Rue Paul-Boncour

This street was originally called the rue du Pont (Bridge Street) because it leads up from the bridge into town. Joseph Paul-Boncour was a native of St.-Aignan who became a lawyer and a politician and served in various ministerial posts in French government between 1911 and 1938. He was a French senator and a prominent socialist.

Looking up into the rue Paul-Boncour from the river near the bridge with the collégiale in the background.

This is the street that cars take to go up into town and to the main square, the church, the château, and the post office. On market days, through traffic is forced around town on the ring road, but local traffic can still drive in. On festival days, the street is closed to all traffic. That only happens about twice a year.

Outdoor seating at Le Mange Grenouille.

A few years ago, a little building with a courtyard was renovated and turned into a nice restaurant called Le Mange Grenouille (roughly translated as the Frog Eater). Not surprisingly, they serve frogs' legs. Ken and I have eaten here twice. It's a bit too fancy and upscale for frequent dining, at least for us.

The rue Paul-Boncour climbs up into town.

At the end of the street, where it intersects the rue Constant Ragot, is one of the few remaining medieval buildings in town, complete with exposed timber frames and red brick. I can't find anything much about the building, but it's typical of the town's buildings from that era.

A reminder: most of these pictures look a lot better in their larger size. Click on them to see, then use your "back" button to come back to this page.