The goutte d’Or

The goutte d’or

In common terms, the name ‘Goutte d’Or’ refers to a loosely defined area around the rue de la Goutte d’Or, to the east of Montmartre and to the west of La Chapelle in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. When used for administrative or statistical purposes, the Goutte d’Or may be defined in at least three different ways:

The “Sensitive Urban Zone” (ZUS) of La Goutte d’Or is bounded to the south by Boulevard de la Chapelle, to the west by Boulevard Barbès, to the north by Rue Ordener, and to the east by Rue de Tombouctou and Rue Stephenson.

The neighbourhood council (conseil de quartier) area of La Goutte d’Or – Château Rouge (as defined by the council of the 18th arrondissement) is bounded to the south by Boulevard de la Chapelle and Boulevard de Rochechouart, to the west by Rue de Clignancourt, to the north by Rue Ordener and to the east by the railway lines heading out of the Gare du Nord. This is very similar to the definition of the ZUS cited above, the main difference being that the neighbourhood council boundaries include the whole of the Château Rouge area, which straddles Boulevard Barbès and which is an important centre for the West African community in Paris and the surrounding Île-de-France region. Château Rouge is very closely linked to the Goutte d’Or, and, depending on one’s viewpoint, may be considered to be either a sub-neighbourhood of the Goutte d’Or or a separate, adjacent neighbourhood. In either case, there is no clear line that precisely defines the extent of Château Rouge.

Neighbourhood of the goutte d’or

The “administrative neighbourhood” (quartier administratif) of La Goutte d’Or is substantially larger and continues further to the north, as far as the boundary between Paris and Saint-Denis. This administrative neighbourhood is bounded to the south by Boulevard de la Chapelle, to the west by Boulevard Barbès and Rue des Poissonniers (thus excluding the Château Rouge area), to the north by the Paris city boundary, and to the east by Avenue de la Porte de la Chapelle, Rue de la Chapelle and Rue Marx Dormoy. However, the area to the north of Rue Ordener is largely occupied by the railway lines heading out of the Gare du Nord and associated SNCF technical facilities.