Le Fourcy

Le Fourcy was the most famous mass brothels of Paris , called abattage Maison d' . It was located in the Saint-Paul neighborhood in the 4th arrondissement and was notorious for treating its women particularly badly. The writer Albert Simonin describes in his book Le Petit Simonin :

The Fourcy in the Saint Paul district, the most famous of the Paris slaughterhouses, charged 5.50 francs per stitch [...] "Five francs per lady and room, cried the puff mother as if it were the refrain of a chanson." Who has ten sous, who goes to the room? "The ten sous (fifty centimes) that were charged as a surcharge on top of the five francs are not tips, but the tariff for the towel. This unit price for love attracted so many customers on non-working days that some women who didn't look too bad were anything but non-working and had to cope with up to seventy rounds.

Since the rooms were on the first floor, the prostitutes and customers were encouraged to always use the right side when climbing stairs in order to lose as little time as possible.

In 1947, the former employee Emile G. told some anecdotes from the house, including how the accounts were settled:

After the last suitor left, I swept and rinsed the glasses. The boss settled the accounts with the girls. He took out the pink cardboard piggy bank numbered 1 and shouted: "Number 1!" (The money boxes were numbered and lined up behind him on a shelf). The girl with the number 1 tore herself away from the counter and went to the boss. Monsieur Maurice opened the piggy bank, in which Madame had put five francs for each stab of the girl, and added up. "One hundred and twenty bucks ..., twenty-four customers. Not exactly brilliant. You won't be staying here long unless you work better." From the one hundred and twenty francs he deducted forty "for food", divided the rest and gave her half. "And now with the tips!" At the Fourcy, the iron rule was that the girls had to share their modest tips with the patron. Marchel Maurice said each time: "Don't try to cheat on me. My wife will search you!" after settling with number 1, he yelled, "number two!" After adding: "Two hundred and fifty-five toads, forty-nine stitches, not bad, but you could do better." Then it was number 3's turn, number 4 and so on until he finally settled with number 18. When the lights finally went out, the girls ran home to their guys. The same game every night.

In 1946, Le Fourcy was closed due to the ban on brothels ( la loi Marthe Richard ).

facts and figures

• Staff: 18 women
• Prices: 5.50 francs per guest (for comparison: a good meal in a fine restaurant cost 5 francs)
• Working hours: 9 a.m. to 2 a.m.
• Average per woman: 35 guests, peak value up to 70
• Average time per guest: 7.5 minutes
• Equipment of the brothel: room with a small bed, table, wash basin and wash jug,
• Service for women: linen change once a month

(Source below)

Sources and literature

1. ^ Albert Simonin: Le petit Simonin. Editions Pierre Amiot, Paris 1957 Paris
2. ↑ Alphonse Boudard, Romi: The golden age of the brothel. Heyne, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-453-05181-5 , p. 50 (slaughter cattle, the last destination)
3. ^ Page of the University of Weimar on the subject of prostitution  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.