A sunny morning on the banks of the Seine river. Sparrows are chirping in the trees and bouquet sellers Their morale is also good after their victory against the French authorities.
“They wanted to remove our boxes for the Olympics,” shouts Ludo Communier, one of about 300 booksellers who have operated for centuries in small green kiosks along the walls of the River Seine. “We said ‘non’ – We were here before Napoleon Bonaparte.”
Authorities ordered the temporary removal of all kiosks for “security” reasons and to improve views of the River Seine during the Games. The ensuing anger added to a tumultuous 2023 for Paris.
Riots over police brutality, protests over pension reforms and a bedbug epidemic have thrust the Olympic host into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Usually mild mannered bouquet sellers Communier says they were ready for a fight but backed out after plans to remove them were canceled following President Macron’s intervention last month.
For receptive Britons, there was something encouraging about such dogged French resistance. How can you not love a city that’s getting ready to riot over books? This means the Communier can now look forward to the Olympics; but he doubts that the Seine River will be clean enough for athletes (and subsequently the public after the Games).
“I don’t want to jump in, do you?” he asks, watching the swollen river, now the color of tea after the recent storms. This is a non- from me.
Swimming in the River Seine has been prohibited since 1923 due to the dangers posed by pollution. The £1.2bn effort to clear the waterway for the Olympics – which organizers fear the deadline will be missed – is part of mayor Anne Hidalgo’s ambitious ecological plans for the capital, which include crisscrossing it with cycle lanes. The city that loves revolution is in the throes of a two-wheeled revolution. Paris went to the Netherlands.
“You can drive anywhere,” says Communier, who is pleased to see the back of the obscene vehicles that once sat idle around his kiosk. “Previously it was all buses and taxis,” he adds, pointing to the nearby bike lane that has calmed down after rush hour. “Better now.”
Paris’s approach to driving, namely chivalry, has carried over to the city’s bike paths. They are chaotic places. A bit lawless. But Parisians adopted them en masse, prompting the outrage of some columnists. Despite what critics say, bike lanes have opened Paris to tourists willing to pedal.
Where Britons once had to wade deep into the city at Gare du Nord (or face extortion from taxi drivers) to catch the dingy metro, they can now hop on a Lime bike and sip a kir royale in Montmartre. Eurostar engines have cooled down.
Paris syndrome?
The Communier sends me off to maturity with a free keychain to the Eiffel Tower to give to my son. As I cycle along the new bike paths along the river, I feel nauseous as I pass Notre Dame Cathedral, which is under reconstruction. Could it be an attack of Paris syndrome?
I’m talking about Paris’ failure to live up to its high expectations, which is known to affect some tourists, mostly Asians. Some people reported feeling physically unwell as a result. Apparently the Japanese embassy has a 24-hour hotline for citizens showing symptoms. This isn’t something I can confirm, but in a way, maybe it’s better if it remains a secret.
Paris syndrome is back in the spotlight after an American influencer described such symptoms in a tear-jerking video about France that went viral. I realized that a more likely scenario for me was that I hadn’t eaten vegetables in two days. Unfortunately, greens are still not served as standard on most of the city’s dinner plates.
It’s an interesting concept, but it’s the Paris syndrome. I discuss this topic over coffee with two American students in front of the Shakespeare and Company bookstore on the leafy left bank of the Seine. While Abbey Hurt and Gabrielle Fjellman are visiting from North Carolina for spring break, most of their friends are “partying in Miami.”
“I always thought of Paris as a romantic city,” says Hurt, who is here for the first time. Does it meet your expectations? “I guess so,” he says, looking at people reading books and sipping coffee in the spring sun in the lush green square. “Especially this area.”
Fjellman adds: “Culture fuels thought.” He quotes a line from one of his favorite books: The Ruthless Elimination of Haste By John Mark Comer. “He writes about ‘allowing our souls to catch up with our bodies.’ “I think Paris fostered this idea.”
Maybe, but it’s not all lazy cafes in leafy squares attracting the attention of beret-wearing bookworms beyond the cobbles. In addition to many of the familiar drawbacks of big cities, Paris also has a few unique ones; most importantly, sketchy neighborhoods, infamously indifferent waiters, and putrid odors that come out of nowhere and assault your nostrils.
And of course there are many people who try to sacrifice their souls. The other night in Pigalle, along the seedy Boulevard de Clichy, I unknowingly walked into a drug deal near the Moulin Rouge.
While around me men were exchanging 50 euro bills for bags of gunpowder, big bald men were trying to persuade me to watch a sex show. In a sign of changing tastes and the gentrification of Pigalle, the hottest show of the night was Bouillon Pigalle, a modern bistro serving French classics at prices different from Paris. A queue for a table stretched all the way to the street.
Creativity has not diminished
For all its flaws and the gap between expectations and reality, Paris still brims with enviable creative energy. In a bar in the ninth arrondissement, I meet my Parisian friend Esther, who works part-time at a nearby theater between writing plays and making music.
The French government is increasing pay for artists through its intermittent worker program and supporting creatives to do their work, a waiter explains as he brings the beers. My mind wanders gloomily to Birmingham, England’s second city, which has reduced its arts budget to zero.
This creative freedom is what makes Paris Paris. That’s why Oscar Wilde is buried here. And it is still tangible today. You see this not only in major cultural institutions like the Louvre or the new floating arts center Quai de la Photo, but also in guitars slung over shoulders in the Metro, in pictures drawn in parks, in notebooks with folded corners in cafes.
Paris still encourages creativity in a way that other Western cities perhaps do not. And it will take more than bedbugs or fights on bike paths to reduce its appeal.
Fundamentals
Gavin Haines traveled from London to Paris by Eurostar and was a guest of the Grand Hôtel du Palais Royal (doubles from £375 per night), a short walk from the Jardin du Palais Royale, where magnolia trees are in bloom.
See our expert guide to the perfect weekend in Paris.