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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Aubervilliers matchmaking factory, located at La Motte on the current Henri-Barbusse Street, was one of the largest matchmaking plants in France. Built in 1867 by Lady Lequin (called Delabarre), it exploited white phosphorus from calcined bones from the nearby Abattoirs of Plaine Saint-Denis. In 1874, she became the General Chemical Matching Company, then joined the State Manufacturing in 1890. The reconstruction of 1902, with Sevène and Cahen machines, marked the climax of the site, capable of producing 12 billion matches per year — a quarter of the national production under state monopoly.

The site was decommissioned in 1962 after nearly a century of activity. In 1967, the buildings were awarded to the Documentation Française, which installed its seat there in 1997 in a new facade designed by architects François Leclercq and Fabrice Dusapin. The 45-metre chimney, built in the early 20th century in brick and stone, was classified as a historic monument in 2005. It remains the last intact vestige of matchmaking in the Paris region, surrounded by industrial buildings with metal structure and polychrome bricks.

Before the factory, the site housed the seigneury of the Vivier-lès-Aubervilliers, mentioned in 1402 under Michel de Laillier, and acquired in 1531 by the Montholon family. The Château des Vertus, present on the plans of 1708, was gradually transformed before leaving room for industry. The castle ditches, filled between the 18th century and 1839, disappeared with the urbanization and industrialization of Plaine Saint-Denis.

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