Impasse Marteau

The Impasse Marteau lies in the north of the Quartier de la Chapelle in Paris's 18th arrondissement and marks the border with the commune of Saint-Denis. Although its name suggests a dead end, it is actually a connecting road that branches off from the Avenue du Président-Wilson, loops around, and ends at the exit ramp of the Boulevard périphérique at the Porte de la Chapelle. The street is hemmed in by highways and the Cimetière parisien de La Chapelle, which makes it especially secluded. It was incorporated into Paris in 1930. A painful chapter in its history is the bombing of April 21, 1944, in which many residents died in nearby trenches. Today a memorial along the highway exit ramp and a commemorative plaque on the façade of a building recall this tragedy. Both memorials were restored in 2022 and honored in an official ceremony remembering the victims of the attack on the neighborhood.