L'Étoile de Kléber

The building at number four Rue Paul-Valéry in the sixteenth arrondissement held a prominent place in Parisian nightlife from nineteen forty-one until nineteen seventy-eight. Known as L’Étoile de Kléber, it operated as an upscale maison close, or brothel, managed by Aline Soccodato, who was widely called Madame Billy. The establishment gained notoriety for its persistence, continuing to operate in secret long after French law banned such houses in nineteen forty-six.