Saint-Lazare Prison

in the 12th century a leprosarium was founded on the road from Paris to Saint-Denis at the boundary of a marshy area near River Seine.

It was ceded on 7 January 1632 to St. Vincent de Paul and the Congregation of the Mission he had founded.

At this stage, in addition to being a headquarter for the congregation, it became a place of detention for people who had become an embarrassment to their families: an enclosure for "black sheep" who had brought disgrace to their relatives.

The surviving remains of the Saint-Lazare prison were inscribed on the supplementary inventory of historic monuments in November 2005.

[2] A song by Aristide Bruant entitled "À Saint-Lazare" is named after the prison.