Vieux Marché place du Jeu de Balle

The Place du Jeu de Balle is a cobblestone square defined by the steel frame of an open-air pavilion and the daily clutter of a flea market. It sits on the site of a former ballroom, burned down in eighteen seventy-three to make way for the current market. Vendors arrive before dawn to lay out goods on the stones. During the German occupation of the second world war, the market kept running, serving as a rare space for neighborhood social life while the city stood quiet.