
The Cour des Miracles was a dangerous slum of Paris, France that existed under the Ancien Regime. Its ironic title referred to the beggars who would fake terrible injuries and diseases to elicit donations from passers-by, only to be miraculously "cured" when it was time to go home. Most of its inhabitants had come from the countryside to search in vain for work, or came from the most disadvantaged strata of the city. On 15 March 1667, King Louis XIV created the office of Lieutenant General of Police of Paris and entrusted Lieutenant General Gabriel Nicolas de La Reynie with clearing out the slum; after Le Reynie warned its inhabitants that the last twelve of them to flee would be hanged or sent to the galleys, the slum's inhabitants quickly dispersed. However, thieves and beggars soon regained possession of the premises. On 21 August 1784, a royal edict ordered the destruction of all of the slum's hovels, to be replaced by a market, but the fishmongers refused to settle in the area due to its bad reputation. The Cour des Miracles continued to exist as late as the French Revolution, but it was eventually taken over by blacksmiths, hence the street's new name, Rue des Forges.