Place Beauvau

Place Beauvau is marked by the heavy, arched wooden doors of the Hôtel de Beauvau, which occupy the eastern edge of this quiet square. Since eighteen sixty-one, this building has served as the headquarters of the French Ministry of the Interior. In the mid-twentieth century, the square became a flashpoint for journalists and politicians waiting for news from the minister inside. During the nineteen sixty-eight riots, protesters filled these narrow streets, directly confronting the police force commanded from behind these exact walls.