Located on the edge of the 19th and 20th arrondissements of Paris, it serves the neighborhood of the Porte des Lilas.

[1]: 174 The station was referred to in Serge Gainsbourg's famous 1958 chanson "Le poinçonneur des Lilas" about the ennui of a Métro employee's workday.

[1]: 174  A Scopitone music video for the song was filmed in Porte des Lilas, showing the singer in a Métro uniform, punching tickets.

The station was opened on 27 November 1921 when line 3 was extended from Gambetta to Porte des Lilas, serving as its eastern terminus.

This plan, however, did not materialise and only a shuttle service operated between the station and Pré-Saint-Gervais via a tunnel called voie navette until 2 September 1939 when it was stopped due to the onset of World War II.

[1]: 19 As part of modernization works for the extension of Line 11 to Rosny–Bois-Perrier in 2023 for the Grand Paris Express, an additional entrance will be added at rue des Glaïeuls and will be equipped with escalators.