Author: doli

students cleaning the kitchen at restaurant d'application ferrandi in paris

Upscale Dining at Low-Scale Prices: Dine in a French Restaurant School (École d’Application)

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France has a reputation for great food, and she intends to keep it that way!

How does France keep up its reputation for good food? Where do all the great chefs come from? Would you like to dine on the knowledge that the student-chef of today’s meal might just be one of the great 4-star chefs of tomorrow?

Relatively confidential, there are a myriad of restaurant schools in Paris where the public can come and dine. 

Logically, if students are to learn to cook for restaurants, they must be able to practice cooking for restaurant-sized numbers of guests. But when they do so, who is going to eat the meal? And how can they learn to serve correctly? That, therefore, is the basis of the “restaurant d’application.”  The general public can reserve tables at these restaurants where the quality tends to be high and the cost low.

Some are private and students pay for their studies, some are part of the public high school (and post-high school) system, some are specifically for dropouts from school or from society altogether, or for the handicapped, and aim to train the students in a profession where they are sure to find work. 

So that students can practice their skills regularly, these schools have restaurants where the students are in charge under the very watchful eyes of their teachers: they check your coat, greet and seat you, create the cocktails of the day, get your wine choice, and serve. Out of sight, they do all the cooking.

As these restaurants are schools, many of them only serve lunch, and almost all of them follow the French school year and are therefore closed on the weekends and during French school vacations.

In most cases, menus are announced in advance; they can be fixed or offer some choice, but drinks are most often extra.  

RESERVATIONS ARE A MUST, and should be made well in advance. It is best to reserve as close as possible to the day that a restaurant opens its reservations for a particular date, which may be more or less a month before, as tables fill up very quickly.

Let’s take a closer look.

Ferrandi

This is France’s most sought-after restaurant school. Some of France’s greatest chefs began at Ferrandi. At the same address, there are two restaurants, both gastronomique, the 28 and Le Premier, that differ only in the students’ class level. At the latter, food is prepared and served by students studying for the equivalent of a high school diploma in food service, while at the former, students will be working toward a bachelor’s degree. There is also a year-long international section, which is taught in English. The students are expected to be highly conscientious and professional in their work.

Seating for a five-course lunch takes place at 12:30pm, and the lunch from amuse-bouches through to dessert and mignardises (a kind of smaller, second dessert) will finish at around 3pm. Reservations open three weeks before the lunch date, which can become full within minutes. However, after chatting with the director of the international program, he has suggested that an email can be sent to try and get a reservation for the time you will be in Paris. In this case, be sure to ask for English-speaking students, who will be happy to prepare their wait service specially for you in English. 

Address: 28 Rue de l’Abbé Grégoire, 75006 Paris, France

Restaurant d’Application Belliard

Like for Ferrandi, there are two restaurants here: Sesame and Paprika. The former is where first-year students learn to bake bread, cook, and serve, and to study wine and coffee. It was kindly explained that the objective of Sesame is to give young people a first professional experience of this trade and to inspire them to continue in this career. The latter is for more advanced students studying for a degree in restauration. 

Address: 135 rue Belliard, 75018 Paris, France

La Table d’Albert de Mun

With a small vase of fresh flowers on each one, this vocational high school has round tables throughout for groups of 5-6, with some square ones along the walls for smaller groups. Beyond the main general restaurant curriculum, the school offers three specializations: pastry and bread baking, as well as chocolates and wines, where proof of the learning is in the eating (and drinking!).

Menus are announced on the site, so reservation dates best made a month in advance can be made according to taste. When reserving, do indicate if anyone in the party has allergies and that you would like a menu in English — the students have a course in translating menus, and the teachers are happy to have English speakers as guests on whom the students can practice their language skills. 

It is important to note that the school will ask for a credit card number for a reservation; in case of a no-show with cancellation less than 48 hours in advance, 15 € will be deducted from the card. 

Address: 3 Rue Pierre Leroux, 75007 Paris, France

Lycée Hôtelier Guillaume Tirel

From the name only, it can be seen that this is a vocational high school. In fact, its courses include both food service and hotel accommodation. Lycée Hôtelier Guillaume Tirel has three restaurants with different levels of service: Brasserie Orée, Côté Jardin, and Astérie. Brasserie ORée and Coté Jardin offer a vocational high school degree in food service, and Astérie, an advanced degree. Both lunch and dinner menus and dates are fixed and published with their prices on the site for the month to come.  

After lunch at the Coté Jardin, the four student chefs all came out to see how we enjoyed the meal. They are proud of how their school is somewhat smaller than others and of the importance of working together closely in teams. We were informed that there is a vegetable garden in the back courtyard of the school, which is the mainstay of each year’s “project”; i.e., the graduating class takes away whatever vegetables are left after the school year, and the next class decides what vegetables they want to grow for their year. These vegetables then find themselves in guests’ dishes — to our eating delight!

The hotel displays very modest prices (for Paris) for its few rooms. It is only open during the school year, on school days, and as can be expected, the service is provided by the students.

Address: 237 Bd Raspail, 75014 Paris, France

Mederic

Different from the other vocational school restaurants, Mederic‘s menu is not pre-set; diners can eat more or less depending on their appetite. Menus offer a small choice for each of their three courses: appetizer, main, and dessert. Also, diners can choose to order only one course, two, or all three, and will only be charged accordingly. 

Address: 20 Rue Médéric, 75017 Paris, France

La Salamandre

Lost in the east end of Paris in the 20th arrondissement and so named for the large sculpture hanging on the building across the street (well worth looking up for), La Salamandre serves lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Also, at the end of a school term, it serves a dinner on Wednesday as the final exam for the students. Because it is a private organisation and not attached to the French school system, it is open all year round. Now and then, it opens for a brunch on the weekend, mainly serving salads and pastries. A relatively inexpensive bag of mixed breads can be ordered in advance to be picked up at mealtime and taken home. Typically, this will include a baguette, some special bread, and various breakfast breads, depending on the day’s production. 

Many speak very highly of Thierry Marx, the renowned chef who has founded this private-run, free school for those who have fallen out of the mainstream labor system and want to learn a profession. It seems that Marx comes from a working-class background and is devoted to helping those who want to raise themselves in today’s workforce. He has also opened a “bouillon” (a low-cost restaurant serving traditional French dishes) in Clichy, but that is another story.

Address: 3 Rue Albert Marquet, 75020 Paris, France

A Few More Vocational Restaurants

Too many food service schools, too many meals to be eaten, this article is in no way exhaustive. It only reflects my dining during this school year. There are many other restaurant schools in and around Paris and beyond. Below is an incomplete list of a few more. Check them out to see how they present, find the menus and prices.  

  • Restaurant d’Application A. Dumas: 29 bis rue de Cronstadt 75015 Paris
  • Vatel: 122 Rue Nollet 75017 Paris. The restaurant does both lunch and dinner. It is most known for its dessert trolley.
  • Far out at Paris limits to the west is the La Fontaine  EPMT: 6 rue Louis Vierne 75017 Paris. This restaurant also does dinner on days that are specified on its site.

Do give this very French culinary experience a try; it can become addictive. Bon appétit!

Photo features students busy cleaning up their kitchen at Ferrandi.

Did you enjoy this article? TAIP is 100% reader-supported through tipping. If you want to leave us a tip of any amount it would be highly appreciated.  These tips help support our efforts to keep TAIP an ad-free environment. Just like at a cafe, the tips are split evenly among the team. 

french author allan kardec's grave in pere lachaise cemetery

Paris Neighborhood Guide: the 20th Arrondissement, Part 2

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Note from the editor: Be sure to read Paris Neighborhood Guide: the 20th Arrondissement, Part 1 if you haven’t already — MS

In 1859, the 20th arrondissement was the last of the outlying neighborhoods to be integrated into Paris. It is the highest of the Paris arrondissements and is even higher than Montmartre — the reason the first telegraph was built here and why the metro stop nearby has been named “Télégraphe.” 

Here I have been living for most of my Paris life and have no plans of moving until I go out feet first, and even then considering that Père Lachaise cemetery is also located in this arrondissement, I hope to stay around.

Père Lachaise and a Little-known Cemetery

Père Lachaise is the 20th arrondissement’s most famous and visited landmark. The cemetery is enormous and is worth an afternoon’s walk. It is built on a hill, with the main entrance on the rue de Repos at the highest point near the Gambetta metro station. The Père Lachaise metro station is at the lowest point on the boulevard Mesnilmontant. To plan a visit to the resting place of the celebrities buried here it is recommended to have a map of the cemetery. An official map of graves is free to take at the Conservation Center inside the cemetery near the Mesnilmontant entrance. Many maps are also available online.

Graves are scattered throughout the cemetery with no division among religion or nationality. On the other hand, there is a section reserved for homage to those murdered in the concentration camps of World War II and to those who died during the Commune. 

Among the many famous buried here are Edith Piaf, Yves Montand and Simone Signoret, Balzac, Sarah Bernhardt Alain Kardec the spiritist… the avenue where Delacroix is buried is named after him. Once I had an enlightening morning on a tour of Proust and his friends, along with those who served as the exemplars of his characters. 

Women had been kissing the Sphinx sculpture on Oscar Wilde’s grave, dirtying it with their lipstick marks in the hope of having a wish come true, for years. Ultimately, the tomb was cleaned up and a plexiglass protection was put in front of it to keep it clean. Lipstick kiss marks are now to be found on the easily cleaned plexiglass protection. 

Sadly, Jim Morrisson’s tomb is surrounded by barriers and you cannot get very close. When I first visited it in 1980 on a sunny, untouristic weekday, autumn afternoon, I found two guys having a picnic on his tomb. I wished them “bon appétit” and continued my tour. I do not think he would like to know that he has been so isolated from his fans.

Looking at the names and dates can be amusing: on my first visit, I found a Mr. Boney. Unfortunately, this was long before digital cameras so I have no picture and no idea where to find him now.  

From an art point of view, there are beautiful constructions of chapel-sized monuments with stained glass and handsome sculptures to appreciate.

On the subject of cemeteries, the Église St Germain is the last church in Paris to still have a cemetery attached to it. A pleasant visit will take you up and up from the rue de Bagnolet to the rue Stendahl and to the entrance of the Ferme de Charonne. 

La Petite Ceinture

This is the name of the former railway line that went around Paris. In various areas of the outer arrondissements of the city, the abandoned tracks are still visible. The land has been left fallow for the sake of bio-diversity and, where open, the track lines are inviting areas for a stroll. For the moment it is not possible to follow the former track line uninterruptedly around the city but it is exactly to this end that the association promeneurs de la Petite Ceinture are battling for.

The tracks are visible in three different areas of the 20th arrondissement. From street level over a bridge on the rue Menilmontant, they can be viewed and then accessed by a stairway at number 79 or by the stairless but sloping street at 11 Rue de la Mare. Just before the liberation of Paris, the French resistance attacked two Nazi trains and forced the soldiers to surrender at precisely this section of track. 

Over the tracks, at 102 bis rue de Bagnolet La Fleche d’or cultural center has taken up residence in the former Gare de Charonne station of La Petite Ceinture. The tracks can be seen from an inside window above, but there is no access down.

A second access to the abandoned railway is through the recently created Jardin de la gare de Charonne. An easy entrance through the park toward the tracks for those with reduced mobility and prohibited bicycles (but…) is at 63 boulevard Davout. 

Waterways

Another curiosity is the vestiges of an underground medieval water system permitting water to flow down from the higher hamlets of Mesnilmontant and Belleville in the east of Paris into the city. Two of the small structures built to monitor water flow and quality as well as the workings of the system can still be seen. On the rue des Cascades, just at the corner of the rue de Savies stands the Regard St Martin. Right next to it is the staircase street rue Fernand Raynaud, which runs along the Jardin des Petites Rigoles from the rue des Cascades to the rue de l’Hermitage. In a far corner of this tiny park can be perceived the Petite Rigole, a particularly small,  fenced-in water monitoring structure (un)reachable via a locked staircase. 

Guided tours of the arrondissement’s waterways are sometimes offered by the association AHAV, (Association d’Histoire et d’Archéologie du Vingtième Arrondissement) for members only, during the year and the Journées du Patrimoine for the general public. 

Art

At the corner of Mesnilmontant and Pyrénées street is the town hall’s free cultural center, Le  Pavillon du Carré de Baudouin. Before entering through the small garden, its outside walls typically host a photography exhibit. Inside, it accommodates an art gallery and an auditorium. Here can be seen art linked to the 20th arrondissement, whether by theme or by the artist’s attachment to the quarter.  The auditorium serves as a place for free talks and films. 

Tucked away on the little street for which it is named, the Espace Monte Cristo houses wonderful themed exhibitions centered around the Collection Fondation Villa Datris whose main and sister institution is located in the south of France in the Vaucluse départemement somewhat east of Avignon. Exhibitions are always free and the guided tours offer significant insight into the chosen theme, the artworks, and the artists who created them. Besides works from the Datris collection, the exhibitions often include works lent from collectors, galleries, and the artists themselves. Most of the works on temporary display are by living artists who sometimes offer a hand to install their works.  

Le Grand Belleville brings together a young community of art to be found in the 19th, 20th, and 11th arrondissements.

In the 20th there are two emerging galleries to be found. The Crevecoeur gallery is located in a lovely courtyard with its own patio sporting tables and chairs. The gallery space is luminous on a sunny day with its skylights and picture windows. The Marcelle-Alix gallery, just off the rue de Belleville offers installations and other works on its ground floor and a basement that can be reached by a wonderful staircase, which has mirrored floors as landings. There, when I admitted that I was not much into installations,  I was informed that this art has been around for the past 50 years. Not far, on rue Francis Picabia is the “Atelier des Artistes.” 

Once a year, typically in May, the artists of the Belleville area celebrate Portes Ouvertes. On this weekend they open the doors to their studios whereby the general public can come, visit, see (and purchase if they like) the artists’ works. 

Albeit somewhat removed from Paris’ illustrious center, this seldom-visited arrondissement has much to contribute to the city’s culture.

Photo of French author and educator Allan Kardec’s grave taken in Père Lachaise cemetery.

Did you enjoy this article? TAIP is 100% reader-supported through tipping. If you want to leave us a tip of any amount it would be highly appreciated. These tips help support our efforts to keep TAIP an ad-free environment. Just as at a cafe, the tips are split evenly among the team.

parc de belleville in the 20th arrondissement

Paris Neighborhood Guide: the 20th Arrondissement, Part 1

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How did I land here, so comfortably that there are no plans to leave? In fact, I was looking to buy a house in Paris; yes, I did say “house.” According to an article I once read in Capital magazine, there are 3,200 houses in Paris. My criteria? Minimum two rooms, with garden, within Paris itself, not expensive. When one becomes sensitive to houses in Paris, you will realize that they exist in every arrondissement; however, some neighborhoods are more expensive than others! 

Lost on the outskirts of Paris the 20th arrondissement has lots going for it: it has the most number of associations of all the arrondissement of Paris, lots of unexpected greenery, and areas with a small town atmosphere. 

Le Parc de Belleville

This is the largest park in the 20th arrondissement, on a hill whose high point is where rue des Envierges, rue du Transvaal, and rue Piat meet. From this belvedere stretches a view of Paris all the way to the Eiffel Tower on the other side of the city. The belvedere itself is an open mosaiced, graffitied pavilion with many promenaders rambling around. On a sunny day, it is pleasant to sit in one of the cafés overlooking the park before starting along the grassy, flower-strewn, winding walks passing a tiny vineyard, a children’s playground accompanied by a waterfall fountain leading ever downward, to 47 rue de Couronnes. Or do things the hard way: come up 600 feet from below and time the climb to arrive at the top as the sun is going down to behold all of Paris at its rosiest.

L’hermitage

A lovely quiet little flower-filled park (there are even flower boxes across the top of the recycle garbage shed) away from the maddening crowd. A spray mister is installed near the children’s play area which was greatly appreciated on our visit on a very hot day. There are also public toilets for visitors’ comfort (when they work). In one corner can be found the last Regency folly. I have been told that the French term for such a structure comes both from the idea of leaves, feuilles, because they would typically be constructed deep in the park belonging to a stately mansion, and folie where gentlemen’s mad, or folle, carousing would transpire.

La ferme de Charonne

This unique parcel of land is devoted to organically growing small plants: flowers, herbs, and, most famously micro-greens, which can be purchased in their boutique. On entering, can be seen a large perspective of the “farm” with all types of plants, flowers, and a large greenhouse to the left. An employee will be glad to take you on a visit to the greenhouse and even have you taste some of the micro greens. On our visit, we tried the radishes and the mustard greens. We were also taken to where they prepare their beautiful, good-smelling, black compost which they sell at a very low price. In the middle of the gardens, there are small tables around which visitors can sit and take in the air of a miniature field seemingly far from city life. 

Neighborhood Plantings

In this heavily built-up city, Parisians have found a number of ways to satisfy a need to work the soil and grow things. 

Community gardens have been popping up wherever empty lots have been found. Requests to use such plots can be submitted by a group of gardening enthusiasts who have formed a legally recognized association where they will work together growing flowers and vegetables. Schedules are set up to work the garden and new members are often welcome to join. It is a pleasure to visit and chat with the members about how their gardens grow. Any tiny bit of unused land will do. Usually, they can be visited on Saturday afternoons. Should one feel the need to work the soil, it is often possible to join the association that tends these gardens. 

One such example is the space to be found between two buildings at 54 rue St Blaise. This strip of land between two high buildings is being worked by a very friendly group who have chosen whatever plants can be grown in the shade. I do remember during a jasmine malady in Paris I had seen the workers cutting it way back. I was happy to visit this tree now some 5 years later to see it growing, albeit only up to knee level. 

With such limited growing space, some people have found ways to turn rooftops into what is known as “suspended gardens,” as they are suspended far above ground. In the 20th, at the top of Collège Flora Tristan, 2000 square meters of garden are being cultivated by students and members of the garden staff. Visiting days for the general public are scheduled and it is best to reserve by sending a short email to the organizers. Beginning in May and until November, their produce is put on sale at their “Marché de la Salamandre” located on the Square de la Salamandre. 

The metal grids set into the earth around the foot of the trees along the streets were originally considered protection, although dogs have found them very handy for their needs. Since 2015, Paris has little by little taken them out as Parisians have signed up to use these tiny spaces to create vegetation. Parisians enthusiastic about greening Paris streets have built low fences and have planted all kinds of flowers at the base of the trees. The Place Edith Piaf is especially well-endowed with circumambient plants around three tree trunks, and other plantings just across the rue Belgrand. Keep your eyes peeled for what is growing and blooming. And when hollyhock and four-o’clock seeds are ripe, anyone with a green thumb can pick the seeds and then grow their own plants. 

Townhouses and Small-town Constructions

Scattered throughout the 20th are the remains of small-town life in the form of single-family residences, many of which were built with the help of bank loans for the working class. It seems, according to a friend, they wanted to house the working class as far from the center of Paris as possible.

The most famous of these is the “campagne à Paris” (the country in Paris).  Here, protected by Paris urban planning, is a concentration of single-family homes. Offering a pleasant stroll around three cobblestoned streets, overgrown rose bushes and honeysuckle meet the eye, nose, and face when walking on the narrow sidewalks. Originally built with the help of a mutual trust bank to house working-class families, it is now the most expensive area of single-family dwellings in the 20th arrondissement. A former president has bought a house here and can sometimes be seen at the local market where he is politely greeted as Mr. President. This is a favorite place for cinematographers to shoot scenes for middle-twentieth-century films and here can be found Serge Gainsborough’s recording studio. 

La rue des Vignoles is mainly known for the many cul de sacs that run perpendicularly off this street from approximately numbers 28 to 42. The narrow walking lanes are a pleasure to visit with their greenery, decked patios, and decorated doors. In the same section on the street itself can be found a number of cafés and socio-cultural venues. Just off 42 rue des Vignoles is the short street, Michel-de-Bourges, which leads to the Jardin Casque d’Or where visitors can relax in quiet. At the top of the street is the Place de la Réunion, a market square on Thursday and Sunday mornings and a pleasant place to have a drink at one of the surrounding cafés. 

Welcome to the 20th, the last of the Paris arrondissements, where tourists rarely tread. Here, hiding in plain sight, are stretches offering a getaway from the big city without ever passing the city limits. 

Photo taken at the Parc de Belleville, just before sunset.

Did you enjoy this article? TAIP is 100% reader-supported through tipping. If you want to leave us a tip of any amount it would be highly appreciated. These tips help support our efforts to keep TAIP an ad-free environment. Just as at a cafe, the tips are split evenly among the team.

a bookshelf of english and french books

Raising Children — Bilingually? Part 2

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Note from the editor: If you haven’t already, be sure to read Raising Children — Bilingually? Part 1 before jumping into Part 2. — MS

Bilingual Native-Language Acquisition

Children who are brought up bilingually will acquire two native languages according to the same processes as children who acquire language in a monolingual environment. 

All children, whether they are brought up in monolingual or bilingual situations acquire language passing through the one-word and two-word stages as they build up language proficiency. However, bilinguals must learn to distinguish between two different streams of language and then develop their language accordingly. 

Whether due to early non-discrimination or to the difficulty of acquiring first words, children in the early one-word sentence stage in a bilingual situation will use either language without differentiation according to whom they are speaking. This is comparable to monolingual language acquisition, where children do not acquire synonyms immediately, sometimes hypothesized as a measure of efficiency in the language acquisition process.  At about the same time as when monolinguals start using synonyms, the bilingually-raised child then begins to use equivalents separately. This means that there should be no fear of a child’s ultimately “mixing” languages as long as caretakers specifically take heed not to mix languages themselves. What children hear, they imitate. 

Brain Studies and Cognition

Studies of brain functioning in bilinguals have been and are still being carried out extensively. After much research into language competence, it is generally accepted that bilinguals have a single, integrated language system. 

Also, “language and cognition may not be processed separately in the brain; instead they interact with and facilitate each other… Bilingualism appears to be associated with more effective cognitive control, particularly with executive control and executive function (EF) abilities.” (Higby et al.)

Experience with two languages tends to lead to greater cognitive efficiency. Bain has carried out a longitudinal study comparing two bilingual children and two monolingual children using cognitive testing as set up by Piaget and Vygotsky, He concludes that the bilingual brain is a better tool for learning. 

Children learning two languages from infancy are not impaired cognitively or academically. It may even be possible to conclude that bilinguals have superior language skills as well as other cognitive abilities as compared to those of monolinguals. For example, it seems the tendency for bilinguals to be better in mathematics than monolinguals might be due to their having learned to handle abstraction from an early age. For a monolingual, the object “bed” and the word /bed/ are bound together such that the word is the thing. Piaget once asked five-year-olds to give him a long word, and many of them answered “train.” On the other hand, a bilingual has learned that the object can be called either /bed/ or /li/; words, which are abstractions, are thus separate from the objects they designate. 

Code-Switching and Interference

That a bilingual’s two languages co-mingle in a single language system where both languages remain continually activated implies possible alternation between the two languages. One language needs to be inhibited when speaking in a context where the other language is being used. This imperfect separation leads to code-switching when bilinguals speak among themselves or to interference when speaking in a monolingual situation. The former refers to using elements of a different language within the speech stream of the language in which an exchange is taking place. In this case, these elements are not affected by the host language. “Interference” is the transference of elements of one language to another at various levels, namely phonological, grammatical, lexical, and orthographical. In this case, the foreign elements are modified to fit the host language (Amenorvi). Alternation in the case of code-switching is considered to be positive as it often refers to language choice; however, interference is viewed as negative as it is often involuntary.

The abundant code-switching observed in conversation between and among bilinguals has led to the recently developed concept of “translanguaging” whereby bilinguals express themselves across languages to best communicate nuances that may not exist in both languages. 

Bilingual communication may lead to what is referred to as “negotiation of language” whereby each participant tends to pull exchanges toward their preferred language. This can often be observed between children preferring to speak in the majority language as they converse with a parent or grandparent whose preference is the minority language. Often when my son came home from French public school, totally immersed in French, he immediately began telling me about his day in French. Pulled in this direction I found myself responding in French until at some point I had difficulty making my ideas clear in this language and wondered why I was even trying to do so. I then switched to English, pulling him in that linguistic direction.

Life-long Bilingualism

As bilinguals grow older their language experiences modify their language use. Language dominance may change over time, as they use one language more than another. They may learn other languages, or they may lose some ability in one of their languages, known as language attrition. Language dominance and attrition are dependent on language exposure and can evolve: more exposure at a given time will improve language ability, reduced exposure can lead to more or less attrition. Losing some vocabulary, for example, in a native language that is not being used, is not unusual and not to be worried about. Increased exposure would bring renewed competence. 

More and more research is being carried out on the relationship between bilingualism and dementia. It would seem that “actively using two languages seems to have a protective effect against age-related dementia.” The lifelong usage of two languages contributes to neuroplasticity and has been shown to delay cognitive decline “with a delayed age at onset of dementia” (Kamenetz). Furthermore, older bilingual adults are better able to cope with the pathology of neurodegeneration. One study shows that should bilinguals with dementia present greater neurodegeneration, their cognitive performance remains comparable to monolinguals with dementia. The hypothesis is that “Bilingualism recruits alternative brain networks to compensate for those that become damaged during aging and dementia (Marian and Shook, 2012). There would then exist a greater cognitive reserve to enhance brain functioning during aging. 

Some Anecdotes

I was very strict in my use of English until my son became much older and we fell into code-switching modes. When visiting friends, I even read French-language children’s books to him in English, at least until the simultaneous translation became too difficult. Once, friends remarked, “We didn’t know we had English books in the house.”

When bicycling in Finland with my two-year-old, and not keeping very regular meal hours, one day my son called out, “Mommy. Eat, mange.” Clearly, he was using every linguistic tool in his possession to cry out his hunger. It was definitely time for lunch. 

Once, when chatting with my neighbors, my three-year-old turned to me and asked, “Can I go to Maryse’s?” I said, “Ask Maryse.” He then turned to her and asked, “Je peux venir chez toi?” After her responding, “Oui,” he turned back to me saying, “She said ‘yes’.” 

When coming home from kindergarten with my son one day, we stopped at a Chinese take-out to get lunch. As the server prepared our dishes, she complimented my son on his bilingualism. I immediately asked her what language she spoke with her own little boy I had seen behind the counter. Looking down and hiding her face she responded, “Mandarin,” as if she were ashamed. I immediately launched into compliments on how wonderful she was to speak to him in Mandarin and the fantastic effects on the brain of being brought up in two such different languages. By the time our food was ready, she was standing much straighter and smiling broadly.   

If any of a child’s caretakers speak a native language other than French in this country, I implore you to speak with them and play with them in your own native language. It can only serve them well.

Photo of our bilingual bookshelf.

Did you enjoy this article? TAIP is 100% reader-supported through tipping. If you want to leave us a tip of any amount it would be highly appreciated. These tips help support our efforts to keep TAIP an ad-free environment. Just as at a cafe, the tips are split evenly among the team.

two wedges of cheese and scrabble pieces spelling out cheese and fromage

Raising Children — Bilingually? Part 1

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Language choices in a mixed native-language family or one whose native language(s) is not that of the majority culture surrounding them

 

New country, new language, and maybe new family? Language, then, becomes an important issue. When two people get together they fall into what is a comfortable language of communication. However, when children come along, linguistic decisions, what is referred to now as Family Language Policy, need to be made as to their all-important language acquisition.

Some of the important questions to help plan for children’s linguistic upbringing include:

  • What language(s) do the parents speak together where French is the majority language of this relatively monolingual country?
  • What are their native languages?
  • Does one of them speak their native language when they are together?
  • Or do they speak a language of communication that is the native language of neither of them?
  • How well do they speak the majority language?
  • How important is it that the children learn each of the parents’ own native language?
  • And thus, what language(s) will the children be brought up with, and how? 

If at least one of the parents, or grandparents does not speak the majority language as a native speaker, the question of raising children bilingually is brought to the fore. 

Having carried out my thesis on child bilingualism and raising my son to be bilingual such that he has two native languages, this article is a continuation of my decades-long crusade to raise children bilingually in France because bilingualism matters.

Bilingualism as a Native Language

Long before Ronjat’s (the grandfather of child bilingualism) 1913 publication of Le Developpement du Langage Observé chez un Enfant Bilingue he had asked his own professor how to raise a child bilingually. The answer, which was “one person, one language,” has been the recommendation for parents ever since.

“Never switch roles. In this manner they will begin to speak two languages without noticing it and without having to put forth any special effort in learning them” (In: Bain Bruce 1996, p. 177). 

Although there has been some controversy on the subject, it remains that children need to anchor, in some way, a separation of the languages they are learning. Obviously, this differentiation will be inherent in their linguistic environment. For example, one caretaker might speak the majority language (the language of the community outside the home) and the other the minority language (a language different from that of the outside community). There should be no mixing in the caretakers’ language(s) so that the child will learn to keep the languages separate, even though language itself is learned as a whole. 

Raising Children Bilingually in a Monolingual Environment

Until recently, and somewhat even still, the typical attitude in France toward bilingualism (in spite of Ronjat) has been “Against.”

As of 30 years ago and much further in the past at least in the 70’s, when I was writing my thesis, how often was it said that children being brought up bilingually never learn their two languages well, that a second language would negatively affect the child’s French?

Of course, this was all hearsay in a language-political context where the French were defending their language against English as the language of communication. I remember when a very respected researcher in language acquisition, a friend of mine and a direct student of Piaget’s, said when my son was born, “Bilingualism doesn’t really exist.” I did not rise to the argument, but then what will we call it when people speak more than one language fluently? Obviously, she was thinking in terms of perfection; but then, how many monolinguals speak their (only!) language ‘perfectly’? The most widely used definition for bilingualism is Grosjean’s: “bilingualism is the use of two or more languages… in everyday life.” 

In fact, globally, there are more bilingual situations than monolingual ones, typically where in a country more than one language is spoken. This means that France is an exception rather than a rule. And then, when we think of France’s colonization in Africa, it was never asked whether it was good for children to learn French in addition to their heritage language. It was taken for granted that learning French could only be good for them. As Bain suggests, the results of research concerning whether bilingualism is positive or negative can be politically and ideologically motivated.

Language Ability

The question of children’s ability in their two languages is more complex than what has been suggested above.  Bilinguals are not just two monolinguals put together. Their ability in the two languages is rarely equal. Only exceptionally are children what I have heard called “perfectly bilingual,” sometimes called “balanced bilinguals” and which is what Valdes calls “mythical bilinguals.” Typically we will speak of a dominant language, the language the child is most proficient in, and the non-dominant, or weaker language. And even in this case, a bilingual can be more proficient in one context in one language and another context in the other language. 

Bilingualism is not just a question of Linguistics; Sociology and Psychology are also important factors in its development. From a sociological point of view, it is easier to raise a child bilingually French-English in France than, let’s say French-Arabic or French-Swahili. English is considered an “important” language and is encouraged in discrete ways. For example, I have had people stop me in the street with my three-year-old and say how wonderful it was that he would be bilingual.

On the other hand, I have never seen (nor have my students when I asked) people stopping in the street to compliment a mother speaking Arabic, Bambara, or Hindu. On the one hand, the child is receptive to compliments on their language ability, and on the other, parents are discouraged by school teachers to speak a language other than French to their children, especially when it is non-occidental European. And even for English, I was sometimes told to speak French to my child. No way would I listen; furthermore, I would give the person a half-hour lecture on child bilingualism. No one ever made the same suggestion twice. 

Sometimes children, however, refuse the minority language. Typically they are influenced by those around them and do not want to feel “different” from others, or rejected for the home language they might speak. In this case, the recommended course is to stubbornly continue to speak the minority language with the child even when they refuse to answer in that language. This creates what is called “passive bilingualism,” where the child understands but cannot/does not speak the language. The best way to improve competence in the minority language,  and to help the child to become an active speaker, is to take the child to a country where the minority language is spoken as the majority language. What typically happens then, is that the child will pick up the language very quickly, in fact in as little as a few weeks. 

Otherwise, it is important to try to bring the child in contact with people other than the parent who speaks the minority language. Reading to the child in the minority language is very important for language learning. Videos, too, help the child to advance their minority-language learning.

Stay tuned for Part 2, in which doli will cover how age, the brain, and cognition play a role in raising children bilingually.

Photo taken of arguably one of the most important words in French and English.

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a bicycle basket full of letters

When the Police Seize Your Bicycle: Part 2

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What to do to avoid wasting time and energy if and when…

 

In April, five months after the police had seized my bicycle and broken my locks, I was “regretfully” informed that they found they were in no way responsible for this (costly for me) degradation of my property as the act was carried out in the name of security (which gives them any-and-every right to do whatever they want?). Originally, I gave up my quest for reimbursement figuring it was too hard to fight City Hall.

However, City Hall did not stop there and for some reason, the machine continued to churn. This prompted me to take up arms again and I can now share my learning experience of how to go about getting compensation for damage to property due to police action. 

At the end of May I got a letter from the Ministère de l’Intérieur et des Outre-Mer. In fact, while the Secretariat général pour l’administration Service des affaires juridiques et du contentieux had refused my quest, it was in fact the Préfecture de police de Paris – Dirction des usagers et des polices administratives – Bureau de la réglementation et de la gestion de l’espace public- Pôle réglementation et affaires juridiques to whom I should have sent my file. I was then invited to write to them.

I had let this sit a while. Just as I was going to address the question, about two months later, I got another letter from the Secretariat général pour l’administration at the Préfecture de Police inviting me to appeal the rejection within two months.

This got my dander up and I started to prepare a file to do so. I called the legal aid number attached to a magazine subscription I have and had a long talk with her. She found that the State was responsible for all damage to my property and suggested I even call the legal aid that comes with my house insurance. I decided to work on it myself for a while and looked up how to write letters of appeal online and found help here and here.

Then lo and behold, a week later I got a letter from the Secrétariat général pour l’administration offering me compensation, the sum of which was equivalent to the price of my two new locks. 

Getting Your Bike Back and Reimbursed for Damages

When police seize your bike for whatever reason, it will be brought to the commissariat of the arrondissement where it had been picked up. The only solution is to go there.

Once there, take pictures of proof of any damage, e.g. broken locks. Then go in to pick up the bicycle. You will be asked to sign the register. Insist, however, to draw up an état des lieux, or a description of the damages. You may have to insist very heavily, and even receive a rejection. Do not leave the commissariat without some written proof of their taking your bike. Refusing to leave, I finally got  a very ambiguous Mention de Service which did not recognize the damages, but could get nothing better (at approximately 10pm). It stated that “supposedly” (selon ses dires) three locks had been broken. Nobody was going to go out with me to check, although it would have been preferable to get a written statement of the damages. 

The next step is to collect every type of proof to defend the fact that you have been mistreated by the French administration, and to what measure: pictures, receipts for damages, proof of the seizure…

Then, take your file to the police department to lodge a complaint. It is illegal for the police to refuse a person’s complaint. If, like for me, they do refuse (I did not know that this was illegal), take a shot at another commissariat, for example the one your home address depends on, and try again.

Once you have established a nice, thick file, send your file registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt, along with a clear, polite explanatory letter of the circumstances, your grievances and a request for compensation to the Préfecture de Police, Service des Affaires Juridiques et du Ceontencieux, Bureau de Contencieux de la Résponsabilité  of the département where the bicycle was seized. If picked up in Paris, the address is 1 bis rue de Lutèce, 75195 Paris Cedex 04. 

Keep the tracking number, watch your mailbox for the acknowledgement receipt, hold on to it very carefully… and wait.

Obviously, in the simple Manichean universe of French administration there are only two possibilities: either they will offer you compensation, or they will refuse.

In the case of a refusal, you will be given two months to appeal. It will be best to get some competent French advice on how to phrase the responsibility of the administration not to damage private property. And again, the full file of documents should be sent along with your request to review the case again.

Should you be lucky and be offered compensation, bravo! This, of course, is not automatic. Be sure to read both sides of the letter and fulfil the requirements scrupulously. This includes signing two copies of an accord indemnitaire to be sent along with bank details and a copy of an ID card. 

Send in all the requested documents, with a polite message that you are responding to their letter. Again, post it registered mail with acknowledgement of receipt.

And I did all that. A little over a week later, I got another letter from the Préfecture de Police. Was this finally my check, although they had asked for bank identification? Of course not. It was one of the copies of my signed agreement to the compensation offered, this time with the signature of the Préfecture. Obviously what they had sent me previously was an unsigned form; the police don’t sign it until after they have our signature, never first. And still I waited for my money. 

Finally, the money arrived in my account a week later. For a process that began in November, a happy ending ten months later in September of the following year.

Of course, the best solution is to avoid having your bicycle seized at all. When I arrive somewhere, I might go all around the block to look for official bicycle racks to attach my bike these days. No lampposts or other railings for me.  

And, what the heck? I have chalked up this traumatic event to another learning experience in France.

Photo of said seized bike and some of the correspondence I’ve received about it.

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photography gallery in Paris

Seeing Fine Art Photography in Paris

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“Photography is the process of making pictures by means of the action of light.” Clearly defined as a technique, how then should it be typecast: reporting, remembrancer, art … ? 

While her work may be exhibited implicitly as art, the photographer,  Tina Modotti, explicitly rejects the designation as an artist, and is “considerably affected” should the words “art” and “artistic” be applied to her work:  “I consider myself a photographer, nothing more. If my photographs differ from that which is usually done in this field, it is precisely because I try to produce not art but honest photographs…” (1929). On the other hand, the impact of documentary photography is dependent upon its aesthetic value. 

So when does photography become art? And if photography is to be considered an art, where then does it stand in a classification of the arts? 

In the 19th century, Hegel defined five arts: architecture as the first, sculpture as the second, painting as the third, music as the fourth, and poetry as the fifth. By the 20th century in the European-centered art world, it was considered that there were ten arts:

  • Architecture
  • Sculpture
  • Painting/Visual Arts
  • Music
  • Literature
  • Performing Arts
  • Film and Cinema
  • Media
  • Comics
  • Digital art forms in general

This is open to debate and there is still no consensus on the possibility of more classes to include culinary art, fashion … Interestingly, at a meeting of photography aficionados, no one knew which ordinal had been applied to photography. And this is for a very good reason: in fact, while cinema/film-making gets its own ordinal as the seventh art (as defined by the French Ministry of Culture), photography might be subsumed under media or visual arts, depending. Under United States copyright law, photography is specifically included as a work of visual art.

In fact with so much that can be done with photographs today — they can be painted or embroidered on, be multiply exposed, colored, incorporated into mixed media artworks, lens-based or not — it would seem that photography merits an ordinal of its own.

Lydia Melamed Johnson, Executive Director of the 2023 Photography Show in New York “believes the best days of photography have yet to come.” And Anna Planas, artistic director of ParisPhoto considers that “Whether a reflection of reality or a product of imagination, photography has certainly established itself as one of the most opened (sic) medium onto the world, in direct and frontal contact with the author’s environment, be it true or staged…It is the material element that enables communication between its different actors: namely, the subject, the photographer, and the beholder. It is through this trio that the image fundamentally exists.”

The French, as a group, have always been particularly interested in photography well in advance of other cultural groups. In fact, the French Ministry of Culture takes photography very much to heart by promoting photographic creation and its dissemination through its support of photo fairs and institutions that sustain photographic art collections. It even has a specific delegué assigned to photography. Curiously it has not assigned a specific ordinal to photography. Might it be because photography would be forced too far down the list?

Museums

Today, “the art gallery context [for photography] looms larger and larger as the site where image-making is taken seriously and can take on serious value.” (Ben Davis 2024)

Maison Européene de la Photographie & Jeu de Paume

The Maison Européene de la Photographie (MEP) and the Jeu de Paume are the two main photography museums in Paris offering temporary exhibits. The MEP was the first institution in France to be fully devoted to photography and features contemporary, usually living, artists. On the other hand, the Jeu de Paume will show any important photographic art ranging from the nineteenth century to the present day.

Centre Pompidou

The Centre Pompidou devotes a room on its lower floor to small temporary photo exhibits which are free to the public at all times. It has also had a few large photography exhibitions on its main temporary exhibition sixth floor requiring an entrance fee.

Le Bal

Le Bal is a nonprofit organization that focuses on the eighth art of media and spotlights documentary photography, video, and film.

Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation & Maison Doisneau

There exist two private museums within Paris devoted to specific artists: the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation and the Maison Doisneau. Both museums showcase their eponymous photographers but also present exhibitions of contemporary photographers. The HCB Foundation offers an exceptional type of book event more or less monthly called “feuilletage,” roughly translated as “leafing” in the sense of leafing through a book. This is a presentation by a contemporary photographer of his or her book whereby they leaf through a book of theirs commenting on the context of the photographs therein. The audience is shown each picture directly through the use of an overhead projector. And if you are willing to go just a little farther afield, there is the la Maison Doisneau in Gentilly, just outside Paris which can be reached by the RER B (a suburban subway line).

La FAB

La FAB (Fondation Agnès B),  displays works from Agnes B’s personal art collection of which photographs comprise 60%. Thus, at any time there are always photographs on show, and oftentimes an exhibit devoted to photography, such as the extraordinary “histoire” de la photographie that I had the chance to see.

Albert Kahn Museum

The Albert Kahn Museum is free every first Sunday of the month (reservation recommended). Its “Archives of the Planet” presents “a kind of photographic inventory of the surface of the globe, occupied and organized by man, such as it presents itself at the beginning of the 20th century.” Come to see what photographs are on view; stay to wander through the extensive botanic gardens, and maybe find an art exhibition therein.

Photo Fairs

In November the Paris art world goes all out for photography. It’s the Month of Photography in France with the photography trade fair, ParisPhoto, as its heart. As one of the most important photography art fairs in the world, it endeavors to present a broad spectrum of the most significant photography to be had. Its innumerable participating galleries offer an array of photographic art ranging from that by the foremost classic photographers ever, to today’s emerging artists working in all forms of the medium using all types of supports. Here can be found traditional gelatin silver prints and digitally printed photos, photographic works with or without a camera, reworked numeric photography, and video art. In fact, so much is on offer here that it can be overwhelming.

Its free satellite fair, Photo Discovery, in a smaller space with table-top stands, puts the visitor in more convivial contact with its dealers who are happy to discuss the photos on offer.

During this time, many galleries, not necessarily specialized in photography, give way to photography exhibits. Photo St Germain is a walking, free photography festival where many of the galleries throughout the area opt into the art flavor of the month. The Photo St Germain organization puts up a daily program online, and during the month offers free guided tours of chosen galleries exhibiting photography in the area. Often, when such a group arrives, the gallerist will take a moment to present the photography on view. Probably the highlight of this open-air fair is a visit to the hotel, La Louisiane, which reserves its third-floor rooms for photographers to show their work, one photographer per room. Beds might be removed to create a gallery-type space, remain as a horizontal showcase, or even be used as part of an installation. It is as much fun to visit the exhibition for the photography as to meet with the artists or just to see the rooms of this famous hotel.

Auction houses, too, may have a special photography sale during this month. 

As the name implies, Biennale de la Photographie du 13e is a photography fair that is hosted by the town hall of the 13th arrondissement of Paris every two years. It aims to exhibit together photographs by well-known photographers, those by young professionals at the beginning of their careers, and others by amateurs all following a given theme. In their program, they offer guided tours of the exhibit and various workshops in photography. 

Galleries

Paris, where photography was born, boasts more and more galleries specializing in photography scattered throughout the city. As photography becomes more and more prevalent as collectors’ art, such galleries have become fixtures of the art scene with some located in the heart of the gallery districts and others independent of of Paris’ art nexus.

Camera Makers

The makers of photographic materials have gallery spaces featuring photographers using their material — of course. These include Leica in the chic rue Boissy d’Anglas, Nikon Plaza on the Boulevard Raspail, and Pentax in the 10th arrondissement with its photo galleries. There can be found Les Douches la Galerie, created above a former public shower. The exhibitions are of top quality and worth the visit and you can count on being seriously ignored if you are not there as a purchaser. So enjoy the photography! Smaller but much more friendly is the stimulating Miranda gallery. 

Magnum

The renowned Magnum photographer collective and agency, founded in Paris and New York in 1947 on the heels of the horrors of World War II, has opened a gallery in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. There it hosts four to five temporary exhibits of vintage prints and/or photographs of younger members in a modular, industrial décor.  In a well-lit corner visitors can comfortably read or browse the books, and then buy some should they so desire. Thus we might say here can be found a library/librairie. Once a year it holds a square-print sale of moderately-priced, 6 x 6” original, signed prints readily available for purchase. Although somewhat off the beaten path of art galleries (as are most specialist photo galleries), it is still located in the heart of Paris and a must for any photography enthusiast.

Galérie l’Embrasser & Galérie Clémentine de la Ferronnière

Very centrally located on the Ile St Louis and situated on the same street, St Louis en Ile, are Galérie l’Embrasser and the Galérie Clémentine de la Ferronnière.  The former, whose exhibitions are mostly of young emerging photographers is easily accessible to walk in. It also doubles as a tea shop. The latter, supporting its photographers on a long-term basis, is well worth the effort to find and visit. To enter, go through the porte-cochère where on the right is the intercom. Scroll to the “gallery,” ring and you will be let in. The gallery is all the way through to the second courtyard (an interesting site in itself), where the photographs on display can already be seen through the large bay windows. Feel free to go ahead in and look around. 

Roger-Viollet

The Roger-Viollet agency, situated on the rue de Seine, almost in front of the river itself, has existed in its present premises since 1936. The walls are lined with labeled green boxes from floor to ceiling. Signs are posted asking visitors to please not open the boxes. Temporary exhibits according to given themes follow one after another. Reprints of the exhibited photographs, or for that matter of any of the six million photographs that make up its archives (i.e. what is in the green boxes), are available for purchase for a nominal sum on request. 

Polka

Polka Gallery, well-known by the eponymous photography magazine, is mainly devoted to traditional photography by well-known photographers. There, crowds descend on opening night for the art, the animated exchanges among photographers, and the beer. 

Speaking of magazines, it’s important to mention the free magazine The Classic. As the name implies, it runs particularly interesting articles on classic photography, exhibiting galleries, museums, and fairs, and comes out twice a year. It is published by Bruno Tartarin of Photo Discovery, The Place, a space located in the 2nd arrondissement and where hard copies can be picked up. 

Galérie Thomas Zander & GalleryC

The small Zander Gallery in the 6th arrondissement always has a photography-related exhibit on show that is worth the detour. GalleryC which has a number of contemporary artistic photographers on its roster is well worth a visit where Tom will be glad to discuss the works being shown and the artists behind it.

Galérie 291

The tiny but exceptional Galérie 291 in the 14th district specializes in pictorialist photographs. At a time when photography was in its infancy photographers were dabbling in all kinds of chemical processes to develop their photographs. The aesthetic philosophy of this school of photography which had its heyday from the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century,  was based on the idea that a photograph should incite an emotional reaction. The gallerist will kindly explain and present the beautiful photos of this period that he has in this tiny shop.

Fluctuart Urban Art Gallery

The Fluctuart urban art gallery which is located on a riverboat near the Invalides now has a sister ship with a photography gallery up the Seine from the Austerlitz train station, Quai de la photo – Centre d’art photographique. While upstairs can be found a café where you can contemplate the boats going by,  downstairs is where the temporary photography exhibitions will be found. 

PhotoHouseParis

And a very confidential photography space is PhotoHouseParis located in a beautiful house in a courtyard in the sixth arrondissement of Paris. A space well worth the visit if you can get an invitation there.

Street Exhibitions

In recent years the various protective railings surrounding monuments of Paris have become the support of street exhibitions, there for the unexpected pleasure of unwary passers-by or for intentional visits. The first ever of these monumental outdoor photography exhibits was Arthus’ “Earth from Above,” where photographs of 2×3 meters were mounted on the railing around the Luxembourg Park from the St. Michel gate to the Odéon gate. This exhibit created an enormous buzz, and many exhibits have followed. The powers that be in charge of other monuments then followed suit including the Hotel de Ville which hangs exhibitions on its fence along the rue de Rivoli.  Among other important “railing exhibitions”  is Unesco’s which can be found along the rue Suffren up to its visitors’ entrance. 

It is also a welcome surprise to come upon the photography exhibitions to be found on the walls along the metro platform at Hotel de Ville on Line One of the métro. Sometimes they concern an important exhibition taking place in a Paris museum, such as the Vivien Maier exhibition that took place in the Luxembourg museum. Other times, galleries arrange such exhibitions for their artists, as was the case for the amazing exhibition of Patty Carroll’s satirical photographic works of women overwhelmed.

So take a metro ride, take a walk, and discover why the French are considered the photo aficionados of the world.

Photo taken by me while admiring photography in Paris.

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How Living in Paris Turned Me into a Bike Convert

How Living in Paris Turned Me into a Bike Convert

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The Motorcycle

Long, long ago in the early 1980’s I had a car that broke down. As, at the time, I often had to go way out to the suburbs, I wondered how I was going to get out there where the transportation was complicated, to say the least. It was then that a friend suggested I get a motorcycle. At the time, the law was that if you had a valid driver’s license, you could drive a motorcycle up to 125 cc without taking a special exam.

So I took some lessons, bought a second-hand motorcycle, and learned that motorcycling was not just a means of transportation but fun in itself. So next step was to get a license, and to move up to bigger and bigger bikes. My last love was an 800cc BMW twin. I drove it everywhere in Paris and France, on vacation, with motorcycle clubs.

A Car & Public Transportation

And then I got pregnant and had a son. Motorcycling was not the best way to get around with a baby. I joined the millions of Parisians on public transportation and in the most typical American tradition I decided that with a baby I needed a car. My criteria? Small enough to park in Paris, comfortable enough to travel in, and automatic. The managing director’s chauffeur of the company where I was working recommended I get a Peugeot 205, a national favorite at the time. So I followed his advice and have been very happy with the choice.

But parking has always been a headache. Public transportation became my main means of travel in the city. My car was used less and less. I would do my food shopping typically on Friday afternoon, knowing that there would be street parking when I got back as everyone left in their cars for the weekend. I never took the car after 3pm on Sunday to be sure it was parked before everyone got back from their weekend. 

After about 12 years of cat-and-mouse parking, they knocked down a small factory across the street and started to build an apartment building in its stead — with parking spaces! The workers were still putting nails in the sign when I called the builders to inquire about buying a parking space. I was quickly informed that they were not selling parking spaces, but condominiums with the possibility of buying a parking space with it. Within the time of a single breath, I decided to sign for a condo. The smallest in the residence, but still I got a parking space. While a friend remarked that it was a particularly expensive parking space, it turned out to be a good investment.

It has been nice to jump into a car parked just across the street if I did not want to take the metro for an evening outing or go food shopping, or pick up or deliver something cumbersome or heavy. Public transportation remained my main means of transport in the city.

The Paris Mayor and Her Crack-Down on Cars

Then our supposedly ecology-minded mayor (perhaps in cahoots with the automobile industry) created a policy of dividing cars into 5 ecological categories to determine whether or not the car could be driven in Paris. Studies have shown that the most ecological use of a car is to keep it as long as possible until it gives up the ghost. Notwithstanding, the law was based on age, the older the car, the less it could be legally driven in Paris on weekdays or high pollution days. Thus a new, large gas-guzzling diesel-run car was free to be driven in Paris, while a small, less-polluting, gasoline-run car, albeit old, could not. CO2 statistics did not enter into the new law.

But my car ran beautifully, had little mileage, and I did not need a car sufficiently to buy a new one. And, 30-plus years after the original purchase, the baby has got much bigger, the driving in Paris has got more and more difficult (not to mention parking!), and I have needed to cross the “périphérique” less and less; thus my use of a car has dwindled. 

Lucky for me is the loophole in the law whereby after 30 years a car can be declared a collector’s item and can be driven anytime, anywhere. So I picked up the end of France’s red tape and with a good amount of yanking turned the jalopy into a collector’s car. 

Meanwhile, our mayor has continued on her warpath against gas-powered vehicles (and cars in general) in Paris. Traffic has become horrendous with more and more draconian road policies for cars, thereby creating worse and worse traffic and — as an obvious result — more and more pollution from stagnant cars.

Bicycles in Paris: The Good, the Bad, and the In-Between 

On the other hand, Madame la maire has aggressively been installing bicycle paths. Perhaps she imagines Paris as a little Amsterdam. 

I had often thought of acquiring a bicycle, but I was too familiar with the hard ride up the Père Lachaise hill which I had been navigating for the past 20 years on the way back from the Friday night then Sunday organized skate tours of Paris. By the end of my roller-blading days, I would skate from bench to bench up the hill with a stop at each bench on the way up to catch my breath.

In a win-win solution, a friend who had moved to the far suburbs had bought an electric bicycle to get to the train station and then around Paris. His very legitimate fear was of having the bicycle stolen when he was away traveling.

The solution? He parked the bike in my inner courtyard garden and it was mine for the taking as long as it was there. So off and on for a year, I became a happy bicycle rider in Paris.

I rode through all the new street works as bicycle paths were slowly constructed, observed the growing traffic jams, and enjoyed viewing Paris above ground. I also became adept at watching out for thoughtless scooters,  pedestrians on their phones, and other bicyclists going through red lights. The upshot of the experience was that I got hooked on bicycling in Paris. So when my friend informed me he was leaving Paris for good for the U.S. and selling the bike that I was beginning to think of as my own, I jumped at the chance to really make it mine.

On a beautiful day, what a pleasure to pedal around Paris, and no worries about hills with an electric motor assist. On the other hand, having put up with rain in Paris for months, the metro is often to be preferred. And yet, if the walk from a station is to be long, and the ride otherwise short, I might just get the rain gear on and face the elements. It is good to have a choice.

With the new and many bicycle lanes, riders are relatively protected from automobile traffic, which is quite comfortable for us. The difficulty comes when cars need to turn right across the bike lane or as bicyclists we have to turn out of the lane and cross traffic. Too, cars tend to try to go through a crossing at the end of a light and we find them sitting on the bike lanes making it difficult to cross or even move into the pedestrian crossing. I have found a particularly dangerous spot at Place Gambetta where cars come careening off the roundabout, shooting toward the pedestrian crossing where they aim to stop short; unfortunately, the bicycle crossing that comes before is more often than not overlooked. These are examples of tricky situations.

Additionally, there are the incoherences of the lanes. For example, as I wheeled around the Place d’Italie, I somehow lost the path in front of the Galaxy shopping center. And there stood the police seemingly waiting to inform me that I had in some way ridden onto a pedestrian area where I could be fined 135€. I, of course, excused myself and explained that I had somehow lost the bicycle lane. They pointed to where it was (not too clearly marked), had me get off and walk the bike, and in parting, suggested that if I was having difficulties I should go to Amsterdam. 

One of the worst lane tracings can be found on the Boulevard des Maréchaux. For a quarter tour of Paris, from Porte de Bagnolet to Cité Universitaire there must be at least 10 crossings from the outer cycling rim to the inner rim. I cannot say how many times I have lost the path only to notice it has meandered off to the other side of the four car lanes and two tram lines. This means a number of riders (myself included) sometimes just stay on one side knowing we will be in the right lane soon enough. On the other hand, we find ourselves facing oncoming bicycles in a narrow single-bicycle lane or oblivious pedestrians.

Then, of course, there is parking. Now that so many Parisians have turned to bicycles it has become difficult to park, sometimes almost as difficult as to park as a car. Having had my bicycle seized by the police for attaching it to a mundane fence, I do not wish to leave it anywhere but in bicycle racks which are not always nearby or with free spaces. On the other hand, a friend always avoids racks as many cyclists pay no attention to other mounts when getting their own bike in or out of the rack, thus damaging nearby bikes. To each their own parking traumatism and parking choice.

But all in all, having learned to deal with the difficulties, I can only appreciate the freedom of bicycling in the city. It is always quicker than walking and often faster than the metro depending on the necessity of changing lines. And with Olympic fever, the metro has become a hassle with many closed stations and fewer trains in accordance with the summer season.

It is interesting to think that when we were kids in the U.S. we could not wait to get our driver’s license, give up the bicycles of childhood, and get a car, one of the first badges of adulthood. Now, at least in Paris, more and more adults are giving up their cars for the simplicity of a bicycle. 

With the city bicycle-renting possibilities (which I have never tried), it is worth giving this above-ground, Paris-friendly means of transportation a shot. Because, when we think about it, viewing the city is why we are here.  

Photo taken in front of the Comédie Française.

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Sotheby April 2024 evening sale

Art Fairs and Auctions to Explore in Paris

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If you are thinking of collecting art, much thought should go into your choices before purchasing. First, you need to know what you like, what moves you. Visit galleries, go to art exhibitions and fairs. Discuss art with friends; define your tastes. Then you can follow artists that interest you. 

Trade Fairs

Fairs are a concentrated marketplace for art. The visitor can see much of what is currently occurring internationally within a given time and place. 

Paris hosts a number of art trade fairs during the year where booths are set up for galleries to display their wares.  The major fairs typically occupy the Grand Palais during their short tenure, although between 2021 and April 2024, while the Grand Palais underwent massive renovations, they relocated to the Grand Palais Ephémère. Other regular fair sites include the Carreau du Temple and the Carrousel du Louvre. 

As a rule, many fairs will take place at the same time, organized as satellites around a renowned central fair, thus creating an “art week” with its overwhelming offer of fairs, exhibitions, and events throughout the city. If you are lucky enough to find a way to beg, borrow, or steal a VIP pass to the main fair, you will also be invited to free museum entrances, private visits to artists’ studios, museum exhibitions, and various openings. Even without the coveted pass, art weeks can become quite an overwhelming whirlwind of art with all that is happening during the same short week.

There are two major art weeks in Paris: the first built around Paris+ by Art Basel which takes place in October, and the second around ArtParis which occurs at the beginning of April. 

Of the two, Paris+ is THE major art fair in France with the world’s most high-flying galleries participating. While this very exclusive fair is particularly parsimonious with its invitations (even a reporter friend was not let in free of charge), there are enough satellite events to keep the most hyperactive of art lovers sufficiently busy.

For example, in 2023 satellite fairs (some of which are free) included Moderne Art Fair, AsiaNow (at the Monnaie museum), Paris Internationale (free), AKAA (Also Known as Africa), Offscreen (free — mainly showing video art and situated interestingly in a garage with the advantage of having no stairs but ramps up to the various floors of the “showroom”), and Art Shopping (free with invitation on its internet site). Traditionally during the Paris+ art week Palais d’Iena (free) offers an exhibition of renowned artists, the Tuilleries (free, outdoor) is turned into a contemporary sculpture park and galleries show off the best of their blue-chip artists.

Art fairs covering specific art media are Salon du Dessin and ParisPhoto, each with their satellite exhibitions, some free some for a fee. Salon de Dessin is the central exhibition with Drawing Now as the secondary one. During drawing week (La semaine du dessin), free visits are offered for the general public in various museums and institutions if you sign up quickly enough after they are announced. Orbiting around ParisPhoto is the gallery fair, Photo St. Germain where many galleries give their space over to photo exhibitions. Another is the Urban Art Fair, with no satellites (to my knowledge) although many galleries will give themselves over to urban art at the time of the fair.

The historical Salon de Paris and the Salon des Independants seem to have receded into a more general contemporary art fair known as Art Capital, which is subdivided into four constituent art fairs. For the most part at each of these fairs’ works are arranged according to various themes, and only a few pieces of any given artist will be found. Such an agglomeration of so many little-related artists can be quite mind-boggling.

While most fairs are more often than not an aggregate of galleries, the atmosphere at a fair is generally more hard-sell than at the galleries’ premises. Prices are rarely posted, but there is always a sheet nearby with a price list or the gallery’s representatives have a crib sheet of prices on hand. And whether you are a purchaser or not, it is a great pleasure to see all the art concentrated in a single, limited space. Of all the thousands of works on view, see what styles, palettes, strokes, forms, lines, and movements grab you — and which do not. They are a great place to clarify your personal taste.

Auctions

Auctions are the number crunchers of the art world. They are the reference point of the value of an artist’s work which is calculated according to the latest prices paid for pieces created by that artist. Auctions are the kings of the secondary art market, i.e. when works are not sold directly by an artist or their gallery, but by previous owners of the work in question whether they had bought it at a gallery or through auction.

Visit a pre-exhibition of an auction and the plate describing the work will typically offer an estimation of its value in the form of a price bracket. This valuation is typically set on the suggestion of the auction house’s expert as compared to other works by the same artist previously sold at auction.  Bidders, then, are the final decision-makers concerning the value of an artwork.

There are a number of auction houses in Paris. The big names include Sotheby’s, Cristie’s, Artcurial, Piasa, Tajan, Bonhams, and Aguttes. All of these have their own premises to exhibit and auction off art. These auction houses will announce the type of art they will be selling, e.g. Modern and Contemporary, Works on paper, Urban art, and 17th-19th-century art. Often a sale may consist of a given individual’s complete collection. Depending on your interests, these exhibits are well worth visiting for your viewing pleasure.

Of particular interest to everyone, whether a potential purchaser or not, there are times when an auction house hosts the sale of a single artist’s work. The exhibit before this type of sale can be especially enticing as it is equivalent to a museum’s temporary exhibition of the artist. I will never forget Artcurial’s sale of Utrillo — three floors of nothing but this artist’s works, none of which I could afford, but a wonderful exhibit all the same.

And just like for trade fairs, if you can get on to a big auction house’s VIP list, there are invitations to openings of a sale’s exhibit, whereby a pleasant visit of the works can be enjoyed, full champagne glass in hand. 

Hotel Drouot, often considered a monolithic auction house, is in fact a building consisting of 16 rooms where 70 independent auction firms affiliated with the Hotel Drouot exhibit and hold their auctions. They maintain offices elsewhere, for the most part, nearby. Thus there is a large turnover as to who will be occupying the various rooms in the building on any given day. One might pop in to see particular works that have been advertised, or just to take a look around at whatever might be on sale. I once went for just a look around and ended up bidding on and winning a beautiful Christian Lacroix set of dishes for twelve, which I set out every Thanksgiving and for other special occasions. 

Auctions are not the place to start collecting. Once you have an idea of those artists you would like to collect you can register on the Drouot site and ask to be alerted to sales of those artists. A myriad of auction houses throughout Europe have enrolled with Drouot and register their upcoming catalogs with them. The site scans all the artwork for sale and sends out alerts when the work of an artist or category of art you have subscribed to comes up for sale. 

Bidding at auction can be done in person, by phone, or online. Concerning auctions, it is recommended to see the work before it goes up for bidding. Check for flaws — ask to pick up a piece or to see the back of a work which will often have information about galleries from which it was sold, or even other auction sales. Think ahead on your ceiling price keeping in mind the added fees which will include tax and commission, typically 30% above the hammer price. During the auction, you will need to make up your mind very quickly, within seconds, as concerns the price — raise or drop out? It is hard to resist the temptation from within and from the auctioneer to go higher than the maximum you have set. On the other hand, I have mourned years for some works I have let get away.  

And of course, be careful. I have just heard from a friend who was watching an auction online at Christie’s, and it seems that just as he was cleaning his touch-screen, he found himself the top bidder for a work he did not particularly want. He is now figuring out what he wants to do with the work. Personally, I like it, and he got it (albeit unwillingly) under the low estimate. He might have made the right purchase for the wrong reason, but that waits to be seen.

Sometimes the lower estimate acts as the reserve price, the price below which the consignor will not sell. While sometimes the reserve is even less than this estimate, the reserve cannot, by law, be higher. 

One interesting possibility, on the other hand, is not to take part in the auction at all, but to wait to see if the work sells. If it does not reach its reserve price, it is considered unsold. In this case, you can contact the auction house and make an offer within a few days; this is called an after-sale offer. The auction house will contact the consignor to see if they accept. One reasonable offer is the low estimate commission included, which means 30% lower than if you’d taken part in the bidding war. A friend often offers 50% of the lower estimate, plus commission. It’s for you to decide on an acceptable price for you and for the consignor to accept or not.

When considering the secondary market, some ask, “Which is better, buying at auction or from galleries?” As a friend once said, “In an auction, the price only goes up; in galleries, you can negotiate down.” True, but… galleries sometimes put prices up higher than an auction estimate. On the other hand, galleries sometimes let you pay over time, or even trade from your collection to offset the price of a work. Also, you can take time to think. Auction houses demand full payment within a few weeks, as they need to pay the consignor. Obviously, this all depends on how much you want a work, and how much you can afford.

Investing in art is a bit like the stock market: works can go up or down in price. But contrary to cold numbers you get the pleasure of living with a work that speaks to you. 

And remember, too, should you be stirred by art (purchaser or not) and thirsty to learn more, art fairs and auctions, while they exist for selling, are also great places to see art that will soon be outside the public domain. Take advantage of these possibilities, and enjoy!

Photo taken at Sotheby’s April 2024 evening sale.

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When the Police Seize Your Bicycle

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It was a great evening, an invitation to the opening night of the Fine Arts Biennale at the Grand Palais Ephemère. The works for sale were museum-grade (with prices to go with them!) and champagne was being served to one and all. There is no better way to enjoy fine art than with a bottomless glass of champagne in hand!

But then, a whole section was cordoned off and an enormous crowd had formed; Macron had arrived. No sweat. I had visited the whole fair and was about to leave. When I finally retrieved my things from the cloakroom and got outside, there was the first hint of trouble. Macron was leaving with his eight-car cavalcade (we, the taxpayers, pay for all these cars, gas, and people for a single person to visit the fair) and we could not cross the driveway where his car and his court of cars were about to leave the underground parking lot. And my bicycle was just on the other side of that driveway.

And even worse, my electric bicycle was no longer attached to the railing I had locked it onto. What to do? The police informed me that the bicycles in the area had been taken away (in case of a riot, someone could take off a front tire and throw it at the president was the reasoning). I would find the bike at the Commissariat de Police of the 7th arrondissement, a 20-minute walk away or two metro stops and a walk. And all I had wanted to do was to get home and nurse my champagne high.

A cold walk in the dark later, there I recognized my bike chained up outside the commissariat. I was received inside by a young, indifferent police officer, who wanted nothing better than to see my back. But I wanted proof that the police had taken my bike for I wanted someone to pay for my broken locks. I was told to go the next day to the Town Hall of the 7th arrondissement and ask for the Contencieux. Fully aware of the need for proof for any administrative undertaking, I insisted on getting an official paper stating that the police had taken my bike. The officer handed over the night’s register of events and told me to take a photo which I duly did. But not finding it official enough (Hey! What’s a telephone photo worth? Although, in fact, later I learned that it was so official that it was illegal for me to have a copy!) I persisted in demanding a signed document asserting that the bike had been taken by the police and the locks broken. This I got, in the form of a letterhead document in administrative ambiguity.

When I finally got my bike unchained and started off, I found the front brake did not work at all. So I tried to get back into the commissariat, only to be told to come back the next day to file a complaint. Thus, home I pedaled with a simple back brake should I need to stop, the champagne euphoria of the evening long gone from my system. 

The next day armed with copies of the register, my receipts for the locks, the “main” document, and pictures of the broken locks in the bike basket in front of the police station, I left my far-flung home in the 20th arrondissement to cross Paris back to the chic 7th arrondissement town hall.

“No, Madame, there is nothing we can do for you. We do not handle such problems. You must telephone the Contencieux and explain the matter.” 

Putting the next turn of my administrative peregrination on hold for another day, I decided that while I was in the 7th arrondissement I might as well return to the police station to file my complaint against the police. 

At the entrance to the police station, I was questioned as to my reason for being there. The statement that I wanted to lodge a complaint against the police did not go over well with them. Unwilling to allow me into the station, they asked for proof concerning my bike’s removal, and at the shock of seeing my copy of the night’s register, which should in no way be in the hands of unauthorized individuals, they accompanied me to the information desk and duly confiscated the paper. 

At the information desk, I was greeted with disdain and a refusal. I was, of course, not in the right place, but in fact had to go to the “Contencieux.” As one person was trying to find where, in fact, I should address my complaint, I insisted with another that the night police shouldn’t be sending law-abiding citizens all over Paris to the wrong places and that we should be informed correctly, I was given all the reasons no fault could be found on their part which freed them not to take action: “It has nothing to do with us.” “They have their “chef” who should take care of them.” “We don’t see them as we don’t work at the same time….” To get me gone, they printed out an information sheet with whom I should contact.

Intrepid, the next day I took the risk and bicycled to the Musée d’Orsay. But not totally unconscious of possible peril, I stopped on my way home at my favorite bicycle repair shop to get the brakes taken care of. Obviously, the bike had been badly manhandled; the cable had been totally detached from the front brake. They fixed it in a jiffy while I aired my discontent with Macron and the police.

However, it seems that my administrative scavenger hunt was not over. While they sent me to call the préfecture, which I did, and after following all the six steps of pressing at least one of two numbers to choose from, none of them corresponded to the Contentieux. So I simply pressed for the switchboard. Surprisingly, they answered within seconds, put me through to someone who had nothing to do with the Contencieux, who then, finally put me through to someone who was well-informed on how to go about getting my dégradations de véhicule reimbursed. It had, like everything else, nothing to do with the telephone numbers I had originally been given. As at the commissariat, I mentioned that everyone should be informed correctly as to the procedure. He answered that they had been, but the recipients did not seem to have paid any attention to the information. It was then his turn to complain, that he was tired of getting phone calls like mine and having to waste his time which could be better spent. I commiserated profoundly and he gave me the correct e-mail address (no telephone) at, in fact, the service des affaires juridiques et du contentieux. 

I immediately got to work on the email explanation of the case complete with receipts, pictures, and official documents. An hour later I sent it off to my son to correct the French: no errors allowed in any official correspondence if we want to be taken seriously.

Three weeks later, no response. So I sent the email again asking for a confirmation that it had been received; a notification came back immediately that it had gone through. 

Tonight, five months later, to my great surprise I have received a reply. In predictable bureaucratese, they are sorry to inform me that “the outcome of the investigation in accordance with the elements which have been communicated by the judiciary authorities whereby the removal of [my] bicycle had been carried out by police services to ensure security near this sensitive site … that [they] cannot reserve a favorable follow-up of my application to be compensated, since no heavy fault by the public services of justice has been characterized” (my word-for-word translation). And if I disagree with this outcome, I can take them to court.

But we all know what happens when we try to fight city hall. Thus, a sad end to a story whose moral is: keep yourself and your bicycle as far away from Macron as possible, and don’t park any place near where he might want to drive by.

Photo is the picture of my bike the police kindly asked me to take the night it was damaged.