The photographer who was in love with Paris was perfectly placed for studying and documenting the changes in the central (and strategic) Les Halles area, and did so for four decades. The Paris city council honours him with this new exhibition about a neighbourhood that is once again seeing radical change…An historic market, a gaping hole, a bungled eyesore… Les Halles seems to have been on the decline for a while now, a situation that our elected officers hope to change with the new makeover that will continue until 2016, and Robert Doisneau was around just at the right time to see the downhill slide.

Those those who never saw what Parisians still remember (with no affection) as « the hole of Les Halles » and the monumental metal halls that it replaced (now destroyed or moved), this exhibition shows the life of the area, its colour and its intense ‘Parisian-ness’ from the 30s to the 70s.And what luck – a new book of the same title is out just in time for the exhibition, with 185 photos showing the « belly of Paris » as it will never be seen again.

The Doisneau Paris les Halles photo exhibitionis at Hôtel de Ville (here) from 8th February – 28th April 2012

Open every day except Sundays and public holidays from 10am – 7pm

Free!

More info about the exhibition (in French) here

More info about Robert Doisneau: www.robert-doisneau.com