Place de Clichy

Place de Clichy, often simply referred to as Clichy Square, is one of the most frequented squares in the city of Paris, both day and night, located in the northwest quadrant. The square today occupies what was once the Barrière de Fructidor, an entrance gate to Paris.

Place de Clichy was the site of an important historical event at the end of the Napoleonic Empire. After breaching the barriers of Belleville and Pantin, 800,000 foreign troops captured Montmartre. Faced with the terrifying advance of enemy armies, Marshal Moncey took position at the Clichy barrier with only 15,000 men, including volunteers, riflemen, students from the Polytechnic, and veterinarians. Yet, it was not their inexperience that deterred their will to fight for their homeland, and they valiantly withstood the Russian contingent until the armistice was proclaimed on March 30, 1814.

Place de Clichy is one of the few locations in Paris where four arrondissements converge at a single point and has never been altered by urban planners; indeed, the facades of the surrounding buildings vary greatly from one another. In the center of the square stands the Monument to Marshal Moncey, eight meters high and adorned with bas-reliefs crafted by architect Guillaume in 1864. Place de Clichy serves as a crossroads, more than just a simple square, surrounded by numerous shops, restaurants, and businesses, including the popular Pathé-Wepler cinema. Proceeding along the boulevard that bears the square's name leads to the famous Moulin Rouge and the Pigalle area.

In the film The 400 Blows by the famous Truffaut, much of the action takes place near Place de Clichy. Additionally, in the renowned novel by Céline, Journey to the End of the Night, the scene opens at Place de Clichy with the protagonist's decision to enlist in the army.

Paris Metro lines 2 and 13