QQC #2

By: Andrea
Quote:

___Forty years ago, the solitary pedestrian who ventured into the unknown regions of La Salpetriere and went up along the Boulevard as far as the Barriere d'Italie, reached certain points where it might be said that Paris disappeared.It was an inhabited place where there was nobody, it was a desert place where there was somebody; it was a boulevard of te great city, a street of Paris, wilder, at night, than a forest, and gloomier, by day, than a graveyard.

Question:
___Was was the author infering to? Did this happen during the time of the Napoleonic wars that left the city abandoned or why was it abandoned? Economic crisis?
Comment:

___The book was describing the location were Jean Valjean and Cosette would begin to live in, for a temporaty period of time. Victor Hugo described both the city of Paris as well as the abandoned house that would serve Jean Valjean for hidding/living. How would he make of his living if he was hiding and only going out during the night? There was not much in Paris, only a few pedestrians lived there but there was not much to explore.