Friday, November 05, 2010

Under the cobblestones...


So it was true... There is a beach underneath the cobblestones of Paris! Explanation: during the student riots in May 68,  several slogans were used by demonstrators (check them here - go to the Slogans and Graffiti topic in the middle of the page). A very famous one - that we still remember today was "under the cobblestones, there is a beach" (sous les pavés la plage). So you can imagine that when I saw this scene this morning near the Gare du nord, I immediately thought of this slogan and jumped on my camera ;-) I'm sure my French visitors will smile when they see it.

16 comments:

  1. I did smile Eric, thanks=)
    When I stumbled upon your latest picture I said to myself "Sous les pavets la plage" and then I read your title.
    Great post!
    How come to guy is just wearing a t-shirt? Isn't it cold in Paris?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice shot, Eric. (And since his pants don't quite fit, it's good that his underwear does!) Je suis une soixante-huitarde and I remember it well. I also liked the slogan "La barricade ferme la rue mais ouvre la voie." (made me think of Les Miserables.)

    ReplyDelete
  3. LOL, Alexa! And his skivvies are fashionably black.

    Chloe: the last few days have been pretty comfortable in Paris especially when the sun is shining bright. Although I see temps back home are in the 90's!

    ReplyDelete
  4. And Cali, we KNOW you had to enlarge this photo to be looking at his underwear. I didn't know this expression Eric, so thanks for the history lesson, again!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I did enlarge it, Michael! Thanks to Alexa's tip. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Chloe "How come to guy is just wearing a t-shirt? Isn't it cold in Paris?" Nooo. It's super "warm" in Paris at the moment. Quite unusual for the beginning of November. But it's not going to last ;-( Tomorrow will be colder and Sunday COLD!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ahhh les trottoirs de Paris! ;) '68...Still in HS in the US it was a Global Struggle we saw; Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy assassinated, Global student unrest, the Paris revolt. I wasn't there of course but I have heard the slogan quite often....Memories now, though the sixties and seventies sometimes feel like yesterday.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ahh, I really enjoyed reading all those slogans from 1968 - I didn't know any of them except the one you're alluding to. Did you see the hoardings around some works in the streets of Paris a while back, where they used the slogan "Sous les pavés, le gaz", or something like that. I've got a photo of it somewhere.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wonderful. I bought a pendant from the Art Market in the Bastille and the artist adds different phrases to a brightly coloured back ground . Sous les pavés is the one I chose and it always attracts interest when I wear it .

    ReplyDelete
  10. @Sab "Did you see the hoardings around some works in the streets of Paris a while back, where they used the slogan "Sous les pavés, le gaz", or something like that." No I did not. I was very busy during the recent demonstrations so I missed a few things I'm afraid...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Under human constructions there is Nature calling for a breathe. May of '68 was a year to remember always.

    Regards

    Valery

    [Barcelona Daily Photo]

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love streets made of cobblestone, even if there is a beach under them.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you for this picture! I am fascinated by the paving stones of Paris and in fact was thinking quite a lot about them just yesterday, believe it or not. Something about the thought of those workmen so many hundreds of years ago (and today!) working so hard for the benefit of people they'll never know or see. I believe the paving stones are my mind's symbol of Paris!

    ReplyDelete
  14. It is an interesting historical reference, but since I wasn't even a twinkle in my parents' eyes, (in fact, they hadn't even married yet!) I'll have to trust you. I do love the pattern that he is putting into the cobblestones, looks like the waves of a beach!

    ReplyDelete
  15. The calendars are Awesome!!!....gonna get a couple of both!! Merci ET et Michael!!! Ouaisssss!

    ReplyDelete