Scandal at Place du Tertre!

You remember my Montmartre sunset photo 2 days ago? Well the real reason why I was initially there, was to see for myself what is becoming a true scandal around Montmartre: Starbucks is going to open a coffee place at Place du Tertre! Yes, people, you heard it right, Star-bucks! Needless to say that an online petition has been created, that an association (Paris Fierté - Paris Pride?!) has already organized several anti Starbucks demonstrations, and that several articles have already been written to warn us from the American coffee invasion ;-) It is very unlikely that all this will prevent Starbucks to land on Place du Tertre though...  Besides, technically it's not right on the Place du Tertre, but just around the corner, at the very opposite angle from where I took this photo). 

Moving around at La Défense

Those of you who follow me on Instagram may have already seen that this morning I went to La Défense, the little Paris "Manhattan", in other words an area of Greater Paris, full of skyscrapers and mostly dedicated to business (even though there are also apartment buildings, a huge pedestrian area, gardens, fountains, and... the only shopping mall in Paris open on Sundays!). I like La Défense very much, as I said it many times, for it's both modern and traditional. Proof is that people use their bike to go there and move around ;-) Have a nice weekend everyone!

Back to La Défense

I spend quite a lot of time at La Défense (the main business district of Paris) these days... This week I went there last Monday. The weather was absolutely fantastic and I spent some time wandering in between the skyscrapers... I also took this photo. Easy, but nice! BTW, here is a useful information: there is a huge shopping mall over there and it's the only one of the close Paris suburbs to be open on Sundays!

Water for 1 €

Here is a photo I've been dying to take for a long time, but I never dared digging out my camera in front of one of these guys. "These guys" are more or less illegal immigrants, all part of  a "business gang" that sells water or miniature Eiffel Towers to tourists. According to an article I found on the web, they make about 400 € a month on average, which is not much. Needless to say they are pretty camera shy as their business is not exactly appreciated by legal shopkeepers, nor the Police... I personnaly would not buy water from them, not because they are illegal, but because I'd be afraid of what is really into the bottle! Did you ever try?

Good old French Food!

I'm not Bill Gates, nor a business angel from Silicon Valley, but from time to time I enjoy encouraging young entrepreneurs who have the guts to start their own business. That is what I did for Marc Thouvenin, founder of Regioneo.com a site that promotes genuine French food from the "Terroir" (Provinces). He helps local producers finding customers on the web. Last night he made a little gathering to thank those who invested in his company , but I made sure I stayed away from the fattening stuff and sticked to the organic carrots and cucumbers!

(Still) made in France!

I already told you how the French find it tacky to be "too" patriotic. On some occasions, however, it is OK to be proud of being French; this includes wars, football or rugby matches and... French goods! We even have a trade show - called "Made in France", not very original! - to promote them. The show is not about large industrial world leaders like Dassault (airplanes) or Alstom (trains and turbines) or even Dannon - Danone in French - (dairy products), but about small and medium businesses related to fashion or haute couture in general (like the famous embroider Lesage who is now a school). I just saw the outside of the show (it takes place inside the beautiful building of the Paris Chamber of Commerce) unfortunately, but I'm sure it was really worth the visit.

Carrousel Jules Verne à la Défense

Who said old things don't mix with the new? Here is a perfect example...What you see in the foreground belongs to a merry-go-round located at La Défense, the large business district of Paris. And precisely, what you see in the background is a piece of La Grande Arche, a very modern building. The funny thing is that I don't really think any kids go to La Défense, and I can hardly picture one of these on-the-move young executives taking a ride on the merry-go-round between two meetings to get rid of the stress!!

American Chamber in Paris

I happened to go to the Paris American Chamber of cCommerce today to attend a little graduation party organized by ETS, a company that specializes in evaluation tests for languages (mostly English). At the end of the ceremony, I noticed this wall on which the photo of several of the Chamber Board of Directors was hanging. I thought it would make a cool photo despite the reflexion of the light on the frames. Have a great great weekend everyone, mine will be as quiet as possible! On Monday, I'll provide you with the web address of the site that has kept me so busy these past months...

Back to school!

August 26, the holiday season is almost over, people have started coming back to work, there goes my tranquility at the office! Traffic has gotten worse too... But it's probably nothing compared to next Monday ;) Anyway the press conference season will also start soon, so here is one photo I took at the occasion of the launch of new products. They rented a loft for the occasion and I thought the setting of the room would make a good photo - taken from above (I took it at the end of the conference, when they started clearing the room). It's not a black and white photo, although it may look like one...

Two wheels beat automobiles...

No, you don't need to be naked to ride a bike in Paris! According to the French trade association of bicycle manufacturers it looks as if we are definitely turning to bikes to replace cars, especially in large cities. According to the figures they mention there are 5.7 bikes per person in France which ranks us 4th largest bike "consumers" in the world behind Japan, the Netherlands and... the United States. I would have thought the Netherlands and China were far ahead of us. Anyway, regardless of what you may think, I took this photo right in the middle of Paris, near the Pelouse de Reuilly.

Surfing the wave

Remember last week's photo in La Défense with the human butterfly? Well, I told you I would show you a few other shots that I took there at the same time. Here is one that I love. The guy is actually on the rooftop (click here for a broader view) of one of the oldest buildings in the area (inaugurated in 1958) : le Cnit (for Centre des nouvelles industries et technologies). It was a very modern building at that time, but now, even after a complete renewal in the late 80s, it still needs some work...
BTW, I finally managed to upload the full length version of the picnic video. If you're interested, it's here.