Porte de Saint Cloud et Square Roger Coquoin Garden

You are standing at the site of a former defensive gateway that once marked the western edge of Paris. This location was part of the Thiers wall, a massive fortification system built in the nineteenth century to protect the city. By 1928, the old defensive bastions were demolished to make way for the traffic circle and the public garden you see today. The garden serves as a memorial to Roger Coquoin, a French chemist and a prominent hero of the Resistance during the Second World War. Coquoin led the movement known as Ceux de la Libération and played a key role in coordinating clandestine operations against the Nazi occupation. He was a delegate to the first meeting of the National Council of the Resistance, acting as a vital link between various underground networks, before he was killed in action in late 1943. For several decades, this spot was also home to three massive, iconic animal sculptures that once stood at the Trocadero Palace for the 1878 Universal Exhibition. A horse, an elephant, and a rhinoceros greeted travelers here from 1935 until they were moved in the 1980s to the forecourt of the Orsay Museum. Today, the garden remains a quiet transition point between the dense city streets and the western suburbs.