Barrière de l'Étoile

The Barrière de l'Étoile was once a heavily guarded customs checkpoint at the edge of pre-revolutionary Paris. It stood as part of the Wall of the Farmers-General, a massive perimeter designed specifically to collect taxes on goods like wine, wood, and livestock entering the city. Parisians deeply resented the wall, and they expressed their anger through a famous bit of wordplay that translates to the wall walling in Paris makes Parisians wail. During the early days of the French Revolution, the barrier became a flashpoint for this public fury, and crowds frequently gathered here to force goods through without paying the required duties.