Located on the third floor of the police station of the 5th district of Paris, the Prefecture of Paris museum was created at the beginning of the 20th century by the prefect Louis Lépine, thanks to the pieces assembled for the 1900 World Fair.
The historical collections of the Prefecture of Paris aim to trace the history of the police from the seventeenth century to the present day, offering a chronological journey. There are many historical documents on the spot, such as lettres de cachet signed by the King of France or exhibits, but also the arrest orders of Charlotte Corday, Beaumarchais or Joséphine de Beauharnais. The largest French criminal cases are also the subject of representations like the case of the necklace of the Queen, that of poisons or the Landru trial.
