 Les Halles was known as the "Belly of Paris", and was so named by author, Émile Zola in his novel "Le Ventre de Paris", which is set in the busy 19th century marketplace of central Paris.Les Halles, a complex of market pavilions in Paris, features extensively in both literature and painting.Giuseppe Canella (1788 - 1847) painted Les Halles et la rue de la Tonnellerie.