While Le Marais is now home to countless upscale boutiques, art galleries, and unique restaurants, the neighborhood's history as the center of Jewish culture in Paris continues to define Le Marais today. Despite Le Marais' constantly changing culture, the Jewish presence has stayed constant; surviving wars, social unrest, and cultural tensions. Between the grand synagogues and quaint Jewish bakeries dotting the streets of Le Marais, the presence of the Jewish community in the neighborhood is starkly visibile. While there are countless significant sites in Jewish history in Le Marais, one of the most famous streets, Rue des Rosiers, continues to serve as a physical representation of the Jewish community's social, economic, and religious development in Paris. Located in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, Rue des Rosiers was and continues to be an economic, commercial, and cultural hub for the Jewish community in Paris, boasting authentic Jewish bakeries, synagogues, and shops.

One of the major themes that characterizes Jewish history in Paris revolves around the conflicts between Russo-Polish Jewish immigrants and native Parisian Jews beginning in the early 1880s. While the first documented presence of Jewish communities in Paris occurred in the year 585, it was not until this influx of Eastern European Jewish immigrants between the French Revolution and World War II that these conflicts within the Jewish population began to surface (Anchel, 46). This population growth was severe that at the beginning of the French Revolution, Paris had an estimated Jewish population of 500 people; however, by the beginning of World War II Paris' Jewish population skyrocketed to approximately 200,000 (Green, 135). While the Jewish community has certainly received backlash and discrimination from the larger Parisian population, the arrival of these Jewish immigrants sparked tensions within the Jewish community itself that would cause the landscape of Le Marais, one of the most prominent Jewish quarters in Paris, to drastically shift. Native Parisian Jews were concerned that these Eastern European immigrants did not have the sophistication or hygienic standards needed to smoothly integrate themselves in Parisian society (Parks, 71). Additionally, as the French Jews were determined to stay out of the public spotlight to discourage the growth of Anti-Semitic rhetoric, they resented these Eastern European refugees for drawing attention to themselves by playing into "dirty" stereotype of the Jewish community (Green, 142). For these reasons, French Jews began to view the Eastern European Jews as outsiders who were attempting to transform the society that the French Jews had been trying desperately to maintain.

One of the central locations of the playout of these conflicts was the neighborhood known as the Pletzl, located in Les Marais. The Rue des Rosiers is located in the heart of the Pletzl, and is home to many historical sites that represent and commemorate the complicated history of the Jewish community in Paris. When the Russo-Polish Jewish immigrants came to Paris, the Pletzl served as one of the major neighborhoods they chose to inhabit (Green, 140). Initially, the Pletzl attracted the poor Russo-Polish immigrants because of the opportunities for economic prosperity it represented as well as the hope that settling in an already Jewish community would allow these foreigners to find common ground with their new countrymen (Green). Instead of forming on cohesive Jewish community upon the arrival of these immigrants, the population boom caused the French Jews to relocate as a result of overcrowding as well as the intensifying of cultural and social tensions between the two groups (Green, 140). This relocation allowed the Pletzl to quickly become the heart of the Eastern European Jewish community, and their presence continues to characterize the neighborhood today.

While many of the original Jewish shops, butchers, and bakeries have been replaced by modern boutiques and restaurants, some age old Jewish establishments still exist on the Rue des Rosiers today. For example, the famous Boulangerie Marciano, located at 16 Rue des Rosiers, has remained intact despite the many changes made to the Rue des Rosiers. Famous for its incredible pastries and authentic Jewish cuisine, the Boulangerie Marciano was founded in 1909 and was originally owned by Mr. Jacobovitch and later Mr. Moskovitch. Even after being sold to Mr. Marciano in 1973, the Boulangerie continues to honor the Ashkenazi Jewish heritage of the original owners by preparing traditional Jewish baked goods. Not only is Boulangerie Marciano one of the most famous Jewish establishments on the Rue des Rosiers, but it also represents the commercial and economic successes born out of the conflicts between French and Eastern European immigrant Jews. Many Eastern European Jewish immigrants were initially drawn to the Pletzl and the Rue des Rosiers for the economic and social opportunities it represented, and the Boulangerie Marciano serves as one of the most notable examples of the ways in which the immigration of these Jews from Eastern Europe continues to characterize the Parisian Jewish community today. Another treasure of Jewish cuisine on the Rue des Rosiers is L'As du Fallafel, which boasts some of the most famous fallafel in all of Paris. Located at 34 Rue des Rosiers, L'As du Fallafel, like Boulangerie Marciano, serves as a reminder of the Jewish roots of the now gentrified Le Marais. Additionally, as fallafel is one of the signature Jewish foods of Eastern Europe, L'As du Fallafel stands as yet another example of the effect the large immigration boom beginning in the 1880s had on commerce and culture in Le Marais. The Eastern European Jewish immigrants brought traditions from their own cultures to Paris, and these traditions continue to appear through the existence of establishments such as L'As du Fallafel and other Kosher restaurants.

Despite the fact that Le Marais has been heavily gentrified since its days as the prime location of the conflicts between Eastern European and French Jews, Jewish culture and traditions continue to define Le Marais today. The Jewish establishments in Le Marais have stood the test of time and survived wars, social tensions, and the modernization of the neighborhood that they call home. The Jewish roots of Le Marais are a crucial aspect of the neighborhood's history, and the Rue des Rosiers, along with other distinct areas of Le Marais, honor the legacy of Judaism in Paris by refusing to allow the neighborhood's convoluted history to be lost amidst modernization and gentrification.