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The 6th arrondissement is perhaps one of the capital's most eclectic, culturally speaking: museums as far as the eye can see, major institutions such as the Senate and theInstitut de France, legendary restaurants like Le Procope, Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots, not to mention the Jardin du Luxembourg, cinemas and theaters - you won't know where to turn.
Borough mayor Jean-Pierre Lecoq agrees: "It's a fabulous area with an extraordinary history. With such a rich heritage, you can do anything without having to leave the arrondissement! From safeguarding independent cinemas to personal outings, from good addresses to future projects, the elected representative talks to us about his actions and his favorite places in his arrondissement. Discover our exclusive interview.
As you know, being mayor is not a profession, it's a function. I'm a rather special "product" in the world of politics. My career began in 1979 at Crédit National, the forerunner of today's BPI (Banque publique d'investissement, editor's note). I specialized in corporate finance and stayed there until 2016. Theoretically, I was full-time, but I was also mayor of the 6th arrondissement! So I took time off work to attend meetings of the Paris Council : at 6pm, I left work and went to take care of the town hall. And then it was full time on Saturdays and Sundays!
I'm going out in homeopathic doses, because I still have to sleep!
I like movies, and I don't go to the theater enough - although I recently went to see the famous play Le cercle des poètes disparus. The truth is, I'm interested in all forms of culture! On the other hand, I do have one big regret: my parents suggested I learn to play an instrument when I was a kid, but I didn't, so I never developed my artistic talents. I wasn't very good at drawing either.
I went to see Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning ( but it was a bit long, I preferred the penultimate one), as well as Régis Wargnier's excellent film La Réparation. I also like the works of Jean-Pierre Rassam, cloak-and-dagger films and "sentimental hijinks" like Claude Sautet's Les Choses de la Vie with Romy Schneider, a cult film that was innovative at the time... and then you realize that there are actually a hundred of the same kind - Guillaume Canet's Les Petits mouchoirs, for example. Lately, I've also been watching the two feature films of The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, which was very good.
The6th arrondissement is the cinema district par excellence, with the largest number of screens in Paris (approximately 50 !), whether multi-screen(MK2 and UGC, present in Montparnasse and Odéon) or art cinemas, which have always been supported by the City of Paris.
I'm thinking in particular of the Trois Luxembourg, three small cinemas at the top of rue Monsieur-le-Prince, the Nouvel Odéon on rue de l'école de médecine, and the Saint-André des Arts created by Roger Diamantis - the pope of arthouse cinemas: one of the city's oldest cinemas, which almost fell by the wayside a few years ago.
There's also the Christine Cinéma Club, a tiny cinema taken over by Isabelle Huppert's husband, and the cinema of my childhood, L'Arlequin, with its four screens. A fifth (in Dolby, as at Pathé Beaugrenelle) is planned and should be inaugurated in 2026! The venue is managed by the Dulac group, which also runs the Reflet Odéon, Reflet Médicis and L'Escurial. But L'Arlequin is the most sensational!
As mayor of a arrondissement, it's important to know the area well, to listen and to alert, when necessary - in this case, the Paris City Council's cinema mission. But there are also complex situations, as in the 5th arrondissement with the La Clef cinema. For our part, in the 6th arrondissement, we have a cinema that's about to be relaunched: the legendary Georges de Beauregard, on rue Guillaume Apollinaire! Luckily, the cinema has been taken over by Les Films du Losange, a production company whose shareholders also own Les Trois Luxembourg. That's great news!
The last milestone in Paris, at the corner of rue Littré and rue de Vaugirard! Military milestones existed in the time of kings, and I believe it was Louis XV or Louis XVI who created the concept of stone milestones erected every 2,000 meters.
L'Écume des Pages, La Procure and Tschann, three emblematic bookstores that have endured over time, as well as a host of smaller ones!
They come naturally! But that's a very good question, because some people tend to say that "central Paris is an old people's district", whereas the 6th is also a district where a lot of young people, especially students, congregate. The fabulous transport network also brings young people to our district!
I'd say it's the temple of culture and wisdom.Let'snot forget that the Latin Quarter is mostly in the 5th, but also in the 6th arrondissement! It's an extraordinary territory, with its great lycées (Saint Louis, Montaigne and Fénelon, the capital's first girls' lycée) and its places of perdition (rue Princesse, rue des Canettes, rue du Dragon) with nightclubs - although they've fallen into decline - and the first lesbian clubs like Katmandou, near rue du Vieux-Colombier. And then, of course, theaters: the Odéon, the Vieux-Colombier , which I helped reopen in 1997, the Lucernaire , which almost disappeared, and the famous little Théâtre de Poche.
You have to remain humble, but it's a place that's blessed by the gods. The arrondissement is located in the center of the capital, on the Left Bank. We have the Jardin du Luxembourg - one of the three most beautiful gardens in the world, if not the most beautiful - a parliamentary assembly, and countless cinemas. It's also a very well-served arrondissement! You can take your bike, public transport (RER B, RER C, line 4, which is the capital's second automated line), and you'll find yourself at Gare Montparnasse, Gare de l'Est and Gare du Nord. Line 13 is also not far away, as is line 14, which takes you to Saint-Denis or Orly. It's just amazing!
You start at the Passerelle des Arts, one of the most beautiful places in the world, and end up opposite theHôtel de la Monnaie. From here, you have several choices: either head up Rue Bonaparte to Saint-Germain-des-Prés; or - you're opposite the Institut de France - behind the Pavillon Comtesse de Caen, which you cross to arrive in front of the statue of Voltaire before heading all the way up Rue de Seine.
Here too, there are several routes to choose from: either continue along this street, or take the Rue Jacques-Callot on your left, to return to Rue Mazarine. If you take rue Mazarine, you come to rue de l'Ancienne Comédie. Here you stop in front of Le Procope, the oldest literary café in Paris, where Voltaire, D'Alembert and Rousseau wrote the Encyclopédie.
You then come to Boulevard Saint-Germain, where the statue of Danton stands. Turning left from the statue, you walk up Rue de l'Ecole de Médecine to the Convent des Cordeliers, a XIIIᵉ century convent where Danton welcomed his friends. Next door is the Convent Saint-Côme , once theRoyal Academy of Surgery, created by Louis XIV. Finally, you come to Boulevard Saint-Michel, which is common to the 5th and 6th arrondissements.
Brasserie Lipp, the grand brasserie of politicians in the 60s and 70s, is still a must. It's open 365 days a year, and offers great value for money. As for the starred, I'd say Armani's restaurant, top-of-the-range Italian cuisine - a must for birthday celebrations! Chez Fernand is also on rue Guisarde. Rémi Lebon has been running the place for some twenty years, and it's a nice little restaurant with Vichy tablecloths, where you can eat French dishes. Finally, Chez Marcel, a handsome little restaurant on rue Stanislas that looks surprisingly like a bouchon lyonnais. It's run by Pierre Cuche, who has also taken over another very interesting restaurant on the same street, La Caspienne, next to the Notre-Dame des Champs church. I won't mention La Rotonde, because it's a must!
The Foire Saint-Sulpice, formerly known as the Foire Saint-Germain, which lasts all June on the Place Saint-Sulpice, with its three major events: the Salon des jeux mathématiques, the Salon de la céramique and the Marché de la Poésie, which is vital for many small poetry publishers. It's a not-to-be-missed event! There's also a book event, with a regularly changing theater company performing for four or five days in the evening. It's a great cultural event, popular and friendly, to which people are very attached.
You've caught me a little off guard... I have a lot of memories, but to stay with Saint-Sulpice, I'm thinking of the Olympic Games fan zone. It was an extraordinary success, and it was wonderful to see families, children of all nationalities, sharing this moment. A few weeks ago in June, we did a little remake, with a Sports Day. Place Saint-Sulpice is a magical place, a village square.
A wonderful thing, in theformer Clinique Tarnier (which was the great birthing clinic of the 6th arrondissement): a project for a multidisciplinary, international university research center on women's health. It's going to be called theInstitute for Women's Health. The project is equally co-financed by the Region, Paris City Council and a major sponsor. There will also be a residence for researchers; it's an absolutely fabulous project.
All of Paris is beautiful, I'm not going to pick and choose between the arrondissements; Paris has never been so beautiful! After that, France is a country of absolutely extraordinary beauty: everywhere you go, there's sensational stuff.
There are lots of them! I can tell you about the Parcours des Mondes in September, an international event focusing on the primitive arts, in the wake of the Musée du Quai Branly. Although it arrived long before, it's now gaining momentum with the presence of collectors from all over the world! This has boosted the economy of the galleries, many of which have been customized for the event - they rent out their space for ephemeral galleries to primary art dealers who come to show their collections. There are also photography-related exhibitions, such as the Photo Days itineraries in several Paris arrondissements in November.
A simple stroll through the streets of the6th arrondissement ! The6th is easy, it's on the Left Bank! It's the Passerelle des Arts, the Pont-Neuf, the Pont Saint-Michel to the Pont du Carrousel. And once you're in the arrondissement, head south and you'll discover extraordinary things - galleries, cinemas, brasseries. After that, head down rue de Rennes to the Gare Montparnasse - which will be renovated, as will the shopping center below it. You can then stroll along rue Madame or rue d'Assas, and you're just a harquebus's reach from the Jardin du Luxembourg, where you can run morning, noon and night! Then there's Montparnasse, with its legendary brasseries, cinemas and small theaters like the Théâtre de poche and the Lucernaire. I'm also thinking of the whole area around rue Saint-Placide and rue du Cherche-Midi, which starts at César's Centaur, at the crossroads of Croix Rouge and rue du Cherche-Midi !
