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Origin and history

The Café Procope, also known as Le Procope, was founded in 1686 by the Italian Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, originally from Sicily. Installed on Rue des Fossés-Saint-Germain (present-day rue de l'Ancienne-Comédie), it quickly became a must-have place for 18th-century intellectuals and artists. Procopio, after working for an Armenian coffee maker, buys the property and decorates it sumptuously, attracting a prestigious clientele such as Voltaire, Diderot and d'Alembert. In 1700 coffee obtained a perpetual concession for water supply, a symbol of its privileged status.

In the 18th century, Procope established itself as the literary café par excellence, frequented by encyclopedists and philosophers of the Enlightenment. According to the legend, the idea of the Encyclopaedia would have sprouted there during exchanges between Diderot and d'Alembert. Benjamin Franklin, regular of the place, would have prepared elements of the Franco-American alliance treaty of 1778 and outlined ideas for the United States Constitution. Coffee is also mentioned in the Montesquieu Persian Letters, which evokes its role in disseminating ideas and debates.

During the French Revolution, the Procope became a revolutionary home, welcoming figures like Danton, Marat and Robespierre. The Cordeliers' club reunited, and the Phrygian cap was exhibited there for the first time before the Tuileries assault in 1792. Voltaire's table even served as altar when his ashes were transferred to the Pantheon in 1794. After Franklin's death in 1790, he was given an improvised funeral service in front of his portrait.

In the 19th century, coffee changed hands and became a literary place under the direction of Jean-Baptiste-Godefroy-Modeste Heu, which attracted romantics like Musset, George Sand and Théophile Gautier. In 1883 he hosted the first assembly of the Stade Français. Closed in 1890 for lack of profitability, the space was then occupied by a Bouillon Chartier before being renovated in 1957. Since then, the Procope has been a restaurant paying homage to its historical heritage, with an 18th-century decoration and references to the Revolution.

The current architecture, although largely rebuilt, preserves historical elements such as the façade and its wrought iron balconies, inscribed in historical monuments in 1962. Inside, quotes from Voltaire, the 1789 Declaration of Human Rights and revolutionary objects (like a hat attributed to Napoleon) recall his past. The toilets, marked "Citizens" and "Citizens", and the pumpkin red walls perpetuate the revolutionary spirit. Today, the Procope also houses ceremonies such as the Enlightenment Prize, rewarding critical trials in the Lights tradition.

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