Charonne () is a

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

on Line 9 of the

Paris Métro The Paris Métro (, , or , ), short for Métropolitain (), is a rapid transit system serving the Paris metropolitan area in France. A symbol of the city, it is known for its density within the capital's territorial limits, uniform architectur ...

. It was opened on 10 December 1933 with the extension of the line from Richelieu–Drouot to Porte de Montreuil. The station is named after the ''Rue de Charonne'' and the district of Charonne. In 1008,

Robert II of France Robert II ( 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious () or the Wise (), was List of French monarchs, King of the Franks from 996 to 1031, the second from the Capetian dynasty. Crowned Junior King in 987, he assisted his father on military matters ...

the Pious gave Charonne to the Abbey of Saint-Magloire, but it changed hands over the centuries. A small locality developed around the castle of Charonne, which was largely annexed by Paris in 1860.

The Charonne Métro station massacre

During the

Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

(1954–1962) most French politicians came to accept the need to grant

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

its independence. Only the ''

Organisation armée secrète The ''Organisation armée secrète'' (OAS, "Secret Army Organisation") was a far-right dissident French paramilitary and terrorist organisation during the Algerian War, founded in 1961 by Raoul Salan, Pierre Lagaillarde and Jean-Jacques S ...

'' (OAS; Secret Armed Organization) continued to resist independence. The Left called for a demonstration on 8 February 1962 to denounce the OAS and the Algerian war. The

Paris Police The Paris Police Prefecture ( ), officially the Police Prefecture (), is the unit of the French Ministry of the Interior that provides police, emergency services, and various administrative services to the population of the city of Paris and t ...

, led by

Maurice Papon Maurice Papon (; 3 September 1910 – 17 February 2007) was a French civil servant and Nazi collaborator who was convicted of crimes against humanity committed during the occupation of France. Papon led the police in major prefectures from ...

, repressed this demonstration, as it had done on 17 October 1961 (when between 32 and 200, mainly Algerian people, are estimated to have been killed). Police blocked nearby streets at both ends before charging the crowd. Demonstrators tried to take refuge in the entry of the Charonne metro station, but police pursued the crowd into the station and hurled heavy iron plates (used around the bases of trees and on metro vents) down onto demonstrators in the stairwells. Eight people were crushed to death or died from skull fractures and a ninth died from wounds in hospital. All of the dead, except a sixteen-year-old boy, were Communist Party or union members. Police blamed the violence on the demonstrators. A massive funeral demonstration drew between a quarter and a half million participants. The dead are buried in the

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

near the ''

Mur des Fédérés The Communards’ Wall () at the Père Lachaise cemetery is where 147 Commune soldiers along with another 19 officers were executed on May 28, 1871, during the Semaine sanglante, the suppression of the Paris Commune. The soldiers were buried in a ...

''. A ceremony at a memorial plaque in the station is held each February 8.

Station layout

References

*Roland, Gérard (2003). ''Stations de métro. D’Abbesses à Wagram.'' Éditions Bonneton. Paris Métro stations in the 11th arrondissement of Paris Railway stations in France opened in 1933 {{Paris-metro-stub