Paris, the "zone", in 1939. "La Zone" was a defensive ring established in the 1840s outside the city's fortifications. It was kept clear of buildings and trees that an enemy might use for cover. After 1919 the zone was demilitarized and became the site of shantytowns for poor, unemployed or displaced people. The shantytowns were demolished beginning in 1942 and replaced with low-cost housing.

Source:
Paris en Images, copyright LAPI / Roger-Viollet (LAPI-37251A):
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Gaito Gazdanov's Paris / 24

Neighbourhoods

I went down the narrow, medieval alley connecting boulevard Sevastopol with rue Saint-Martin where, in broad daylight, a lamp burned under the glass awning of a miserable hotel on whose threshold stood a prostitute with a violet face and a shabby fur around her neck; I visited place Maubert, rallying point for the tramps and cigarette-butt-gatherers of the capital, who never ceased scratching their filthy bodies, usually perceptible through an incredibly dirty shirt.

I walked along Ménilmontant, Belleville, Porte de Clignancourt and my heart was wrenched with pity and disgust.

Nevertheless, I would not have learned as much – and only half of what I know would be enough to poison many human souls forever – if I had not become a taxi driver. [46]