Courthouse

Owned by the Department

Museums of France

All listed city hotels and palaces in France

Crédit photo : Jean-Louis Lascoux - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Révolution/Empire

XIXe siècle

Époque contemporaine

1800

1900

2000

1839

Earthquake destruction

1855

Laying the first stone

1857

Opening of the new palace

1904

Inauguration statue Victor Schœlcher

1905

Fire of the palace

1907

Re-opening after fire

1991

Registration of historical monuments

2002

Final closure as court

Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Palais de Justice (Box BC 408): Registration by Order of 31 December 1991

Key figures

Louis Henri de Gueydon - Governor of Martinique	Placed the first stone in 1855.
Denis de Fitte de Soucy - Governor of Martinique	Inaugurated the palace in 1857.
Gustave de Laguarigue - Architect	Rebuilt the palace in 1906.
Charles Lépreux - Governor of Martinique	Inaugurated the palace rebuilt in 1907.
Victor Schœlcher - Abolitionist	Statue erected in 1904 in the courtyard.
Camille Darsières - Lawyer and man of letters	Cultural space bears its name today.

Origin and history

The former courthouse of Fort-de-France is a neo-classical building located between Perrinon, Schœlcher and Moreau-de-Jones streets. Originally, it housed a convent of the Daughters of Providence, founded in the 18th century by Father Charles François de Coutances. Turned into a gendarmerie in the early 19th century, it was destroyed by the earthquake of 1839 that ravaged half of the city. Admiral Louis Henri de Gueydon, governor of Martinique, laid the first stone of the new palace in 1855, inaugurated in 1857 by Governor Denis de Fitte de Soucy.

The neo-classical colonial palace had a stone ground floor and a wooden floor, with a roof of Marseille tiles. A square with a fountain was built in front, later replaced by a statue of Victor Scholcher, inaugurated in 1904 for the centenary of abolitionist. Destroyed by fire in 1905, it was rebuilt in 1906 by Gustave de Laguarigue in a neo-classical Italian style and inaugurated in 1907. The building, registered as a historic monument in 1991, became too small and was replaced in 2002 by a new court.

Today, the former courthouse houses the Camille Darsières Space, a palace of arts and cultures. This place pays tribute to the Martinican lawyer Camille Darsières, literary figure and companion of Aimé Césaire. The interior courtyard now hosts artists' workshops, thus perpetuating its central role in the cultural life of Fort-de-France.