Place Jean-Jaurès, archaeological diagnosis from 2006.

© UASD / D. Coxall.

The year 2005 marked the beginning of the requalification of the town center, a significant urban development project that is mainly concerned with Saint-Denis's public spaces. The aim of Franco Zagari, the architect in charge of these spaces, is to design a project with its roots in the history and archaeology of each separate area.

The Place Jean-Jaurès was the first such area to be designed-this was the location of the covered markets that gave onto the Place Panetière, as well as the place to which the Lendit fair was relocated in 1568. We know from written sources, as well as drawings from the Ancien Régime, about the layout of the stalls within the covered markets.

To design his project, the architect used documentation provided by the Archaeological Unit. Rescue archaeology carried out in the course of this development project revealed, among other things, the foundations of some of these stalls.

Panoramic view of the Place Jean-Jaurès.

© A. Saadellaoui.