This is a plaque to commemorate the work of Charles Comtesse, who in 1625 completed the bell tower of the church of Saint-Nicholas-du-Chardonnet, on rue des Bernadins, here: http://bit.ly/2s0nj3Z. Revolutionaries scratched out Comtesse’s name (because of its aristocratic ties) and references to the King. (If you go into the church, you’ll also find a monument to favourite painter of Louis XIV, Charles Le Brun, who decorated Versailles, and is buried here along with his mother.)
Rue (Saint) André des Arts, one of the many streets that lost its religious connection under the revolution. Around the corner is another example, rue (Saint) Séverin:
Coats of arms were erased from many buildings, such as the old Hotel Carnavalet (now the Musée Carnvalet):
And revolutionary graffiti in the seventeenth century Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis church, in the Marais. Despite repeated attempts to remove it, the declaration “French Republic or death”, refuses to budge. Perhaps the communard who wrote it also defended the barricade outside, on rue Saint-Antoine, during the “bloody week” of May 21-28, 1871.
