Paris mayor to be reelected

I realized recently that I never showed you the mayor of Paris. Not that you really care, but since we have elections coming up (March 9 and 16) I thought it was a good time ;) His name is Bertrand Delanoë, he belongs to the socialist party, he was born in 1950 and, according to polls, there is no doubt he's going to be reelected. Parisians appreciate what he's done for the city (the new tramway, Nuit blanche, Paris Plage, Velib, car chasing... to mention his most visible actions) and forgave him for failing to get the Olympics! Have a look at his promotional video, it's pretty well made. Did I mention he also survived an assassination attempt?

English, and other languages! spoken

I often get messages from people asking me if they'll manage to get by in Paris without speaking French. I always reply that there is no problem, because more and more French people can speak English nowadays - I'm sure you noticed it, if you already came here. I looked on the web for stats (number of French people able to speak English) but only found 1991 figures. Anyway, to illustrate our "opening to the world", I photographed the entrance of this restaurant in Montmartre where they claim to speak English, Italian and... Monegasque (that is French!)

A much less controversial building!

OK, you've seen it here and here already (and even here, thanks to Tomate Farcie) but here is another view of it... It? You know this big arch of triumph built at the top of the Champs Elysées in 1806 by Napoleon after he conquered most of Europe (well the actual architect was not Napoleon of course but Jean-François Thérèse Chalgrin). The arch was then completed in 1836 and it now keeps the memory of the dead killed in World War I (1914/1918). It's also a fabulous place to view Paris from above.

A controversial building

Here is the building that shelters the Ministry of Culture and Communication. As you can see - or imagine -, it's an old building that has been renewed and surrounded by what is often called "iron lace". Needless to say that it's highly controversial. So controversial, that the heirs of the architect who built the building in the first place (Antoine Vaudoyer) sued the one that made the lace (Francis Soler) claiming that Vaudoyer's copyright was infringed. They did not win... If you come to Paris, have a look (it's not far from Le Louvre), it's located 182 rue Saint Honoré.

Hello Dolly!

My favorite trade show is back! Le Salon de l'agriculture (the International Agricultural Show) opened this Saturday and will last until March 2nd. This show is often called "the largest farm in the world" for its spreads out on almost 150 000 sq meters (1 614 586 sq feet) and shelters no less than 4,000 farm animals ! Even though it's a trade show everybody can come and attend the "cow beauty pageant", eat one of the many specialties from our provinces and meet some of the few farmers that are left in France (3.6% of the active population...).

Demonstration for Ingrid

I already mentioned Ingrid Betancourt several times on this blog. She's a Franco Columbian woman who got abducted by the Farc (a Columbian revolutionary movement) on February 23, 2002. To "celebrate" this anniversary, her support committee organized a giant human chain around the hotel de Ville (town hall). This year they emphasized the fact that not only Ingrid is being kept prisoner, but also many other hostages like these guys in the photo...

A place with a silver dining

There are many high-end restaurants in Paris, but to me, La Tour d'Argent (the Silver Tower) is the most mythical one - and one of the oldest (it was founded in 1582!). It is known not only for its food - and more precisely its "Canard au sang" (duck in blood sauce) - but also for its spectacular view on the river Seine. Of course, La Tour d'Argent also owns what is probably the largest wine cellar in Paris (half a million bottles!) which I have been lucky enough to visit about 10 years ago. Of course a meal there is not exactly cheap (about 120 - 150 € per person including wine), but if you come to Paris for the first time I would definitely book a table there well in advance!

Books for sale

This is so typical of Paris that I never even thought of taking a photo... Along the river Seine, in the very middle of Paris, both on the left and right banks you can find book sellers called "Bouquinistes" (a "bouquin" in French is colloquial for book). They sell old books, second-hand, or old magazines and sometimes - because they also attract tourists - foreign books, like here, the Da Vinci Code. Some of their inventory remains in a locked box on the parapets, but they often have to use more space...

Lafayette

Not far from the Alexander the 3rd bridge I found this statue of Lafayette, the famous marquis who helped the Americans fight the Brits during the American revolutionary war. Reading through his biography I found out that he also played a large role during the French revolution and that, although he was a member of the aristocracy he was very much republican - and even made a Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizens! Did I mention his real name was Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier and that the name Lafayette comes from an estate in Aix that belonged to the Motier family.

Paris Scam!

Recently, somebody who is planning to come to Paris for a visit, asked me if the area she planned to rent an apartment in, was safe. I answered that, globally, Paris is not a dangerous city, but that I could not guaranty she would not meet a pickpocket or so like in all big cities. I thought of this, when today, on the magnificent bridge Alexander III, I witnessed a classical scam: a kid pretends to pick up a gold ring just by you, shows it to you saying "you lost something" and when you say "it's not mine", the kid makes up a story and ends up asking you for money in exchange for the ring (which, of course is not made of gold!) This kid did it several times while I was taking pictures, but, from what I could see, it never worked!

Cirque Bouglione

There is a permanent circus in Paris. It's called Le cirque Bouglione - Bouglione is a famous family that runs several circuses in France - and it's located in Le cirque d'hiver (winter circus) a place that was originally built in 1852 (read the whole history here). They just started a brand new show, so the place is crowded. Who said the circus is dead?! Check their web site and pay them a visit, it's really worth it ;)

Nina Ricci dress

Let's start the week with a very "girly" post! Last weekend I went to Le salon du Vintage, an exhibit dedicated to clothes, objects and furniture from the 70's (and a bit from the 80's too...). It was really good but I only found the the time to select the best photos I took there today. Anyway, I chose to post this dress by Nina Ricci (sold by En ville-Vintage in the 11th arrondissement) on PDP, but you can find more photos of the event on the making of.

Paris Center of the world!

New elections are coming up..."Les Municipales" (local elections). Yes, we are going to renew our mayor in March. Well, when I say renew, in fact we are going to "revote" for Bertrand Delanoë, the present mayor as polls show there is very very little doubt on the outcome of these elections ;) Unless, unless... some outsider confuses the issue. I let you find out yourself ;)

Hôtel du nord

I wanted to post this photo a little later, but since several of you mentioned Hotel du nord after yesterday's post, here it is. For those of you who are not familiar with French culture, let me just say that this hotel - also located by the Canal Saint Martin, became famous because of a film director called Marcel Carné who precisely made a movie in 1938 called "Hotel du nord" . This film became extremely famous because of scene with French actress Arletty whose line "Atmosphere, atmosphere" is as famous among French people as "we're not in Kansas anymore" is among the American public! BTW, check the Hotel du nord website, it's really cool.

More love!

I don't know these people, but I'm pretty sure they are tourists who came to Paris especially around Valentine's day! I took this photo on the Canal Saint Martin in the 10th arrondissement, a place that I recommend if you want to take a nice walk in a lesser traditional place of Paris (I mean less traditional than the Seine embankment). Something funny about this canal: in was build under Napoleon who raised special taxes on wine for the occasion; I bet this was very unpopular at the time!

A message for you...

Here is my message to you all! It's a shop window of Franck & Fils (a very traditional department store) I noticed a couple of days ago while I was going to my niece's near La Muette. Only, exceptionally I did not have my camera with me. So tonight, when I left the office I went all the way to rue de Passy, waited for someone to pass by the window and took this shot. Don't ask me why they used Love and not amour though! Anyway, my dear visitors, let me wish you all a happy Valentines day ;)

Smart Ratatouille

Do you recognize this guy? I know you do... If you were in Paris at the moment you could see hundreds of him, all perched on the roof top of Smart cars. They had the clever idea to use these cute little cars to promote the DVDs of this cute little rat! And it works pretty well; people can't help turning their head when they see one of these cars coming, several newspapers wrote about the operation and the little rodent even made it - again - to the home page of PDP!! (Well, last time, was much less cute, was it?)

Invalides at night

Unusual point of view for today... I'm just out of a company party (Apec) that took place on top of the Montparnasse tower (some people say it's the best point of view in Paris because, precisely, you cannot see the tower!). Needless to say that I took my camera along... Et voilà! I took several pics from the spectacular rooftop on the 57th floor, but this is the one I like the best. It's Le Panthéon Les Invalides, a former hospital that has now been turned into a museum. Like the Pantheon(!!), it also shelters the tomb of several famous Frenchmen including Napolean's one.

The rat year

Will the rat bring more wealth and wisdom to this world? Yes, if we believe the Chinese who have been celebrating their new year throughout the world since last Thursday (why don't you check other Chinese new year posts on the brand new city daily photo portal on this occasion?). In Paris there has been several parades, including one in the Chinese quarter in the 13th arrondissement and one opened by the mayor of Paris and the Chinese ambassador. There are about 300 000 Chinese in the Paris area, most of them came in the 70's from the Wenzhou province and Indochina (the former French colony).

J'vais vous montrer qui c'est Raoul!

Let me introduce you to Raoul Follereau, a French doctor who dedicated his life to leprosy. At first I thought he lived a long long time ago, but I found out he lived between 1903 and 1977. That is why his fight took place mostly in Africa. His motto - engraved on the last line of the statue stand - is very Catholic/French: "Personne n'a le droit d'être heureux tout seul" (Noboby has the right to be happy alone). Anyway, if you're interested in Leprosy(!) and speak French, you can check the site of his foundation.