Guinguette
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The guinguette (), originating in the 17th century, was a type of popular tavern in the
suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
of
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and of other cities in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. The term comes from ''guinguet'', a type of cheap green wine served there. A ''
goguette A goguette () was a singing society in France and Belgium, and its members were called ''goguettiers''. As well as providing venues for informal solo and ensemble singing, goguettes also served as places for drinking, socialising, and recreation. ...
'' was a similar kind of establishment.


History

During the 18th century, a
consumer revolution The consumer revolution refers to the period from approximately 1600 to 1750 in England in which there was a marked increase in the consumption and variety of luxury goods and products by individuals from different economic and social backgrounds. T ...
led once isolated villages and
hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...
outside Paris to be swept up in a booming material culture. Commodities, and particularly alcohol, consumed outside the customs barrier of the city were considerably cheaper, being exempt from state taxes. This encouraged the growth of an entertainment industry just beyond the tax man's reach and a network of drinking establishments was established. They were especially popular on Sundays and holidays, when Parisians would visit to enjoy themselves and to get drunk cheaply. Today, the term 'guinguette' is still used for a waterside refreshment stand, particularly open-air, all over France.Deberne, Henri Joannis (March 1999). ''Danser en société'', Christine Bonneton editor, Paris The development of railways in the 1880s and the establishment of the "
Gare de la Bastille The Gare de la Bastille was a railway station on the Place de la Bastille in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, France. The station was opened in 1859 and served as the terminus of the -long line to Vincennes and Verneuil-l'Étang. The line was ...
" (''
Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...
station'') with many trains serving the eastern suburbs of Paris (such as
Nogent sur Marne Nogent-sur-Marne () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Nogent-sur-Marne is a ''sous-préfecture'' of the Val-de-Marne ''département'', being the seat of the Arrondissement of Nogent-s ...
) contributed to the success of guinguettes.


Geography

The majority are on the edges of the
Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...
and the
Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...
rivers, and some are in a district that stretches to the outskirts of
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
. Some guinguettes were however far from the rivers, as the picturesque guinguettes of
le Plessis-Robinson Le Plessis-Robinson () is a Communes of France, commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. , it has 29,100 inhabitants. History Plessis was first mentioned in 839 as ''Plessiacu ...
built among the chestnut trees. There were hundreds of guinguettes as far away as
Nogent-sur-Seine Nogent-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France. The headquarters of The Soufflet Group is located here, as is the Musée Camille Claudel. The large Nogent Nuclear Power Plant is also located here. Populati ...
, where the nature of the Seine valley changes most.


Decline and rebirth of the tradition

Today guinguettes are objects of nostalgia. The guinguettes were marvelous places to return to lighter times during the ''
Années folles The ''Années folles'' (, "crazy years" in French) was the decade of the 1920s in France. It was coined to describe the social, artistic, and cultural collaborations of the period. The same period is also referred to as the Roaring Twenties ...
'' of the 1920s. They were obviously an eminent subject for painting during the first half of the 20th century. But television and the ban on bathing in the rivers in the 1960s caused the decline of guinguettes. This ban was justified for reasons of hygiene (water quality deteriorated in the 1960s and 1970s) and safety (the risk due to barge traffic and drowning). In the 1960s, guinguettes became a subject of
nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a neoclassical compound derived from Greek language, Greek, consisting of (''nóstos''), a Homeric word me ...
. Many people forgot guinguettes, as the French scriptwriter
Michel Audiard Paul Michel Audiard (; 15 May 1920 – 27 July 1985) was a French screenwriter and film director, known for his witty, irreverent and slang-laden dialogues which made him a prominent figure on the French cultural scene of the 1960s and 1970s. He ...
had one of his characters point out. Since the 1980s, there has been a small revival, particularly along the Marne river. In 2008, some guinguettes were open every weekend. As of 2008, a gradual return to modern guinguettes had begun, notably in Paris, with opening of la Guinguette de Rosa Bonheur, named after the legendary 19th century feminist painter of the same name. Combining the spirit of the
Camargue The Camargue (, also , , ; ) is a coastal region in southern France located south of the city of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône river delta. The eastern arm is called the Grand Rhône; the western is the ''P ...
region in southern France, there are currently four distinct locations, beginning with the original in the
Parc des Buttes-Chaumont The Parc des Buttes Chaumont (; English: Park of Buttes Chaumont) is a public park situated in northeastern Paris, France, in the 19th arrondissement. Occupying , it is the fifth-largest park in Paris, after the Bois de Vincennes, Bois de Boulo ...
, followed by Rosa-sur-Seine at the Port of Invalides, Rosa à l'ouest in
Asnières-sur-Seine Asnières-sur-Seine () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometr ...
, and Rose à l'Est at the Chalet de la Porte Jaune in the Park
Bois de Vincennes The Bois de Vincennes (), located on the eastern edge of Paris, France, is the largest public park in the city. It was created between 1855 and 1866 by Emperor Napoleon III. The park is next to the Château de Vincennes, a former residence of ...
.


See also

*
Bal-musette Bal-musette is a style of French instrumental music and dance that first became popular in Paris in the 1880s. Although it began with bagpipes as the main instrument, this instrument was eventually replaced by the accordion, on which a variety of ...
* Café-concert *
Eugène Imbert Eugène Alphonse Monet de Maubois, called Imbert, known in the world of the song in his time under the pseudonym Eugène Imbert (), was a 19th-century French poet, chansonnier, goguettier and historiographer Historiography is the study of ...
*''
Lapin Agile Lapin Agile is a famous Montmartre cabaret, at 22 Rue des Saules, 18th arrondissement of Paris, France. History The venue existed circa 1860 under the name Au rendez-vous des voleurs, meaning "Where the Thieves Meet". Some twenty years la ...
''


References


Movies with guinguettes

* ' ("Nogent, Sunday Eldorado") -
Marcel Carné Marcel Albert Carné (; 18 August 1906 – 31 October 1996) was a French film director. A key figure in the poetic realism movement, Carné's best known films include ''Port of Shadows'' (1938), ''Le Jour Se Lève'' (1939), ''Les Visiteurs du Soi ...
, 1929 * ''
La belle équipe ''They Were Five'' (French: ''La Belle Équipe'') is a 1936 French drama film directed by Julien Duvivier and starring Jean Gabin, Charles Vanel, and Viviane Romance. It tells the story of five unemployed workers who win the jackpot in the nati ...
'' ("The Fine Crew") -
Julien Duvivier Julien Duvivier (; 8 October 1896 – 29 October 1967) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930–1960. Amongst his most original films, chiefly notable are ''La Bandera (film), La Bandera'', ...
, 1936, with
Jean Gabin Jean Gabin Alexis Moncorgé (born Jean-Alexis Moncorgé), known as Jean Gabin (; 17 May 190415 November 1976), was a French actor and singer. Considered a key figure in French cinema, he starred in several classic films, including '' Pépé le ...
singing the well-known waltz ''Quand on s'promène au bord de l'eau'' ("Walking at the Water's Edge") * '' Casque d'or'' ("Golden Helmet") -
Jacques Becker Jacques Becker (; 15 September 1906 – 21 February 1960) was a French film director and screenwriter. His films, made during the 1940s and 1950s, encompassed a wide variety of genres, and they were admired by some of the filmmakers who led th ...
, 1952


External links


web site of a guinguette on the Marne river

website of the "Culture Guinguette" association
{{in lang, fr Culture of France Dance venues 17th-century introductions 17th century in France Drinking establishments in France 18th century in France