rue de Lappe

Rue de Lappe holds a history far removed from its current reputation as a center for nightlife. In the nineteenth century, it served as the headquarters for the Auvergnat colony, a group of mountain people from central France who arrived in Paris to sell coal and work as skilled artisans. These residents were famous for their grit, often arriving on foot and living in the street's cramped, industrial workshops. The labor they performed here, particularly in metalworking and ironmongery, defined the identity of this neighborhood long before the first dance halls appeared.