Prix des Aliments pendant le Siège de Paris
Notes directes prises aux Halles Centrales par l'éditeur F.T.
L'oignon se vend 6 à 8 F. le litre, un porreau 50 c., les carottes 2 F. le 1/2 Kg, une tête d'ail 20 c.

Price of Foods during the Siege of Paris
Direct notes taken in the Central market, by the publisher F.T.
The onion is sold 6 to 8 F. the liter, a leek 50 c., carrots 2 F. 1/2 Kg, a head of garlic 20 c.
Copper round, 30 mm

We find this token, we can date on about 1875-90, with other legends :
- More than 50 stalls of the traders of the market hall are supplied with meat of dog, it is sold from 5 to 10 f the kilo.
- A 8 kg turkey is sold 200 F., a goose from 5 to 6 kg 150 F.
- The fish is sold from 20 to 60 F. the Kg, a 3 kg pike 100 F.
(source : www.cgb.fr)


September 20th, 1870, after the crushing defeat, the debacle as will say Zola, of French armies in front of the Prussian enemy, Paris is surrounded by 180.000 men of the armies of Saxony and Prussia. The siege of Paris begins, it will stop on January 28th, 1871, day of the armistice and the surrender of the city. Paris has two months of supply. From in the middle of August, we store almost everywhere in the city, 3.000 oxen in the Jardin des Plantes, thousands of sheeps in the Jardin du Luxembourg, 30.000 oxen and 180.000 sheeps in the Wood of Boulogne, but quickly the reserves run out, it is indeed a question of feeding approximately one and a half million to two million persons. In November the meat of ox and sheep misses, we replace it by the horse meat (meat which was not any more consumed for centuries in France)...Then quickly dogs and cats of the capital will be put in contribution, without forgetting rats, these being rather reserved in customers the poorest. The Jardin d'Acclimatation and the Jardin des Plantes supply, at a high price, certain butcher's shops or restaurants with the most diverse meats, meats reserved for the richest customers. Everything is good to eat, camels, antelopes, zebras, kangarooes, etc. up to two famous elephants, Castor and Pollux, of the Jardin des Plantes. If the water, the wine and the alcohol do not miss, we eat no more cheese, otherwise for those who made it reserves before November, the butter and the fresh vegetables are of an extreme rarity, and the bread, since the end of November, contains more straw than wheat. Here are some prices found during this period:
- The chicken, at least 25 francs (in October)
- The ass and the mule, 6-8 F kg (in the middle of November)
- A goose, 25-30 F.
- A dog, 10 F kg
- A cat, 8 F (in January)
- A rat, of 50 cts in 2-3 F.
- The ham, 16 F kg
- A cabbage 1.50 F.
- Butter, 30-40 F kg
- 80 francs the kilo of trunk of elephant.
As comparison, a national guard perceives 1.50 F of daily pay, to which it is necessary to add 0.75 F if he is married and 0.25 F by dependent child.

Statistics of the deaths during the siege of Paris
According to the book "Shut up in Paris" of Nathan Sheppard (1871)

From 17 till 24 September	1.266		Cause of deaths
From September 24th till October 1st	1.202		Smallpox	6.604
From 1er au 8 octobre	1.383		Typhoid	2.897
From 8 till 15 October	1.610		Bronchitis	3.627
From 15 till 22 October	1.746		Pneumonia	3.027
From 22 till 29 October	1.878		Diarrhea	564
From October 29th till November 5th	1.762		Scarlet fever	191
From 5 till 12 November	1.855		Dysentery	42
From 12 till 15 November	2.064		Croup	27
From 19 till 26 November	1.927		Other causes	30.402
From November 26th till December 3rd	2.782		Killed in the fights	3.000
From 3 till 10 December	2.684		Died in hospitals	10.000
From 10 till 17 December	2.728		Killed in the riots	15
From 17 till 24 December	2.728		Murders	6
From 24 till 31 December	3.280		Suicides	10
From December 31st, 1870 till January 7th, 1871	3.680		Died accidentally	40
From 7 in 14 in January	3.976		Drunkenness	13
Du l4 au 21 janvier	4.444		Shot Spies and deserters	20
From 21 till 28 January	4.386		Starved	6
			Disabled persons and old persons died as a result of the lack of food	1.800
			Children died as a result of the same causes	3.000
			Total	65,291

Back