to
the right official!
One of the first rooms you will visit is the "Salle Saint Louis", the Saint
Louis Room
which was known during the revolution as the "Salle des Perdus",
the Room of the
Doomed. It is through here that the victims walked to their awaiting
wagons en route to
the Guillotine.
Revolutionary Justice
Try to envision a sharply dressed, prosecutor, Fouquier-Tinville, who
would arrive daily at
8:00 to his offices located in towers. He would have his daily
conference with Sanson,
a.k.a. Monsieur de Paris, the executioner. Together they would
make up the hit-list du
jour, and order the corresponding number of wagons.
The accused would then meet before the prosecutor, plead their
cause, and await the
verdict. Although a goodly number where acquitted or given lesser
sentences, over two
thousand were condemned to the "national razor".
Despite the efficiency, Robespierre, the leader of the revolutionary
government, became
increasingly impatient and prodded Fouquier-Tinville to pick up the
pace. To do so, a few
formalities were dropped such as providing for defense. Soon,
sentence was pronounced
when the prisoner appeared in court..
Ironically, in later months, when the worm turned and Robespierre
was accused of acts
against the government, he allegedly attempted suicide, "the gun
accidently went off",
leaving him in agony for 24 hours at the Conciergerie before his last
trip across town.
The families of the poor were not treated the same as those of the
rich by the jailors, as
they awaited sentencing. In one section of the guard room, the
people who could not
bribe the guards were piled 250 at a time on straw and their own dirt.
When you visit the
pristine hall today, you might not realize that very stone walls
witnessed endless hours of
human desperation.
The rich, of course, could work out a deal....special food, laundry,
cells, writing tables,
and inside information as to their ultimate day and time. Today,
manequins,and furniture are put
in the cells so that the visitor can sense what their wait was like.
The most famous prisoner was, of course, Marie-Antoinette who lived
in two cells while
she awaited sentencing. Her two-day trial was a farce; the judgment
had already been
made but the formality of trial had to be played out in what is today
called the "first circle
chamber" of the Palace of Justice.
Her lawyer pleaded so brilliantly and convincly for her that he was
arrested at the
conclusion of the trial for being so effective.
Marie-Antoinette's first cell was bearable. She had a camp-bed,
table, two chairs, and a
window from which she could see the courtyard.
She was moved when it was found that she had "embroidered" a
note begging to be
rescued. She had pierced with her needle the letters which spelled
out her plea. She found
a way to get it out of the prison but, it was intercepted. This note is
on display today.
This attempt failed and she was now kept in a room separated only
by a screen from her
guards.
The poor woman had no privacy and had to endure the jeers,
drunken remarks, and stares
of the guards twenty-four hours a day.
On October 16, 1793 Sanson arrived at her cell to cut her hair and
prepare her for
execution. She left through the doors of the Conciergerie for the last
time. Unlike her
husband who was driven in a private coach to la Place de la
Concorde, she was seated
facing the rear of a common wagon, hands tied behind her, during the
long ride through the
streets of Paris.
Robespierre and Marie-Antoinette are two of the most recognizable
prisoners of the
Conciergerie. If you know the story, you will sense the
presence of these victims of the revolution, their anger,
confusion, last tears and embraces.
The Conciergerie awaits your visit. If you listen, it will whisper to you
about the most
intense days of human history in the city of Paris.
Jackie Donnelly, earned her B.A. in French from Connecticut College and her
Master's Degree in French language and literature from Boston University.
Ms. Donnelly has taught French at the high school and university level for over 25 years.
and is an 18 time visitor to France, and describes herself as 100% American
but sentimentally 100% French.
She was recently awarded the Palmes Academiques by the
French Minister of Education.
Currently she is serving as chair of a committee on the National Task Force of the
American Association of Teachers of French.
She can be contacted via this link.
