Paris Revealed
The Secret Life of a City
Stephen Clarke
Acknowledgements
MERCI, FIRST OF ALL, to my fellow Parisians for being so very Parisian.
More specifically, merci to everyone who helped, knowingly and unknowingly, in the construction of the book; to all the people I interviewed (and some who interviewed me); to those who gave me access to their buildings, books, exhibitions and events; to anyone who might have been worried when I started staring at them and taking notes; and to everyone who makes life in the city possible, practical and (usually) fun.
Even more specifically, merci beaucoup to my editor, Selina Walker, especially for taking the trouble to nip over to Paris so often ‘to see how the book’s coming along’; to everyone at Susanna Lea’s literary agency and especially, for this British edition, Susanna Lea and Kerry Glencorse; to all at Transworld for putting the book together (they continually prove that old-fashioned three-dimensional paper books with covers and pages are actually a nice, albeit ancient, invention); and to Marie-Christine Frison, Alain Plumey, Susan Oubari, Lyne Cohen-Solal, Brian Spence, Heather Stimmler-Hall, Sophie Boudon-Vanhille and Aline Jumeaux for their invitations and explanations.
To the Crimée Crew, and especially N, for revealing so much that is good about Paris.
To M, bon vol.
Paris is a bit like an ocean. It’s a great place to live if you’re a shark. There’s loads of fresh seafood, and if anyone annoys you, you just bite them in half. You might not be loved by everyone, but you’ll be left in peace to enjoy yourself.
If you’re human, though, you spend your time floating on the surface, buffeted by the waves, preyed on by the sharks.
So the thing to do is evolve into a shark as quickly as you can.
(From A Year in the Merde)
CONTENTS
Foreword
1 Parisians
Parisians are ‘arrogant, aggressive, stressed, snobbish and self-obsessed’—at least, that’s what other French people say about them. But who are the Parisians really? And do they deserve their terrible reputation?
2 Pavements
A portrait of the city’s streets and the people who work or just loiter there, who battle to keep the pavements clean and the trees alive, and who do their best to baffle pedestrians with confusing road signs.
3 Water
Life in Paris is a story of eau—the city’s emblem is a boat, and water gushes everywhere, from fountains and along gutters, reassuring Parisians that there will be no return to the bad old days when all they had to drink was the Seine … and wine, of course.
4 The Métro
More than just a transport system, the Paris underground is a way of life with strictly defined rules and customs, shifting populations, its very own architect, and some dramatic tales to tell. Includes a line-by-line listing of the most unusual stations.
5 History
You might think that Paris is a beautifully preserved historical city, but just imagine how it would look today if the Parisians themselves hadn’t spent so much of their history trying to demolish it. The story of two millennia or more of social and architectural turmoil.
6 Romance
Like a well-chilled glass of Champagne, Paris is always capable of hitting the mark, whatever your tastes in matters of the heart. What are the secrets of the city’s well-deserved reputation as the capital of canoodling?
7 Sex
If Paris thinks of itself as a Latin Lothario, it’s because it is an experienced lover. It has slept around a lot, and always feels the need to kiss and tell. But are its glory days over?
8 Food
For Parisians, food isn’t only about taste—they also have to squeeze, prod and sniff it to make sure it’s fresh. The problem is, they like doing all these things to the food that other people are about to eat. Includes the best food markets in Paris, and how to spot a good or bad restaurant.
9 Fashion
Surprisingly, it was an Englishman who created the concept of Parisian haute couture. And even more surprisingly, the Parisians give him credit for it. But why exactly is Paris la capitale de la mode? A designer explains.
10 Cinema
The city’s movie career is stage-managed just as efficiently as that of any Hollywood star, and it has an agent who fights to get Paris’s name up on the big screen as often as possible. So what are the essential ingredients for a great Parisian film?
11 Art
At the big-name museums and exhibitions, the queues can stretch for a hundred metres. And that’s just to use the toilets. How to see great Parisian art, including some of the biggest names, without being forced to fight through a crowd to stand in front of your favourite painting for five seconds.
12 Apartments
What to do if you feel like becoming a more regular Parisian, or even a permanent one, as well as all the pitfalls of buying an apartment in a city where surveyors’ reports are considered a frivolous luxury.
Appendix 1: Addresses
The addresses, or coordonnées as the Parisians say, of the places mentioned in the book.
Appendix 2: Further Reading
A short suggested reading list of books by Parisians about their own city.
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
FOREWORD
PARIS IS LIKE THE world’s most famous screen goddess. We’ve lost count of all the movies she’s starred in—from romantic comedies and historical dramas to thrillers and even cartoons—and we feel as if we know everything about her thanks to all the photos, books, songs and glossy magazine covers that keep her constantly in the public eye.
But of course we don’t know everything.
She’s had many famous lovers, she’s taken quite a few knocks in her long history, and like all true divas, she does her best to keep her private life very private. There are things that she needs us to know, and others she would prefer to sweep under her expensive carpet.
This book, however, is designed to reveal her secrets.
The idea is not to turn anyone off the city—on the contrary, I hope that Paris will become a real, fully rounded personality rather than the glitzy, romanticized image that is often projected at us
