Paris is a city filled with small wonders, challenging details on which we often feel out of the blue, at the corner of a narrow street. The Passe-Muraille in Montmartre is part of these surprising nods Paris is teeming with. You can find the statue in Place Marcel Aymé and this has nothing to do with chance.
This square pays tribute to writer Marcel Aymé who lived in rue Jugnot, not far from there. The Passe-Muraille statue is also erected in homage to the writer since it refers to the eponymous short story of the writer. This short story taking place in Montmartre is published in 1941 and tells the story of a man who once discovers he has an odd power: he can walk through walls.
He makes the best of it to revenge the humiliations he suffered at work and uses it to commit burglaries and ends up in prison from which he escapes, of course. Finally, he falls in love with a woman unhappily married and becomes her lover. But one night, when leaving his love, he loses his power by walking through one of her house walls, he is stuck in stone.
In 1989, sculptor and actor Jean Marais creates a statue in tribute to the author. The latter represents writer Marcel Aymé in the role of the Passe-Muraille from his short story. A beautiful tribute that still surprises and amuses the curious visitors who came to admire it.
Location
Le Passe-Muraille
Place Marcel Aymé
75018 Paris 18
Access
Metro: Lamarck - Caulaincourt (line 12)
