Chapter 6: La Belle Époque - Cafés as Cultural Institutions

The period from 1871 to 1914 marked the true golden age of French café culture. The rebuilt boulevards of Haussmann's Paris provided perfect stages for café terraces. Gas lighting extended café hours into the night. The rise of the music hall and cabaret created new forms of café entertainment.

This era gave birth to the café-concert, where patrons could enjoy light opera and popular songs with their drinks. The Moulin Rouge, originally a café-concert, epitomized this blend of refreshment and entertainment. Literary cafés like the Closerie des Lilas and Café de Flore became offices for writers who couldn't afford proper workspaces.

The café also became crucial for women's emancipation. While respectable women couldn't enter many public spaces unaccompanied, cafés gradually became acceptable venues for mixed company. The image of the Parisienne sipping coffee while reading a newspaper became an icon of modern femininity.