Saint-Lazare Prison and the Prostitutes of Paris: A Brutal Chapter in History
What Was Saint-Lazare Prison?
Saint-Lazare was a Parisian prison operating from the 17th to early 20th century that became notorious for incarcerating prostitutes under France’s regulated vice system. Originally a leper hospital before transforming into a religious prison, Saint-Lazare evolved into the central detention facility for women arrested under Paris’ vice policing system by the 1830s.
The prison complex spanned 7 acres near Gare Saint-Lazare, featuring high walls, barred windows, and separate wards for different “categories” of women. Unlike conventional prisons, Saint-Lazare functioned as a hybrid institution – part jail, part hospital, part reformatory. Prostitutes constituted over 70% of inmates during its peak operational years. Authorities used it to enforce compliance with France’s unique “réglementation” system requiring sex workers to register with police, undergo forced medical exams, and accept surveillance. The prison became a symbol of state control over women’s bodies until its closure in 1935.
How Did Saint-Lazare Differ From Other Prisons?
Unlike standard correctional facilities, Saint-Lazare operated under medical authority with prison doctors wielding exceptional power. Physicians performed forced gynecological exams on admission and throughout incarceration, using speculums without consent. The prison featured specialized VD treatment wards where mercury-based “cures” were administered, often causing mercury poisoning.
Another distinction was the prominent role of religious orders. The Sisters of Marie-Joseph managed daily operations, imposing strict moral “re-education” through prayer sessions and forced labor in prison workshops. Rehabilitation focused on instilling Catholic values rather than developing practical skills for life after release. This church-state partnership reflected the moral panic surrounding prostitution in 19th-century France.
How Did France’s Prostitution System Work?
France’s regulated prostitution system required sex workers to register with police, carry identification cards, and submit to biweekly medical exams. Registered women (“filles soumises”) could work legally in state-licensed brothels (“maisons closes”) but faced arrest if found soliciting outside approved zones or with untreated STIs.
Police maintained vice squads (“brigades des moeurs”) that conducted street raids. Women detained without registration cards were classified as “clandestine prostitutes” and sentenced to Saint-Lazare. Sentences ranged from weeks for first offenses to years for repeat offenders or those with syphilis. The system created perverse incentives – doctors earned bonuses for each “infected” woman identified, while police profited from bribes to avoid registration.
What Were Medical Examinations Like?
Forced exams occurred in prison clinics where women were restrained on examination chairs. Doctors used metal speculums without sterilization, spreading infections between inmates. Those diagnosed with gonorrhea or syphilis were confined to infectious wards for mercury or arsenic treatments that caused vomiting, hair loss, and neurological damage.
Medical records show racial bias – North African and Jewish women received harsher diagnoses. Pregnancy meant extended confinement until delivery, with infants sent to orphanages. The exams represented institutional rape disguised as public health policy, with zero regard for patient dignity or consent.
What Were Prison Conditions Like?
Saint-Lazare featured overcrowded dormitories with 50+ women sharing bug-infested straw mattresses. Inmates wore coarse gray uniforms and wooden clogs, with heads shaved upon admission to humiliate them. Days began at 5 AM with prayer before 10 hours of workshop labor sewing military uniforms or doing laundry.
Food rations were deliberately inadequate – bread soup for breakfast, rancid meat for dinner. Malnutrition combined with poor ventilation in cell blocks caused tuberculosis outbreaks. Punishments included solitary confinement in freezing “cachots” (dungeons), shackling to beds, and reduced rations. Mortality rates reached 15% annually during cholera epidemics due to deliberate medical neglect.
How Did Women Resist the System?
Resistance took covert forms: smuggling notes via visitors, organizing work slowdowns, or hiding symptoms during medical inspections. Some women swallowed needles before exams to puncture doctors’ hands. Others developed coded communication systems – tapping pipes or singing subversive lyrics during chapel.
Notable escapes occurred in 1887 when inmates overpowered guards using workshop tools. More common were legal challenges; feminist lawyer Maria Deraismes represented prisoners pro bono. The most effective resistance came from British abolitionist Josephine Butler, whose 1870s campaigns exposed Saint-Lazare’s horrors to international press.
Who Were the Women Imprisoned?
Contrary to stereotypes, most were working-class women driven to prostitution by economic desperation. Factory wages couldn’t cover rent after the Industrial Revolution’s urban migration surge. Over 60% were single mothers supporting children. Others were war widows after the Franco-Prussian conflict.
Records show significant minority populations – Algerian migrants, Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe, and Romani women faced harsher treatment. Teenage girls as young as 14 were incarcerated for “debauchery.” Surprisingly, 20% were middle-class women arrested during adultery stings, showing how morality laws targeted all “deviant” female sexuality.
Were Famous Women Held at Saint-Lazare?
Yes – revolutionary Louise Michel was imprisoned here after the Paris Commune uprising. Feminist writer Céleste de Chabrillan documented her 1854 incarceration in memoirs. Artist Suzanne Valadon (mother of Utrillo) served time for public drunkenness while modeling for Toulouse-Lautrec.
The most poignant case was singer Damia, whose 1925 arrest sparked protests when police mistook her for a streetwalker. Celebrity inmates received preferential treatment but still endured medical exams. Their testimonies provided crucial evidence for abolitionists.
When and Why Did Saint-Lazare Close?
Saint-Lazare shut in 1935 after decades of scandals, but France’s prostitution system continued until 1946. Three key factors drove its decline: 1) Syphilis treatment breakthroughs (like penicillin) reduced the supposed “medical necessity” 2) Feminist movements exposed systemic abuse 3) Changing urban policies sought to eliminate “vice districts” near new transportation hubs.
The final blow came when journalist Albert Londres published “The Road to Buenos Aires” (1927), detailing how the system enabled sex trafficking. Post-WWII, the Marthe Richard Law abolished brothels and registration, though prostitution itself remained legal. The prison became a hospital before partial demolition; today only the chapel remains as a historical monument.
What Happened to Former Inmates?
Most faced permanent stigma – criminal records prevented legitimate employment, forcing many back into sex work. Some entered Catholic convents through prison “rehabilitation” programs. Others joined Paris’ growing feminist movements.
The lucky few found factory jobs using skills learned in prison workshops. Tragically, suicide rates remained high among released women. Eugenicists tracked their children into the 1950s, believing “degeneracy” was hereditary.
What Is Saint-Lazare’s Legacy Today?
Saint-Lazare exemplifies how states weaponize medicine and morality against marginalized women. Its practices foreshadow modern debates about sex work decriminalization versus the “Nordic model.” The prison’s archives became crucial sources for understanding institutionalized misogyny.
Contemporary feminist artists like Judy Chicago reference Saint-Lazare in installations about bodily autonomy. Historians note parallels in today’s migrant detention centers where similar medical coercion occurs. The surviving chapel now houses refugee aid organizations – a poetic inversion of its original purpose.
Where Can I See Historical Evidence?
Paris’ Archives de la Préfecture de Police holds arrest ledgers and medical records. The Musée de l’Assistance Publique displays prison artifacts, including examination chairs. Literary works like Eugène Sue’s “The Mysteries of Paris” (1843) and Émile Zola’s “Nana” (1880) contain scenes based on Saint-Lazare.
For physical remnants, visit the Saint-Lazare Chapel (119 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis). Plaques commemorate imprisoned women, while archaeological digs periodically uncover prisoner-made goods beneath nearby construction sites.