Wall of the Farmers-General

The wall of the farmers-general (French Mur des Fermiers généraux ) in Paris was built in 1785-1788. Unlike the former city walls, they did not serve to defend the city, but to cover the customs revenue for the company of the farmers-general, or Ferme générale, the organization of the main tax collector. The wall of farmer-general had a length of 24 km and a total of sixty gates. The architect Claude- Nicolas Ledoux was responsible for the creation of this building, he tried with his ideas to establish a connection between form and function. These customs checkpoints were erected.

History

Before 1784, Paris was little was limited and there was often only low walls of poor material. In 1784, was based on an idea of the chemist, lawyers and tax farmer, Fermiers généraux Antoine Laurent de Lavoisier, to stop the ever-increasing number of smugglers, Charles Alexandre de Calonne to draw up a wall around Paris, the Mur des Fermiers généraux commissioned. In May, work began on the part of the Hôpital de la Salpêtrière and has continued apace. In 1786, the southern half was completed.

During the French Revolution, its boundary function in 1791 was repealed. In 1860 the walls were pulled down.

Its course roughly corresponds to the leadership of the Metro lines 2 and 6, between the Place Charles de Gaulle and Place de la Nation.