Cycle « C'était Paris en 1970 »

The Bibliothèque historique presents a new exhibition and a cycle of lectures revolving around its photographic collection "C'était Paris en 1970".

Exhibition C'était Paris en 1970 (1 June - 7 October 2026) The Bibliothèque historique invites you to discover a new exhibition centred on its photographic collection "C'était Paris en 1970". Immerse yourself in the Paris of the 1970s through the eyes of amateur photographers of the era. Free entry from Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm

Lecture series

Le Marais, entre îlot insalubre et secteur sauvegardé - Wednesday 3 June - 7pm

In 1964, the Marais protected sector became one of the first applications of the 1962 act. This legislation was adopted to reconcile the desire to clear unhealthy housing blocks with the need to provide broader protection for an urban district, particularly within the context of the radical urban renewal implemented in the 1960s.

By Isabelle Backouche, director of studies at EHESS.

Photographier la "Reconquête de Paris" - Wednesday 10 June - 7pm

In the mid-1950s, Pierre Sudreau launched the "Reconquête de Paris" (Reconquest of Paris), an assertive policy aimed at rebuilding a city that had indeed been spared by bombings, but which had been accused since the interwar period of suffering from urban and architectural lag. These major public works sparked a renewed awareness of heritage that is often underestimated. Thus, the "C’était Paris en 1970" competition can also be read as a participatory heritage policy, which happily complements plethoric public collections that are nevertheless sometimes patchy and little-known to the public. Since the Commission du Vieux Paris was entrusted in 1898 with "the preservation of the aspects of those parts of the city destined to disappear", it did not fail in its duty during the Trente Glorieuses. Here are two collections which, although very different, both bear witness, then as now, to the immense significance of urban transformations and photographs.

By Pauline Rossi, head of archives at the Commission du Vieux Paris.

Automobile et transformation des mobilités pa