Many people call syphilis the “French disease” (by the way, the same name has also been applied to postmodernism). However, the real French disease is related to the mental sphere and is hypochondria. If you have ever wondered why “The Imaginary Patient” was written by Molière and not Shakespeare or Cervantes, all you have to do is walk the streets of Paris.
On almost every street corner you will find a neon sign in the shape of a green cross, the symbol of pharmacies, and if you count carefully you will find that there are more pharmacies in Paris than boulangerie. Since the French have a long history of love with pharmacy and medicine, you will discover, during your tour of Paris, several pharmacies, both old and new, that have played an important role in French history.
Where is the oldest pharmacy in Paris?
The oldest pharmacy in Paris, still in existence today, stands at 115 Rue St. Honoré and, as far as is known, was opened around 1715, or perhaps even earlier. Here the Swedish Marshal Fersen, a good friend of Marie Antoinette, invisible ink so that he could correspond with her secretly while she was imprisoned in the Conciergerie. He also tried to help the Queen escape from prison but in vain. On October 16, 1793, the cart of those condemned to death passed here, leading her to the “Place de la Revolution” which we know as Concorde Square.
At number 93 of the same street stood another pharmacy called Au Bourdon d'Or, which closed its doors as a sign of mourning that day. This place already existed in 1610 and King Henry IV was brought here, when he was stabbed to death by a Roveilleux on the nearby rue la Ferronerie. And speaking of pharmacies and hypochondriacs, if you have already arrived in the area, walk a few meters to rue Sauval 4 and you will discover the place where the house where he was born stood. Molière, who as mentioned wrote The Imaginary Patient.
Accessible ground floor apartment (no need to lug your luggage around). Just 200 meters from Trocadero Square.
Luxury and authenticity in a historic building. Quiet, elegant and within walking distance of the main attractions.
Huge and well-designed: bedroom, spacious living room and 2 utility rooms. A winning location in the heart of things.
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The pharmacy that brewed chocolates
Our journey following the pharmacists now takes us to the Left Bank towards Saint-Germain districtHere at 30 Rue des Saints-Pères you will discover the place where pharmacy met chocolate. At this address, the Debauve et Gallais shop still stands today, which happens to be the oldest chocolate shop in Paris.
The shop was opened by the royal pharmacist Sulpice Debauve (1757-1836) in 1800, but he was famous earlier for his invention of chocolate coins. Legend has it that it all began when Marie Antoinette She complained to him that she didn't like the taste of the medicine she had to take. In response, Dubov decided to take the medicine and mix it with cocoa and sugar, and cast this paste into a coin-shaped mold.
The chocolate coins were a great success at the royal court, but after French Revolution Having lost his royal patrons, Dubov was forced to go independent and opened his own chocolate shop in 1800. The shop was very successful and received orders from Napoleon, Louis XVIII and Charles X. The current shop building on Rue Saint-Père was built by Percier and Fontaine, in the Greco-Roman style, which was very popular during Napoleon's time.
In this shop, Dubov continued to sell the chocolate coins and along the way invented “diet chocolate,” a kind of oxymoron to me, which was made from almond milk, vanilla, and water infused with orange blossoms. In 1823, Dubov was joined by his nephew Charles Gallais (1787-1838), also a pharmacist by profession, and the shop took on its current name. The shop still exists today and sells excellent chocolates.
And finally, we will end our short journey into the intricacies of hypochondria and Parisian pharmacies with a song that deals with the subject. The song “Hypochondriac” is performed by the singer Aldebert, one of my favorite and least known singers. In the meantime, you are invited to listen to the song, which tells the story of a hypochondriac, whom no one believes is really sick…