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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Touquet-Paris-Plage Town Hall, built in 1931 by architects Louis Debrouwer and Pierre Drobekq, embodies a bold blend of English gothic, cemented wood panels and Art Deco. Its 38-metre belfry, with a carillon clock inspired by Big Ben, dominates a building designed for worldly receptions rather than administration. Jeanne Thil's frescoes in the hall celebrate Franco-British ties, such as the Treaty of Etaples or the visit of Admiral Huc Quiéret in the Bay of the Canche.

Inaugurated on 27 June 1931 during the Franco-British holidays, the building is criticized for its cost and its fascist by the local press, which highlights the gap between the elitist ceremonies (banquets at the Royal Picardy, tea at the casino) and the modest joys offered to the inhabitants. Mayor Léon Soucaret then defended a "civilizing" project, where architectural art would crown seaside urban planning, attracting an international elite in this "large and sumptuous salon".

Ranked a historical monument in 2014 after a partial registration in 1997, the city hall has been the object of a pharaonic restoration since 2015 (€7.7 million), divided into eight slices. The first phase, devoted to belfry (€2.2 million), was completed in 2022. The works, originally planned until 2026, end with a year's advance: the inauguration of the restoration takes place on 27 June 2025, 94 years to the day after that of 1931, in the presence of Brigitte Macron and Minister Françoise Gatel. A ceremony pays tribute to Lucien Ougen, lighthouse keeper who saved the building from destruction in 1944.

The history of the monument dates back to 1901, when the municipal school on the street of London served as provisional town hall for Paris-Plage, then attached to Cucq. In 1912, Le Touquet-Paris-Plage became an independent commune, and the town hall established Villa Les Moucherons. The current project was launched in 1928 on land acquired twenty years earlier, replacing a Protestant temple envisaged by John Whitley. The first stone was laid in 1929 by Mayor Léon Soucaret, marking the passage from a booming seaside resort to a city with an ambitious architectural symbol.

Local materials, such as Baincthun and Hydrequent stones, emphasize regional anchoring, while reinforced concrete allows rapid construction. The plan takes over that of the prestigious 19th century town halls, with a large central hall relegating administrative services to the periphery. This bias reflects the worldly vocation of the Touquet, where the international elite stands next to a local population whose inauguration celebrations of 1931 largely exclude the inhabitants, as reported by L-Express of 18 July 1931.

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