Edith Piaf - place of birth

A small commemorative plaque marks the entrance to seventy-two rue de Belleville. It notes that Edith Piaf was born on the pavement right here on December nineteenth, nineteen fifteen. Her mother, a street singer, went into labor while walking home, and two policemen helped deliver the baby on the dark sidewalk. A police officer used his cape to wrap the newborn. This spot became the starting point for the woman who became the voice of France, born amidst the cold cobblestones of Belleville.