Pigalle, a neighborhood that always puts on a show

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Instantly recognizable. Enticing signs, a string of sex shops, and of course, the Moulin Rouge. Pigalle , a must-see for foreign tourists, almost as unmissable as the Eiffel Tower.

They say: " It's iconic. It's very French. You wouldn't see it anywhere else. There are sex shops everywhere. It's like, phew, okay, we didn't know, but it's okay. "

To explore the neighborhood and discover its secrets, we were escorted by two police officers. Jean-Claude Moreau and Jean-Marie Schmelz are former members of La Mondaine, the nickname given to the Brigade des Murs. Between 1985 and 1998, they controlled the neighborhood's hostess bars.

" We had to make sure there weren't any minors in the clubs, that's all. And otherwise, there weren't any sexual acts inside the club. It happened, we happened at the right time. We noticed that there had been a breach of the law, let's say. We took the customer and the boss away. There was a closure. And then, it was full of people, full of people, full of people ."

Nightclubbers, prowlers, or our sisters—whatever the night here, all cats are gray. Decades of debauchery, where, from the 1930s onward, the bourgeoisie, prostitutes, dancers, and crooks mingled. Pigalle, a nocturnal theater, where people came to defy the forbidden.

A symbol of sex and lust, Pigalle's turbulent history continues to be a popular destination today. Guillaume Bertrand, tour guide, explains:

" Prostitutes are not allowed to work in the city center. They are required to work along the ramparts of Paris, in houses that line the ramparts, what are called brothels. The brothels therefore become brothels. Starting with the sexual revolution of 1968, the former places of prostitution were transformed into sex shops, peep shows, and live shows. People come here to make love in public. "

In the audience, there were many Parisians who came to find a little of this neighborhood that some knew when they were younger.

A resident misses Pigalle's old days: " We've lost that somewhat liberal period with the prostitutes. We still have a few sex shops. But it's no longer the red-light district it once was. This neighborhood had a soul, it has a history. And it's a shame to lose little pieces of it little by little. "

Indeed, the neighborhood's shady image is now a bit dated. Many sex shops, facing competition from online porn and online stores, are being forced to close their doors. The same goes for hostess bars, which can now be counted on the fingers of one hand.

But some historic places are reinventing themselves while retaining the codes of Pigalle. Opened in 1934, this hostess bar was bought in 2012 by this Californian. He insisted on keeping the original name, Dirty Dick, a name that propriety prevents us from translating.

Today, the establishment is a classic cocktail bar, even if the walls seem to hark back to the old days. Dozens of other bars and restaurants have opened in the surrounding area in recent years. Pigalle is now a less hot, but trendy, neighborhood.

More dynamic and attractive for some, too smooth and sanitized for others, the new face of Pigalle.