Cité of poets
Beside the Moulin Rouge is a sleepy survivor of another age: a blind alley, 80 metres by 3 metres, its entrance marked by an attractive blue and white enamel sign. Before WWII, this plot of little houses and tiny gardens was a place where hoodlums hung out. In 1953, Jacques Prévert moved in at No. 6b, and was soon joined across the landing by Boris Vian. It was here that Vian wrote his novel « l’Arrache-cœur » and the song « Le Déserteur »). Raymond Queneau and Eugène Ionesco lived here too. As for Véron, he was mayor of Montmartre from 1830 to 1841.