Barrière de l'Étoile

Two squat, limestone buildings stand on either side of the Place Charles de Gaulle, marking what was once the Barrière de l'Étoile. Designed by the architect Claude-Nicolas Ledoux in the seventeen eighties, they formed part of the Wall of the Farmers-General. This tax wall circled Paris, forcing merchants to pay duties on goods entering the city. During the French Revolution, the buildings were looted and burned by angry crowds who saw the barrier as a symbol of aristocratic greed and heavy taxation.