How did such a tiny street in the 4th arrondissement end up with a name like this? You can picture prowling rascals, highwaymen, or a guild of mischief-makers out for a bit of mischief. In fact, the street’s name is a relic from Old Paris. The current street, in the Saint-Gervais district, between Rue de Rivoli and Rue de la Verrerie, is one of the Marais’ oldest passages. It was first called Rue Chartron, before being designated in the 16th century as Rue Chartron dite des Mauvais-Garçons, and then simply Rue des Mauvais-Garçons. There are several theories about the origin of this name. Here’s the explanation.
The street had a less-than-respectable reputation even before it adopted its current name. The Dictionary of Administrative and Historical Streets of Paris by the Lazare brothers notes that it already existed in the reign of Louis VII, was then known as Rue Chartron, and by 1300 was inhabited by prostitutes. Similarly, Le Dit des rues de Paris by Guillot de Paris, in the edition annotated by Edgar Mareuse, also recalls that this medieval street was associated with that same population.
Historians often cite a troubled moment in the reign of François I to explain the origin of the name. The Lazare brothers claim that it was bandits who “laid waste to Paris” during the king’s captivity who gave the street its designation. Jacques Hillairet offers a different hypothesis, suggesting the name may instead derive from the garçons bouchers—butchers’ boys who settled along the street in the 16th century and were notorious for stirring up unrest.
The street has changed over time. It bore the name rue des Mauvais-Garçons-Saint-Jean to set it apart from another street with a similar name, and it was shortened in the 19th century during the reshaping that came with the opening of Rue de Rivoli. Despite these changes, its name endured.
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