Les Halles

Les Halles (lay ahl) is an area of Paris, France, located in the 1er arrondissement. It is named for the large central wholesale marketplace, which was demolished in 1971, to be replaced with an underground modern shopping precinct, the Forum des Halles. It is notable in that the open air center area is below street level, like a pit, and contains sculpture, fountains, and mosaics, as well as museums including the Musée Grévin - Forum des Halles (a wax museum)
Construction was completed in 1977 on Châtelet-Les-Halles, Paris's new urban railway hub. The Forum des Halles, a partially underground multiple storey commercial and shopping center, opened in 1979. The building was criticized for its design and, as of 2005, the city of Paris has undertaken consultations regarding the remodeling of the area. A long-standing problem in the Halles area was drug trafficking. Drug addicts and dealers would meet in the neighbourhood. For this reason, the area was reported unsafe at dark. However, the issue appears to have died down in recent years.