Ménilmontant

It is roughly defined as the area north of the Père Lachaise Cemetery, south of Parc de Belleville, and between Avenue Jean-Aicard on the west and Rue Pelleport on the east.

By the 19th century, as a result of the Industrial Revolution and urbanization, Ménilmontant quickly grew to include a large immigrant and working-class population, and in 1860, it was, like other suburbs surrounding the French capital, annexed into the city of Paris.

By the mid-late 20th century, many artists, musicians, students, and hippies began to move into the area, giving the neighborhood a distinctively bohemian, left-wing and counterculture identity.

As a result, wine was substantially cheaper in Ménilmontant, leading to Parisians flocking to the area at night, and the development of numerous drinking establishments, known as guinguettes, in the 18th century.

In 1832, Ménilmontant, already urbanized and heavily working-class, served as the location of a Saint-Simonian retreat, established by socialist political theorist Barthélemy-Prosper Enfantin and his followers, before being banned by the authorities for "sponsoring an illicit secret society and encouraging practices contrary to public morality.