Real Paris?

Paris in July is a virtual event involving a number of bloggers who love Paris and share their ideas about Paris including the books they read, travel experiences they have had, and the Paris of their imaginations. I first participated in the Paris in July blog event in July of 2014, so this is my tenth year doing so. This year’s host for the event is Emma at Words and Peace: her master blog post for the event is here: 

Paris in July 2023

All of us who participate are very lucky that Emma, herself a native of France, stepped up and took charge of the event this year, as it was almost cancelled! Not expecting to be able to share Paris posts in July, I did several posts about Paris during the month of June; I have already linked them to Emma’s central post. I am thinking about books I might read, films I might watch, recipes I might try, or other ways I might participate in Paris in July. As I consider what to read and write, I have returned to an issue that I often think about: what is the real Paris? What is only an imaginary construction from several centuries of myth-making?

Ideal Paris

Paris captivates the imagination. Art and artists, famous designers, haute cuisine, expatriate writers, French writers, jazz clubs, memories of ideal times in the past… remembering the glories of the past, one can lose track of the fact that today’s Paris, including its suburban aggregation, is a metropolis of 11.2 million people. This huge population includes widely varied ethnic groups, widely varied professions, abilities, and wealth; and widely varied privilege. 

Paris continues to be a fascinating site of art, culture, style, and fine food -- easy to think of as an ideal place far from twenty-first century problems. Current fiction, film, and imaginative feature stories written by American and other foreign writers (some French writers too) tend to reinforce the concept of an ideal and nearly imaginary Paris. In particular, almost everything that’s easy to read takes place in inner city where 2.1 million privileged central-Parisians are able to exist in what is perhaps almost a bubble of perfect life — except for traffic, crowding, high rent, and stress, but forget all that!

Traditional interests, such as the designer-clothing industry and tourist establishment, are motivated to keep the old image going — here’s a very recent example from The Guardian:

Maybe Too Real Paris

The tourists' view of the City of Light, the presence of art and culture, the beautiful streets and cafes, the fabulous meals, the charming little hotels: all this is tempting! Sometimes it's easy to adopt the simple-minded way to see this complex modern nation, where economic and social problems are just as real as they are in cities in America and elsewhere. 

During the past week, destructive rioting has wracked many parts of Paris and other French cities. French people, especially those from disadvantaged neighborhoods, have acted out their pent-up frustration. The trigger of this violence was brutal police killing of a young man whose ethnic identity is North African, though he’s a native-born French citizen. Within French communities with long roots in France, there is also deep resentment of a number of government policies, resulting in civic unrest, both peaceful and violent. The movement know as “Gilets Jaunes” (yellow vests) has been one of the drivers of serious disturbances, but the roots of dissatisfaction are deep. 

Here is a photo from this week’s street violence:

Challenging the ideal: I took this photo of the smoke from fires set by violent protestors in Paris in 2018.
I was on the rooftop of the Centre Pompidou, one of the great museums of the city.
Thus reality intervenes in one’s idealized experiences.

Paris in July

Several participants in this blog event have already posted some very appealing reading lists, with books that they might read, as well as expressing other plans. Possibilities for my participation in Paris in July: 

• I intend to read another book by Nobelist Annie Ernaux, in addition to one I read last month (blogged here). 
• I am currently reading a new book by Anya von Bremsen titled National Dish: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home. The author explores how idealized historic “national dishes” contrast to a more realistic version of history. Her French example is the famous "pot-au-feu." I'll be writing more about this book, especially about the French chapter, later on. 
• I would like to do some French cooking, using various cookbooks, but I have nothing definite yet.

Blog post © 2023 mae sander