Palais de Justice
We go past the flower market. Behind massive railings of wrought iron we see the former parliament and present palace of justice.
The front of the palace dates from the years after the fire of 1776, one of the many attacking the palace. The left wing and the back, facing Place Dauphine, also date from this time. The oldest part, Conciergerie, the remains of the ancient royal palace, is on the right hand side, dating from the beginning of the 14th C.
Here the Merovingian kings lived in the 6th to 9th C. and Capetian kings in the 11th to 13th C. After that the French parliament was housed here up to the Revolution of 1789, when the palace became a prison and a court.
We can follow barristers, defendants, judges, journalists and inquisitive people up the great steps and take in the goings on in the long corridors and in the courtrooms themselves. Those with scant interest can make do with inspecting the Marchande gallery behind the front door. Others can turn right into Salle des Pas Perdus, where the commotion is greatest.
