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March/April 2010
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NEWS • DINING • INTERVIEW • MARKETS • KIDS PARIS LIFE • ART • THEATER • CONCERTS & MORE
WHY YOU CAN’T FIND A TAXI IN PARIS
www.lanvin.com
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15, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré - 75008 PARIS
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CONTENTS 4 LETTERS FROM READERS
PHOTO: BRIAN WRIGHT DESIGNLAB7.COM
6 NEWS BRIEFS Palais Royal’s Buren columns are back Hôtel Lambert compromise
8 IN THE CITY Is Paris nightlife still alive?
FEATURES
DEPARTMENTS
12 PARIS TAXI BLUES
10 INTERVIEW
Paris is the only major city in the world where you often can’t find a taxi. What is, and isn’t, being done about it
Jim Haynes, celebrated dinner host to thousands 23 FOOD
18 VINTAGE CLOTHES
COVER PHOTO: DANA MAITEC
The city boasts some of the world’s finest vintage clothes and accessory shops. A guide to the best ones
Asian influences are bringing intriguing flavors to Paris restaurants At the market: home-baked muffins, and what’s fresh this month
PARIS LIVING
Paul boulangerie, Chez Georges, wines for spring
30 CHILDREN’S PAGE
40 EDITORIAL
Activities kids will love, from exhibits to an Easter egg hunt
Solving Paris’ taxi problems
32 AROUND TOWN
Paris nostalgia: an ode to baseball’s opening day
Spring in Paris: art, theater, dance, music, events and more
Paris Soirées: written and unwritten rules
42 PARIS LIFE
50 POSTSCRIPT
What’s on in the English-speaking community
The new art of covering buildings
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Contributors
Letters to the Editor Recently I attended a conference on "Ugly Paris" at the Grand Palais, hosted by AJP (Association des Journalistes du Patrimoine). Paris Magazine is to be commended for having sparked this debate, starting with Corinne LaBalme's article on "X-Rated Architecture" in the November/December issue. SOS Paris is an association of Paris lovers who aim to keep Paris lovable by preserving its heritage and quality of daily life. This includes opposition to plans for building new skyscrapers in the middle of Paris, which disregard the opinion of Parisians and ignore existing rules on maximum height of buildings. Two members of SOS Paris, Rémi Koltirine and François Loyer, made presentations at the debate. I do hope that Paris Magazine will continue to publish articles on this important subject and help ensure that Paris, without becoming a "museum city," at least keeps its unique character that we all love.
Nancy Brook Paris
Mme. Nolan's compelling, wellpondered interview with John Morris (Picking the Images that Symbolized an Era, Jan/Feb issue) seemed deftly executed and amply underscored our community's fortune in having had in our midst one of the world's greatest photojournalist editors, whose presence began with the liberation and who has savored Paris from his perch in the 3rd arrondissement for many a year. One appreciates this nonagenarian's generosity of spirit and availability to numerous constituencies, including the world peace movement and the Paris campus of the University of Chicago, where he is indeed a true intellectual philanthropist. I might also opine that his Legion of Honor award is fitting, if overdue. I suspect space limitations for Mme. Nolan's article precluded a more indepth exposition and review of Mr. Morris's autobiographical Get the Picture, which, far beyond mere biography, explores the vast cultural dynamics of an era and the maturing of a profession on both sides of the pond. Striking, too, were his portraits of the curious participants of that time, from Capa to Hemingway to Mrs. John F . Kennedy and Mrs. Philip Graham. This is an exceedingly well-written and enjoyable book which I'd heartily commend to our compatriots, especially in France.
We are at most of the newsstands in Paris but not all of them. You can find us at the international kiosks in Paris and the English language bookstores.
Joseph E. Connolly Distinguished Visiting Professor of Management Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Paris
Jan Wyers SOS Paris, Secretary General Paris
I like your magazine but I can’t always find it. Where can I get it?
We would like to hear from you. Send your letters/emails to: The Editor, Paris Magazine, 11 av. de l’Opéra, 75001 Paris Email: editor@parismagazine.fr
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Jeffrey T. Iverson (Paris Taxi Shortage, p. 12) has been reporting from Paris for Time magazine since 2007. Tina Isaac (Vintage Shopping, p. 18) is the Paris correspondent for Travel + Leisure magazine. She also freelances for Women's Wear Daily and style.com. Alexander Lobrano (Restaurant reviews, p. 23) is the author of Hungry for Paris and was Gourmet magazine's European correspondent for ten years. He writes on food and travel for The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune and Condé Nast Traveler. Corinne LaBalme (Interview, p. 10) has written freelance articles for i-D magazine and The New York Times travel section. Heather Stimmler-Hall (In the City, p. 8) is a freelance travel writer for Fodor’s guides and Michelin Green Guides. Rosa Jackson (Food, p. 26) is a food critic and author of the award-winning guidebook Gourmet Paris. Anna Brooke (Around Town, p. 32) has authored guidebooks about France and Paris for Frommer's, and writes regular listings for Time Out, as well as features for The Financial Times. Adrian Lees (Column, p. 41) has written columns about life in Paris for The Paris Times and the French daily Libération. François Goizé is a photographer and filmmaker who contributes to fashion titles such as WWD, as well as the style section of the weekly Le Nouvel Observateur. He has photographed two covers for Paris Magazine (Sept/Oct 09 & Jan/Feb 10).
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NEWS BRIEFS
PHOTO: BRIAN WRIGHT DESIGNLAB7.COM
They’re Back
Just when it seemed like the Buren columns at the Palais Royal might finally be removed, they’re back. Put up by artist Daniel Buren in 1986, they were controversial from the start. Then- Mayor Jacques Chirac even tried to halt the project, only to be stymied by Buren himself. The columns gradually fell into general disrepair from vandalism, among other problems, and Buren finally told the city to either restore them or remove them. It was a golden opportunity to return the Palais Royal to its original grandeur, but the offer was too good for the city to accept. Instead, over 4€ million was spent to renovate the courtyard. Who says you can’t look a gift horse in the mouth?
Hôtel Lambert Update Heated controversy over the renovation of the 17th-century Hôtel Lambert on the Ile Saint Louis has ended with an agreement between heritage activists and the owner, Prince Hamad bin Abdullah al-Thani of Qatar (Paris Magazine, Nov/Dec 2009). The
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Hôtel Lambert on the Ile Saint Louis
deal barred the planned construction of an underground parking lot and the raising of an outdoor wall, and added protection for interior decors. Although the installation of elevators will be allowed, they must be designed to be removable in the future.
Figures published this January show the Paris population to be 2,215,197 inhabitants, 89,951 more than in 1999
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FOOD IN THE CITY
Is Paris Nightlife Dead?
Not for those in the know
A new and different clubbing scene has sprung up for the city’s party lovers by Heather Stimmler-Hall
ince the rentrée in September, several press articles have proclaimed the death of Parisian nightlife. Journalists from Le Monde, Le Parisien, and even The New York Times paint a grim picture of a city where bars and nightclubs are being pushed out of business by intolerant residents who complain about the noise, and bullying city officials who close them down for the smallest infractions. If you’re not a regular on the nocturnal circuit, you just might get the impression that the city is a ghost town after midnight, and that the party
S
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has moved to other European capitals. But don’t be so quick to bury Paris nightlife. The reign of a handful of mythical discotheques packed to the rafters until dawn every night was already fading at the turn of the millennium, and since then the scene has evolved, adapted, and recreated itself into something completely different. But it certainly hasn’t died. “Parisians love to complain, exaggerate and argue how much better things were ‘before’,” says nightlife promoter Jérémie Feinblatt of Die Nacht (www.die-nacht.fr),
an online calendar – French despite the cheeky German name – of unique nightlife events. “Many argue nightlife lacks in quantity, especially during the week when only a handful of clubs are open after 2 am. But then again, few cities can claim to have the party going 24/7.” Feinblatt contends that the strength of Parisian nightlife isn’t in the “superclub” scene of sweaty throngs dancing to booming techno music, but in its more intimate clubs and bars. “Paris nightlife excels in its creativity. In the past few months, parties
Paris has the highest population density in France, with more than 20,000 inhabitants per square kilometer
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have taken place in museums, swimming pools, ice skating rinks, warehouses and former train stations.” Beyond the drinks and the music, these soirées often have something extra: period costume themes, burlesque performances, art shows, or vintage film screenings. “Paris nightlife is like Paris dining,” says Florian Sailer of the summer Bagatelle parties and the newly-opened Blitz Tequila Bar (40 avenue Pierre 1er de Serbie, 8th), which features a kitsch Black Forest theme with servers in real lederhosen. “You don’t just go anywhere and expect excellent cuisine. You have to be a connoisseur, do your research, ask around, and stay on top of the latest openings.” Many trendy Parisian soirées, such as the famous Club Sandwich, darling of the fashion world, (www.clubsandwich.com), take place in a different venue every week. Word of mouth is still very important, but sites like Facebook are where most Parisian night owls find the details of the latest parties. The internet also makes the more obscure events accessible to those without personal connections or time to research. Dance parties and clubs are only a small part of the Parisian scene. The popularity of speakeasy-style cocktail bars continues to grow throughout Paris, with the opening in October of the Prescription Cocktail Club in Saint Germain des Prés (23 rue Mazarine, 6th). These stylish bars with their elegant retro décor, comfortable seating and flattering lighting, are open early enough for the after-work crowds, but late enough for those looking for a clubbing alternative. Not that they have it any easier than the nightclubs. One of the owners, Romée de Goriainoff, admits that it’s almost impossible to get the authorization to stay open past 2 am. “Communities tend to complain about everything from noise to odors to people gathering where they live.” But he says that many bars close simply because of bad management. “It’s a business, and like every business it requires the people behind it to manage it carefully.” All three of De Goriainoff’s bars, including the Curio Parlor (16 rue des Bernadins, 5th) and the Experimental
draw attention to the cultural and economic importance of the Parisian nightlife scene, and to lobby for more balanced legislation so that residents and nightlife venues can coexist peacefully. As of the end of January they had almost 15,000 signatures on their peti-
Le Rex (5 bld Poissonière, 2nd), the Social Club (142 rue Montmartre, 2nd), and Le Neo (23 rue de Ponthieu, 8th) also remain popular late-night clubbing venues. Some old favorites have recently reopened, such as L’Arc (formerly L’Etoile, 12 rue de Presbourg, 16th), Le Scopitone (formerly Le ParisParis, 5 avenue de l’Opéra, 1st), La Flèche d’Or (102 rue de Bagnolet, 20th), Le Divan du Monde (75 rue des Martyrs, 18th) and La Machine du Moulin Rouge (formerly Le Loco, 82 bld de Clichy, 18th). And this doesn’t include the many jazz clubs, hotel bars, and historic venues such as Maxim’s (3 rue Royale, 8th), which still hosts several soirées a month. For those who want to know everything that’s going on without leaving their desk, all you have to do is join two or three mailing lists and your inbox will be filled each week with more invitations than you could possibly accept.
tion and had scheduled talks with City Hall. In the meantime, there’s no imminent danger of finding yourself without anything to do after dark in Paris. Some of the biggest clubs are still going strong, including Le Cab’ (2 place du Palais Royal, 1st), the VIP Room (188 bis, rue de Rivoli, 1st), Le Showcase (under Pont Alexandre III, 8th), and Le Queen (102 avenue des Champs-Elysées, 8th). Le Point Ephémère (Quai de Valmy, 10th), La Bellevilloise (21 rue Boyer, 20th),
Some of the best sites are Vodka Coca (www.vodkacoca.com), Die Nacht (www.die-nacht.fr), Ullmann Cabarock (www.myspace.com/ullmanncabarock), and Trisélectif (www.triselectif.net). For reviews of the hottest cocktail bars, visit the blog 52 Martinis (www.52martinis.blogspot.com). Of course if you are looking for more mainstream information in English, the City Hall’s new website promotes Paris nightlife at www.parisnightlife.fr. n
Cocktail Club (37 rue Saint Sauveur, 2nd), are packed on any night of the week, and vigilant doormen make sure the smokers on the sidewalk don’t disturb the neighbors. A group of nightlife professionals have formed Quand la nuit meurt en silence (“When the night dies in silence,” www.quandlanuitmeurtenesilence.com) to
“Parisians love to complain, exaggerate and argue how much better things were ‘before’ ”
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INTERVIEW
At Home
with Jim Haynes
For over 30 years, people have been flocking to his open-house dinners
I
t’s Sunday night in Montparnasse. Since 1978, Jim Haynes has hosted Paris’s longest running dinner salon in a turn-of-the-century artist’s studio on the Left Bank. It’s open admission. Roughly 60 to 100 people call or e-mail him each week and invite themselves to the party. “It’s a place where people make new friends, start love affairs, find jobs, roommates and flats,” explains Jim Haynes. To date, over 130,000 guests have found their way to his apartment for cosmopolitan suppers of enchiladas, ratatouille or palak bhajee. Haynes was born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1933 and after a childhood in Venezuela and a stint at a military boarding school, he enlisted in the Air Force – Jim Haynes-style. “I located the corporal who gets everything done,” he recounts, “and requested an assignment to the smallest possible base in Western Europe that was near a university. I also asked for night duty so I could take classes.” Haynes arrived in Scotland in 1956, enrolled in the University of Edinburgh, and has rarely looked across the Atlantic since. He founded The Paperback Bookshop in Edinburgh in 1958 and embarked on an entrepreneurial performance arts career, creating the Traverse Theater in Edinburgh and helping to found the Fringe Festival. In London, he established a second Traverse and the visionary Arts Lab, scooping up a Whitbread Prize for 10 Paris | March/April
“outstanding contributions to British theater” along the way. By the time Haynes was wooed to France to teach at the University of Paris in 1969, his publishing career was in full swing. There was the arty London-based International Times and the Amsterdam-based SUCK (a call to arms for the sexual revolution), plus the cinema reviews for the Los Angeles Times. His book company, Handshake Press, wasn’t founded until 1980 but already in the seventies Haynes was involved in an unusual and utopian publishing business – printing passports. Passports? “Ah yes, those were the ‘world citizen’ passports done with Garry Davis,” says Haynes, digging through his desk drawer to find a sample. Haynes traveled through Europe on his own state-free passport, but in 1974 the French government proved less freespirited. Davis and Haynes were arrested and charged with counterfeit and fraud in Mulhouse, although the charges were reduced to “confusing the public” and eventually dropped. Haynes closed down the passport office he was operating from his apartment, but throughout the years, people kept showing up – for vichyssoise if not for visas – wherever he was. Germaine Greer. Kenneth Tynan. Pink Floyd. Haynes dates his hosting vocation to his first London apartment where, in lieu of rent, he served cocktails for his landlady, Sonia Orwell (George’s widow),
to an eclectic guest list that included Francis Bacon and Mary McCarthy. Haynes is happy in Paris but “I’m a happy man wherever I am.” If there’s a single dark cloud on the Parisian front, it’s an ongoing real estate dispute with a long-loathed lawyer dubbed Emile-theRat. “I curse the day I met him,” says Haynes. “It was like accepting a dinner invitation from a cannibal and agreeing to be the meal.” And although Haynes describes himself as a ‘libertarian anarchist,’ he’s sure to remind you that he’s a confirmed pacifist: “I don’t want to hit policemen. I’d rather invite them to supper with friends.” At present, the anarchic Haynes dinner alchemy is flirting with commercial stardom. “Last year, a director from the JW Thompson advertising agency came to a dinner and developed a new campaign for After Eight mints,” says Haynes. “They showed up for a test meal on a Tuesday night, then brought the cameras and the make-up crew, and filmed on Sunday.” Haynes, no stranger to documentaries over the years, enjoyed making his first chocolate ad, which he describes as “wonderful fun.” The commercials, which debuted in England and Ireland last November, bring Jim Haynes' Paris – an (immovable) feast – to a new prime-time generation. n
To reserve a spot at Jim Haynes’ dinners, visit his website (www.jim-haynes.com) and bring ten euros with you.
PHOTO: BRIAN WRIGHT DESIGNLAB7.COM
by Corinne LaBalme
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FEATURE
Why it’s so Hard to Find a Cab in Paris
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...and What is Being Done About it by Jeffrey T. Iverson
ith a vast subway network, tramways, bus lanes and, yes, Vélibs, Paris has earned a global reputation as one of the world’s easiest cities to get around in. But tell that to Michel and Nicole, who had Friday night tickets to a comedy at the Théâtre de la Michodière. When Michel got back late from work to their rue d’Alésia home, they realized that public transport would not get them there in time. After a frustrating 15 minutes on the phone with radio cab companies who could only tell them that no taxis were available, they raced down to the nearest cab stand – only to find six other people waiting impatiently in the evening drizzle. The few taxis that drove by were all full, and the play started without them. The exasperating experience left them asking a question that has plagued Parisians for decades – où sont les taxis? Over the last two years, a series of aborted reform attempts and trafficparalyzing strikes have brought to light a blight on Paris’s supposedly stellar mobility record – a chronic shortage of available taxis. With 16,623 cabs as of last January, Paris has only slightly more taxis than it had in 1937, when the fleet numbered some 14,000. Parisians have started venting long-harbored frustrations on online forums and news websites. “It’s incredible to see how much Paris is lacking in taxis!” bemoaned François on Lepoint.fr. “Mis-
PHOTO: BRIAN WRIGHT DESIGNLAB7.COM
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sion impossible after 1 am… 45-minute waits at the train station,” agreed Eric. The Economist weekly (gloatingly) juxtaposed London’s world-famous taxi service with Paris’, criticizing Sarkozy and a string of French governments who “have caved in to the militant taxi lobby, and have not dared to increase the number of licenses.” To glimpse the complexity of the problem, you need to leave the city for Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport. On a recent morning, baggage-laden travelers arriving from around the world were wandering out into the chilly morning air at the exit of Terminal 2A. Bleary-eyed and anxious to grab a cab as quickly as possible, they craned their heads to spot the taxi stand amid the
minal, passing another dapper gentleman leading a group of Spaniards who had just been solicited coming out of baggage claim. Ouanfouf’s anger was palpable. “Here you have shuttles, cars, limousines, none of them with the right to be soliciting passengers,” he fumed. “Yet here they are doing just that from morning to night with total impunity.” A disoriented-looking woman standing nearby commented on the scene. “It’s confusing, you walk out and there are
London’s black cabs have tripled in number, while less than 2,000 new licenses were created in Paris over the past 30 years hustle. “Taxi for Paris?” a sharplydressed man asked an American tourist, who nodded and followed him across the street to a line of unmarked cars with drivers waiting at the wheels. Watching the transaction from the sidewalk was Djillali Ouanfouf, an offduty Parisian taxi driver. “Now he’s going to tell him it’ll cost 120€,” he said. Sure enough, the American suddenly stopped and, shaking his head in frustration, started back toward the ter-
tons of people and cars, but you can’t tell who’s a taxi and who isn’t,” said Sylvie Boustie, an Alberta wine importer who had flown in from Canada for a trade show. “To see this at Paris’ airport is shameful, it gives you a poor image of the city.” Unfortunately, those travelers who eventually come upon the real taxi stand slightly further away may find that meeting a true Paris cabby does not improve that image. Travelers in a March/April | Paris 13
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2009 poll by Hotel.com, leader in online hotel reservation, ranked Paris taxis the least friendly in the world. Perhaps a sour mood is inevitable, though, given that most drivers will already have lingered two or three hours five kilometers away at the “base arrière taxis,” Roissy’s largest taxi parking lot, where up to 1,000 taxis await their turn. Baptized ‘Guantanamo’ by its users for the fenced enclosure, electronic badge-controlled entry point, and less than luxurious amenities (four Turkish toilets shared by all), it’s the source of recurrent grievances by the profession – who nonetheless keep coming back.
Paris has roughly the same number of taxis today as it had in 1937 As Ouanfouf explains, with a large number of Paris drivers living in the Seine-Saint-Denis and Val d’Oise suburbs, many prefer to start their morning at nearby Roissy with hopes of one big fare back to Paris, rather than risk losing two hours in rush hour driving empty into the capital. “Either you lose time in traffic, or you lose it waiting at Charles de Gaulle,” he says. According to a report by Marc Lebret of Paris’ Council for Sustainable Economic Development, “Of the 6,000-9,000 available taxis at any given hour of the day, 2,000-3,000 will be stuck at the airports for anywhere from one to four hours.” On an average day during morning rush hour, when hundreds of taxis are wallowing in traffic between the airports and Paris, back in the capital an estimated 20-45 percent of clients’ requests go unsatisfied, according to a study by G7, France’s leading taxi company. Another study by Paris taxi cooperative GESCOP placed the number closer to 70 percent. No surprise then that an eight-city sur14 Paris | March/April
vey by CNRS economist Richard Dar- Charles de Gaulle, eager to jumpstart France’s economy,, assembled experts béra found that one in four Parisians demand more taxis for their city – twice to identify “the obstacles to expansion.” Finding their way onto the shortlist as many as residents of London. The were Paris taxis, the economists calling bottom line, as Darbéra says, is that compared with other European capitals for thousands of new licenses. After two “by all standards, it is Paris that far and days of debilitating taxi strikes, the reform was buried, and for the next 30 away has the fewest taxis.” years, while London’s black cabs tripled The shortage in Paris has created in number, less than 2,000 new licenses stiff competition to join the ranks of liwere created in Paris. cense-holding ‘artisans,’ who account To make matters worse, when new for around two-thirds of the profession. After passing written, medical and road competitors started emerging in the 1970s in the form of voitures de petites exams, as well as criminal background checks, a candidate must either buy a li- remises or Private Hire Vehicles (PHVs) – taxis reserved by phone but cense from a retiring driver – costing anywhere from 140,000€ to 200,000€ restricted from street business – taxi unions flexed their muscles again. The – or add his name to the thousands algovernment responded with a series of ready on the Préfecture de Police’s 17laws and directives Darbéra describes year waiting list for a free license. as “a systematic policy of extinction to Under this system, more than 4,400 taxi drivers spend much of their career renting a license owned by taxi companies to bring in 1,100€ to 2,125€ a month, with a minority working as salaried drivers (earning 1,100€ to 1,600€ a month). Artisans' monthly net revenues vary between 1,500€ and 3,000€, according to the National Federation of Artisan Taxis (FNAT), but that’s while paying off a typical seven-year license loan. Once debt free, artisans’ monthly net earnings can exceed 4500€. As Darbéra recounts in his 2009 book, Où vont les taxis? (Where are the taxis going?), this chronic penury is the result of a long history of government capitulation before a profession with an unmatched ability to paralyze a city. In 1958, a ‘Guantanamo,’ the taxi parking lot at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport newly-elected President where some 1,000 drivers wait up to three hours to get a fare into Paris.
PHOTO: AFP JACK GUEZ
FEATURE
PHOTO: FRÉDÉRIC DEKKAL
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the benefit of the taxis’ monopoly,” which saw PHVs dwindle to around 100 today. Meanwhile in London, PHVs eventually became today’s 42,000 minicabs, complementing the city’s 24,000 black cabs. Likewise in New York, today 50,000 liveries serve the phone reservation market, with 14,000 yellow cabs working the city’s streets and taxi stands. It was thus is keeping with French tradition that in 2008, another newlyelected president, Nicolas Sarkozy, anxious to boost France’s economy, commissioned a report on the “inhibitors to growth” that sure enough identified taxis as a major stumbling block. The 2008 Attali commission recommended measures intended to eventually raise Paris taxi numbers as high as 60,000, such as providing free licenses to the Préfecture’s entire waiting list, and reopening a market for potentially thousands of new PHVs. Once again, though, after two days of debilitating taxi strikes, the Attali recommendations were abandoned. But this time, before the dust had even settled, Sarkozy was again insisting that “no one will change my belief that there is a problem of taxi supply,” and called the profession to new negotiations based on another taxi study – the Chassigneux report. The resulting protocol agreement, reached in May 2008, has since resulted in the first real growth in taxi numbers in recent times. With already more than 723 new licenses granted, several measures are intended to increase the Paris taxi fleet to 20,000. The City of Paris has eagerly prepared the ground for new users, renovating taxi stands and creating a new number – 01 45 30 30 30 – that allows users to circumvent busy call centers and ring their nearest taxi stand directly. Not to say the reform was swallowed wholesale by the profession. In December 2009, taxis answering a call by the Union for the Defense of Paris
Taxis Drivers (SDCTP) blocked traffic to Paris airports to protest plans to allot a percentage of new licenses to taxi rental companies. In the eyes of Ouanfouf, secretary general of SDCTP, the system in which taxi drivers rent their license from taxi companies at fees from 3300€ to 4500€ a month, sometimes obliging them to work far beyond the legal 11-hour day, is akin to “modern slavery,” he says. “The government sets your prices, your work hours, but they leave the renters to set any fees they like,” he protests. The movement succeeded, and the new licenses were instead reserved exclusively for salaried and rental taxi drivers on the Prefecture’s waiting list. But the rental companies achieved a net gain nonetheless, in the form of hundreds of authorizations to double up drivers on existing licenses, making a single license useable for day and nighttime shifts – not exactly the progress SDCTP hoped for. Contrary to FNAT, which favors more conservative growth of the sector based on a complicated economic index, SDCTP largely favors further increases in new licenses for salaried and rental drivers. It also regrets that of the 3,600 new taxis planned to reach the 20,000 target in 2012, only 2,000 constitute actual taxi licenses. An extension of the legal workday from 10 to 11 hours accounts for the ‘creation’ of 500 taxis; improved regulation of the Roissy base arrière accounts for 200; and the creation of a rush hour lane reserved for taxis and buses on the A1 highway between Roissy and Paris is supposed to create 600 additional taxis as well – one measure widely applauded by the profession, having long argued that improving the city’s congested traffic was the real key to alleviating any perceived taxi shortage. Now, though, we may never know whether that argument holds water. After barely a 10-month trial period, the rush hour A1 lane – which actually included only five kilometers of a much
The View from the Driver’s Seat Djillali Ouanfouf, 45, is Secretary General of the SDCTP. He is married, with two children. “As a salaried driver I earn about 1,300€ working 11 hours a day, six days a week. After 17 years in the profession, I’m still waiting for my free license. We’re in favor of new licenses – at a certain annual quota, so the existing licenses retain their value and the artisan drivers can retire with something in their pockets. But licenses for salaried and rental drivers only, not the rental companies. Guys prefer to buy a license for 180,000€ and go into debt and suffer seven years paying it off because at least they’re doing it for themselves. The rental system is like a mafia. Imagine the pressure on a guy who gets up in the morning, says goodbye to his wife and kids, and then tells himself, ‘now I have to make 160€ to pay my boss.’ The biggest problems for Paris taxi drivers are the stress of the rental system, and the stress of traffic. At certain hours, you can wait for 30 – 40 minutes without getting a taxi in Paris. Why? Because if a taxi picks up someone at 7 am who asks for Charles de Gaulle airport, the driver is forced to stay there and wait for a fare back. To come back to serve clients in Paris, they’ll spend one-and-a-half hours stuck in traffic jams. I’m convinced that if this stress was lessened, the quality of the service would be vastly improved.”
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FEATURE
longer lane originally envisioned – closed in February for 18 months or more during the renovation of A1’s Landy tunnel. The news angers drivers like Faycol Montassar, who insists taxis wouldn’t linger at Guantanamo if they could shoot back to Paris in 30 minutes. “I don’t get up in the morning to go and play cards at Roissy,” he says. “If they give us the means to come back to Paris and serve the clients, we will.” In the long term, Darbéra fears that even if all the current reforms were successful, the chronic taxi shortage Parisians have long endured wouldn’t be fully alleviated. In his eyes, only the creation of a market for Personal Hire Vehicles – the measure proposed by Attali in 2008 –would allow for the development of a diverse, reasonably-priced taxi service capable of satisfying Parisians’ needs. Darbéra’s survey reveals that while taxis are predominantly used by the richest 20% of the population in both London and Paris, in London the poorest 20% of the population use taxis as 16 Paris | March/April
often as the richest in Paris – 13 trips per year per capita – with taxi service distributed over a far wider portion of the population in London than in Paris. This is thanks to a highly competitive industry climate, in which minicabs offer lower fares on average than the regulated black cab fares. The absence of such offerings in Paris may explain why 23 percent of Parisians report they never use a taxi – more than in any other city surveyed. But a law quietly passed this summer may hint that the government is gearing up to change that. In July the city’s 300-some moto-taxis, at the behest of the drivers themselves, were given a regulatory context bringing them as close as anything else in France to the traditional PHV. Henceforth, clients of moto-taxi companies like Citybird, the market leader with a 29-bike fleet, are guaranteed their driver has a clean criminal record, an expert motorcycle driver’s license, and a vehicle meeting safety standards. For Citybird’s president, Cyril Masson, the
legislation is a sign of change to come. “We are one of the responses the government and the Préfecture are starting to apply in response to the lack of taxis,” he says. “I think the next step is they are going to begin opening the market for competition by [fourwheel] PHVs.” Hélène Manceron, communication director for FNAT, shares Masson’s suspicions, but fears what it would mean for the profession. “We have a government with liberal leanings that’s allowing people to create fleets of vehicles, but who’s going to control this?” she says. “Five years from now this will have destabilized the taxi industry.” Perhaps. But at least in the eyes of Ouanfouf, things really couldn’t get much worse. “Honestly, I’ve traveled in Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany and England, I think the Paris taxi driver is at the bottom in terms of status, work conditions and methods – and this has direct repercussions on the quality of the service,” he says. “We have a lot of work to do.” n
PHOTO: AFP PATRICK KOVARIK
Paris taxi drivers launched a massive strike at the place de la République in January 2008 to protest the recommendations of an official report calling for the free distribution of licenses to all those on the waiting list.
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parisMARCH2010:PARIS MAGAZINE 2/15/10 3:02 PM Page 18
FEATURE
Vintage Fashion
by Tina Isaac
Didier Ludot Vintage Haute Couture
18 Paris | March/April
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W
hat’s old is new again: When Julia Roberts made her comeback appearance at the Screen Actor’s Guild awards in Los Angeles last January, she wore a short black vintage Yves Saint Laurent dress. It was an object lesson in the essence of style. On a red carpet otherwise teeming with borrowed extravagance, Roberts returned to the public eye wearing not only her own dress, but a piece that conveys an innate understanding of fashion. At a time when consumers want to connect with the authenticity of what they purchase, vintage seems a logical place to start. On a trip through Paris for the recent haute couture shows, Cameron Silver, the owner of the LA store Decades Inc – a resource for countless boldfaced names – observed that vintage is growing in popularity, both across the age spectrum and in response to global interest. “The financial crisis has made the affluent shopper more open to purchasing vintage as an investment,” he said. Vintage doyenne Françoise Auguet,
the owner of Ragtime on the Left Bank, agrees. While vintage clothes are often less expensive, as well as one-of-a-kind, new clients rarely drop by for that reason alone. “New clients are drawn to vintage because they know what’s out there and they are tired of spending so much on something that won’t last,” she says. “With vintage, it’s already stood the test of time, so you know it will never go out of fashion.” As the birthplace and capital for illustrious labels past and present – from Poiret and Vionnet in the first half of the 20th century to Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Lacroix in the latter half - Paris offers some of the best vintage shopping in the world. While opinions differ on exactly when clothes become vintage (less than a decade qualifies in some shops, while Auguet, for one, considers that nothing is vintage if it’s under 30 years old), the trick, say shop owners, is to think of the clothes as you would a wine – there are good years and lesser ones, and just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s “vintage”. The rest is a matter of taste. And luck.
Ragtime
slant. If the leather couture space suits by Thierry Mugler or the leather/chainmail minidress by Paco Rabanne seem better suited to a film set or a fashion shoot, there are plenty of colorful and wearable pieces here for those in search of something a bit whimsical and out of the ordinary – think velvet-bibbed green paisley print peasant dress or red velvet bolero by YSL (350€).
Françoise Auguet is arguably Paris’ vintage doyenne, as she has been in the business for over 35 years. A special consultant to the Drouot auction house, she was the first to organize high-end sales of unique pieces and acted as curator for the record-breaking 2005 sale of a group of Poiret dresses. Everything in her Left Bank shop is in mint condition, a magnet for designers and stylists from around the world who come here to confer with Auguet on textures, cuts and prints. Auguet prides herself on having a little of everything, from no-label sixties shifts (160€) to Belle Epoque lace blouses (very popular in summer), fifties-era long evening dresses (300€ and up), gossamer drop-waisted numbers from the 1930s to a 1954 embroidered beige linen suit by Dior Couture (1,500€ and up). Auguet notes that while there is always a clientele for thirties pieces, the younger ones are quick to snap up distinctive pieces from the sixties and seventies.
23 rue de l'Echaudé 75006 01 56 24 00 36 Open Monday to Saturday, 2:30 pm – 7:30 pm
PHOTOS: FRÉDÉRIC DEKKAL
La Jolie Garde Robe Costume designers and fashion insiders rub elbows with a well-heeled clientele in this bright little shop, where Marie Rouches offers a sharply-edited if pricey array of vintage clothes and accessories from all eras, with a distinct eighties
15 rue Commines 75003 01 42 72 13 90 Open Tuesday to Saturday, 1 pm – 7:30 pm; mornings by appointment.
Thanx God I'm a VIP Before Sylvie Chateigner got into vintage, she had already made a name for herself as a queen of Parisian nightlife. “Vintage is like music– only the good stuff survives over time,” she says, and although her website still features mixes, its comprehensiveness makes it a useful tool for design studios. Her shop is a must for those in search of finds by Yves Saint Laurent – skirts from the late seventies/early eighties are her briskest sellers (90€-130€) Balenciaga, Chanel and Hermès. Chateigner admits to a preference for no-label pieces from the sixties made by local couturières. “They echo what was out there at the time, but they are truly unique,” she says. A younger clientele gravitates to the racks downstairs, where they can score funky blouses and accessories at rock bottom prices (from 5€). And because March/April | Paris 19
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FEATURE
Thanx God I’m a VIP
Chateigner hails from Brittany, she devotes a corner to regional items such as marinières (sailor striped shirts) and timeless wool peacoats.
12 rue de Lancry 75010 01 42 03 02 09 Open Tuesday to Sunday, 2 pm – 8 pm; basement only open on weekends.
La Belle Epoque La Belle Epoque’s days are officially numbered. A pioneer in the neighborhood over a decade ago, long before the Upper Marais morphed from working-class neighborhood into a gallery-hopper’s and shopper’s paradise, owner Monsieur Philippe is packing up his treasures and heading to Provence (and online) as of May 1st. A passionate, lifelong collector of hats and major labels from 1900 through the seventies, such as Poiret, Vionnet, Fath, Dior and particularly Yves Saint Laurent, he has a loyal following among international clients and fashion editors alike. Gregarious and agreeably opinionated, M. Philippe handpicks items from his personal collection each sea20 Paris | March/April
son and prepares a selection for those who share his enthusiasm for great design at unbelievably reasonable prices: Silk scarves start at 5€, suede jackets at 50€, a 1900-vintage silk top hat costs 80€, a black couture ensemble by Balmain is 150€ and black Pierre Cardin mini-dress, 200€. A hot pink, nip-waisted Dior Couture spring dress, circa 1955, will set you back 650€.
10 rue de Poitou 75003 06 80 77 71 32 Open Tuesday to Saturday, 1:30 pm – 6:30 pm; mornings by appointment only. www.philippelabelleepoque.com
Chezel Vintage is a family affair at Chezel, where mother and daughter team Dalila Azzouz and Rim Trabelsi sell affordable clothes from the late 20th century through the early 2000s essentially to a clientele that is young, hip and slim (many of them are students at the nearby lycée). Labels such as YSL Rive Gauche, Burberry, Marni, Marc Jacobs and Lanvin are mixed in with attractive, no-name cashmere sweaters (60€),
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PHOTOS: FRÉDÉRIC DEKKAL
Didier Ludot Vintage Haute Couture
perfectos (in leopard, 210€) or an impressive tableful of leather handbags (from 20€). Just don’t get too excited about the Gucci suitcase in the window – it’s the store mascot and emphatically not for sale. The Trabelsi brothers are also in on the act. Next door, Homes For is run by Amadi, who caters to both men and women and hews to a more Japanese aesthetic. Here, you can score elusive pieces by Comme des Garçons and Yohji, but also seventies-era Diane Von Furstenberg, a vermillion Chanel jacket from the eighties or nineties-era Alaïa; a chocolate leather trench tempts at 100€ and a jacket from Olivier Theyskens’ final collection for Rochas checks in at about 200€. In January another brother, Riad Trabelsi, unveiled the family’s newest addition, Since. The most avant-garde of the three, this shop gathers eighties-era finds by Thierry Mugler – a deep purple velvet dress with scarf detail (700€) or an Alaïa denim perfecto with corset lacing (380€) – which, given fashion’s current infatuation with that decade, look incredibly of the moment. A designer by trade, Riad gamely tweaks certain pieces to make them relevant for today by shortening a hem or slimming the batwing sleeves on a Chanel swing coat, for example, while keeping the clothes’ spirit intact.
Chezel
Chezel and Homes For 59 rue Condorcet 75009 01 53 16 47 31 and 01 53 16 45 32 Open Tuesday to Saturday, 2 pm – 7:30 pm (hours variable) Since 30 rue St Roch 75001 01 49 27 93 11 Open Monday to Saturday, 11:30 am – 8 pm
Didier Ludot Vintage Haute Couture A towering, dapper fixture on the fashion circuit, haute vintage guru Didier Ludot has amassed a collection of couture clothes and accessories that easily qualify as (re)investment dressing. Because he is also known for championing young talent (i.e. future vintage), Ludot’s window dressing has become a fashion week event in its own right for his clever mix of recent and rare pieces. “For me, when something’s interesting and you can’t find it anymore, it’s vintage,” he says. Inside his adjacent boutiques in the Galerie Montpensier at the Palais Royal, Ludot stocks exceptional clothes and accessories from March/April | Paris 21
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Ragtime
Chanel, Dior, Lanvin, Vionnet, Balenciaga and Fath, among others. Graphic prints by Lanvin circa 1970 start at 300€; a day dress by Patou or Courrèges around 600€, about half the price of an evening dress. But Ludot has adapted to the times, and occasionally culls from his collection an armful of little black dresses to sell at lighter prices (from 200€). A foremost authority on the history of the “little black dress” (he has authored a book on it), Ludot is also a designer in his own right. Latter-day Audrey Hepburns head to his boutique La Petite Robe Noire, in the Galerie de Valois, for his line of classic LBDs (800€ – 1,200€) as well as
his latest, accessibly-priced capsule collection, DL Palais Royal (from 450€ – 700€).
Didier Ludot Vintage Haute Couture 20-24 galerie de Montpensier, Palais Royal 75001 01 42 96 06 56 Open Monday to Saturday, 10:30 am – 7 pm La Petite Robe Noire 125 galerie de Valois, Palais Royal 75001 01 40 15 01 04 Open Monday to Saturday, 11 am – 7pm
Gripoix Founded in 1869, the iconic house of Gripoix created poured glass pieces for the biggest names in fashion for much of the 20th century before its fortunes began to taper out with the arrival of the new millennium. Luckily, a revival is at hand thanks to new owner Marie Keslassy, who has sifted through the company archives to re-edit certain pieces – for spring, a series of 12 limited edition butterflies (1,500€ each). Fans of Chanel's famous Byzantine cross necklaces, sautoirs, cuffs and chunky brooches will instantly spot a family resemblance in the Mythic Parisienne and French Riviera collections, while pieces such as hair combs, wraparound bracelets and toe rings in the Byzantine, Glamour and Grain de Riz collections are thoroughly modern additions. All, however, are still made in the house's historic Paris ateliers on the rue Oberkampf.
Gripoix is sold exclusively at Colette, 213 rue St Honoré 75001 01 55 35 33 90 Open Monday to Saturday, 1 am – 7 pm www.gripoix.fr
22 Paris | March/April
PHOTO: FRÉDÉRIC DEKKAL
FEATURE
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FOOD
Asian Flavors Spice Up French Menus Parisian chefs, and their clients, are developing a taste for Far Eastern cuisine by Alexander Lobrano
PHOTO: BRIAN WRIGHT DESIGNLAB7.COM
I
n Paris, la citronelle (lemon grass) rules, and also matcha (green tea), yuzu (a type of Japanese citrus), ginger, mirin and soy sauce. Not a day goes by when I’m not reminded of the huge impact that the cuisines of Asia are having on contemporary French cooking and the Paris restaurant scene. Consider that Le Fooding, the city’s trendy young food guide, and the Guide Pudlo, a more mainstream compendium by critic Gilles Pudlowski of Le Point, both gave special awards to the recently opened Yam’Tcha (best female cook of 2009 and Event of the Year 2009, respectively) where young Burgundy-born chef Adeline Grattard wows an international crowd with her Chinese-inflected contemporary French cuisine du marché. Restaurants serving the cuisines of Asia (India, China, Thailand and Japan) listed in the Paris 2009 Michelin guide substantially outnumber those of other European countries. Paging through the February issue of the French food magazine Saveur , I came across reviews of a very good new Japanese restaurant, Oto-Oto, in Saint Germain des Prés, and a new Thai table in Montparnasse (the excellent Spice and Wine), plus recipes for Thai bouillon with beef and vermicelli, crab and watercress spring rolls, Vietnamese pho and lieu jaune (yellow Pollack) cru au gingembre. Paris is bristling with excellent new Japanese or Franco-Japanese tables, notably Toyo, which is run by the former private chef of Paris-based Japanese fashion designer
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Kenzo, and Le Concert de Cuisine, where chef Naoto Masumoto has a hit on his hands because of the popularity of delicate and delicious Franco-Japanese dishes like pumpkin risotto, linguine with sardines and Nori seaweed, shrimp flamed in Cognac and soy sauce, and baba au umeshu (plum liqueur). One of the best dishes I ate in 2009, chef Stéphane Duchiron’s pork-filled pot stickers in star anise-spiked broth at Les Fougères, would have been impossible to find ten years ago, because no one in Paris cooked with this spice. Now I no longer have to hike to the 13th arrondissement, Paris’s traditional Asian quarter, to find fresh herbs like coriander or groceries like coconut milk. The cuisines of Asia have been enthusiastically absorbed into the mainstream of French eating habits. Tang Frères, one of the largest grocery stores in Paris specializing in Asian produce, reports that over forty percent of its clientele is now non-Asian, and the various metissages be-
out, “Asian spices have been impacting on various European kitchens for centuries. What’s new is that we’re now talking about the use of fresh Asian herbs in savory cooking, instead of baking, where ginger, cloves and other Asian spices have had a foot-hold for centuries, and also that Asia is probably the leading source of inspiration for a whole generation of talented young cooks.”
“What’s new is that we’re now using fresh Asian herbs in savory cooking” Over the course of the last 20years, Paris’s Asian dining scene has become world-class. Originally confined to a handful of hole-in-the-wall places, and the occasional dressy one – the long-running Tan Dihn in Saint Germain des Prés, for exam-
The best Japanese noodles near the rue Saint Anne in the 2nd arrondissement
tween French and Asian cooking created by Paris chefs have produced some of the best tables in town, notably William Ledeuil’s one-star Ze Kitchen Galerie and its more recent excellent off-shoot KGB. To be sure, there has always been Asian food in Paris and as Ledeuil points 24 Paris | March/April
ple – it really bloomed with the arrival of two different waves of Indochinese refugees: those who fled the French colony of Indochina (today Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) after the French withdrew, and those who chose France over the United States, Canada, Australia
and other countries at the sorry end of the Vietnamese War. A delicious multi-generational example of what happened when they arrived in France is provided by the Ta family, who run the two Au Coin des Gourmets restaurants. Truly Indochinese in the old-fashioned sense of the term (the family has Cambodian, Vietnamese and Chinese ancestry), the original restaurant in the rue Dante was a simple affair with grass cloth walls and old Air France posters on the walls. “We opened the restaurant to earn our keep when we came to France,” says Virginie Ta, “and the original menu was designed around what was then available in France, and also around our awareness that the French don’t like strong flavors.” Since then, however, a new generation of the family has remodeled the original table to give it a chic new look, opened a stylish and very popular Right Bank branch, and expanded their menus with an eye to authenticity. “Tourism had a big impact on Asian food in Paris,” says Virginie Ta. “As Parisians started visiting southeast Asia in larger numbers, they came home with an honest appreciation of Laotian, Cambodian and Vietnamese cooking. It’s easier to produce real versions of this food in Paris today, because almost all of the produce necessary is now available.” “Asia will have a big impact on French cooking,” chef Alain Ducasse told me ten years ago when he opened his world-food restaurant Spoon. “A lot of Asian cooking is fast and healthy, with bright flavors,” he added, explaining the then-innovative presence of dishes like steamed shrimp dumplings on this restaurant’s early menus. For centuries Paris chefs have looked to other kitchens for inspiration, but the extent to which Asia is currently impacting contemporary French cooking is unprecedented. The first time I realized the extent to which Paris chefs were becoming mad for Asia, and especially Japan, was some seven years ago when I interviewed young chef Inaki Aizpitarte, who was then making a
Last year, 25,139 new businesses were created in Paris, compared to 29,145 in 2008, and 28,133 in 2007
PHOTO: BRIAN WRIGHT DESIGNLAB7.COM
FOOD
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stir with delicious and original dishes like tomato-and-white peach gazpacho with green tea, and steamed chicken breasts stuffed with Tandoori spice paste at La Famille, a tiny restaurant in Montmartre. “I am hugely inspired by Japan,” he told me. “I love the way the Japanese worship the quality of their produce instead of trying to sublimate it. In Japan, they want to give it a voice.” Today cooking at the well-regarded Le Chateaubriand in the 11th arrondissement, Aizpitarte is one of the Paris chefs who has most fully mastered the culinary aesthetics of Japanese cooking. His menus change regularly but often incorporate Japanese ingredients or techniques, the idea always being to make the essential taste of the produce more eloquent. Good examples of his cooking from a recent dinner menu included “maigre, verdure” – a fine slice of raw white fish with a small garden of fresh vegetables as an appetizer – followed by a brilliant main course of cod steak with finely sliced red radishes and lardo di colonatta, beef with
faiselle (a soft fresh cheese), smoked eggplant and very fine slices of cauliflower, and a meringue dessert with Granny Smith apple juice and yam jelly.
“As Parisians started visiting southeast Asia in larger numbers, they came home with an honest appreciation of Laotian, Cambodian and Vietnamese cooking” In Paris, nothing illustrates the reciprocal fascination between France and Japan better than the dense concentration of Japanese restaurants that has grown up around the rue Saint Anne, in the 2nd arrondissement. Ten years ago, French friends blanched when I suggested sushi, but now there are so many sushi restaurants and noodle shops in this neighbor-
hood that it can be hard to know which ones to choose. My favorite noodle-soup and gyoza address is Hokkaido, and I go to Bizan for sushi. Looking toward the future, it seems likely that Paris chefs and the city’s restaurant scene will continue to look east, since India and China, the world’s two rising great powers, still aren’t as present in Paris as they are in other European cities. To be sure, Paris has its “Indian” restaurant strip in the Passage Brady, but most of these places are actually Pakistani, and the general quality of Indian cooking in Paris is middling at best. The main reason to expect that these countries will impact the Paris scene, however, is that the hotel construction booms in both of these countries will mean work abroad for hundreds of eager young French chefs, who will surely return home much influenced by their Asian adventures. So get ready for boeuf bourguignon with tandoori spices and blanquette de veau with water chestnuts, tree-ear mushrooms and bamboo shoots. n
25€ - 40€ 45€ - 75€
Paris’ Best Asian Dining Spots Bizan €€ 56 rue Saint Anne 75002 Metro: Quatre Septembre 01 42 96 67 76
Le Concert de Cuisine € 14 rue Nélaton 75015 Metro: Bir Hakeim 01 40 58 10 15
Au Coin des Gourmets € 5 rue Dante 75005 Metro: Cluny-La Sorbonne 01 43 26 12 92
Les Fougères €€ 10 rue Villebois-Mareuil 75017 Metro: Ternes 01 40 68 78 66
Au Coin des Gourmets € 38 rue du Mont Thabor 75001 Metro: Tuileries 01 42 60 79 79
Hokkaido € 14 rue Chabanais 75002 Metro: Quatre Septembre 01 42 60 60 95
Le Chateaubriand €€ 129 avenue Parmentier 75011 Metro: Goncourt 01 43 57 45 95
KGB €€ 25 rue des Grand Augustins 75006 Metro: Saint Michel 01 46 33 00 85
Oto-Oto € 6 rue Sabot 75006 Metro: Saint Germain des Prés 01 42 22 21 56
€ €€
Asian Groceries: Tang Frères 48 avenue d'Ivry 75013 Metro: Porte d’Ivry 01 45 70 80 00
Restaurant Toyo €€ 17 rue Jules Chaplain 75006 Metro: Vavin 01 43 54 28 03 Spice and Wine € 142 avenue du Maine 75014 Metro: Gaîté 01 42 20 61 27 Tan Dinh €€ 60 rue de Verneuil 75007 Metro: Solférino 01 45 44 04 84
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FOOD AT THE MARKET
The Bakers
Who Bring Muffins How an inventive American and his wife taught the French to love English muffins by Rosa Jackson
26 Paris | March/April
O
ne of the most popular stands at the Raspail organic market started with a far-fetched idea and a bicycle. Michael Healy, an adventurous American from New Jersey, arrived in Paris on a whim 19 years ago, having decided to spend Christmas in Europe. Feeling that Amsterdam was not “foreign� enough, he
took the train to Paris in search of something more exotic. Six months later, with his savings running out, Michael decided that what Paris needed was English muffins. His plan of opening a muffin factory fell through, so instead he set up a small workshop and pedaled to the Raspail market on a military bicycle built like a small cart, with a roof to protect from rain.
This January, Parisians dropped off 27,145 Christmas trees for recycling at 95 parks and gardens throughout the city
PHOTO: FREDERIC DEKKAL
to Paris
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At a time when few Parisians knew the word “muffin,” his airy little buns were such a success that soon Michael was able to expand. For him, this meant converting a beer truck into a moveable bakery complete with ovens and a temperature-controlled chamber for raising dough. Soon he was mixing and baking his muffins directly at the market with a staff of five. It was around this time that his future wife, Valérie, came into the picture. “When I saw that truck with flour everywhere,” she says, “I knew he couldn’t be French. French people are usually much more conventional.” Valérie, who worked for an industrial food company at the time, soon found herself baking alongside Michael and living with him in the Indre-et-Loire region near Saumur, 250 kilometers from Paris. Their line of baked goods expanded to include cookies and American muffins, both sweet and savory. Six years ago, when Michael’s attention turned to shipbuilding, Valérie took over the business. Because the truck had mechanical quirks that only Michael could fix, she decided to do keep it at home and do the baking on Saturday for the Sunday market. “People were a bit disappointed at first that the truck was gone, because it was quite spectacular,” she says. Valérie maintained the quality of the baking and customers continue to line up each week for the English muffins made by a Frenchwoman. Recently, her muffins were “discovered” by Daniel Rose, chef of the popular restaurant Spring, who is now stocking them at his épicerie. The secret, she says, lies in the quality of the ingredients. To be sold at the Raspail market, the muffins must be entirely organic, but Valérie goes one step further. The flour comes from a local mill, where it is stone-ground just days before she uses it. The only other ingredients are Guérande sea salt, water and fresh yeast. She kneads the dough by hand, which is hard physical work. “Michael tried many different recipes at the beginning, and even went to Cornwall to do research,”
she recalls, “but he eventually discovered that simplest is best.” Valérie occasionally introduces new products, though working alone limits how much she can turn out. At the moment she is experimenting with fudge, including a vegan version made with soymilk and flavored with anything from cranberries to rosewater. For the increasing number of customers on special diets, she also offers lactose-free carrot cake and banana bread and an eggless chocolate chip cookie. For each recipe she seeks out the best ingredients: cold-pressed sunflower oil, butter churned the old-fashioned way. She is horrified that many organic cookies and cakes sold in shops contain arteryclogging hydrogenated palm oil, which has been banned in the United States. “France is a little behind compared to other countries,” she says. Thanks to Michael’s tasty recipes and his ingenious bicycle-turned-beer truck, Valérie is showing the way forward. n
O’Regal Muffins Raspail organic market Boulevard Raspail, between the rue du Cherche Midi and the rue de Rennes, 75006 Metro: Rennes Sunday, 8:30 am – 2 pm
What’s Fresh at the Market VEGETABLES Artichokes/artichauts – Brittany, south. Look for the small artichokes known as violets, which are most tender at this time of year. Asparagus/asperges – Alsace, Loire, Rhône. White, green or purple, French asparagus is plentiful for just a few weeks.
Lamb’s lettuce /mâche – Loire. This delicate-tasting salad green thrives in cool spring weather. Morels/morilles – Southeast, southwest. Rare and expensive, this wild mushroom appears briefly in spring. Fava beans or broad beans/fèves – Provence. Early fava beans, known as févettes, are juicy and tender enough to eat raw. FRUIT Bananas/bananes – Guadeloupe, Martinique. At their best in early spring. Look for bananas from the French Caribbean islands, where sustainable growing methods are being introduced. Blood oranges/oranges sanguines – Southeast. French blood oranges are not treated with chemicals; look for them at organic stalls during their brief season that peaks in March. Strawberries/fraises – Brittany, Provence. The slender, orange-red gariguette is an early-season variety. CHEESE & DAIRY Brie – Ile de France. Made with spring milk, this semi-soft cheese has a fresh, lively taste. Cabécou – Center, southwest. Spring milk brings a nutty character to this fresh goat’s cheese. FISH & SEAFOOD Monkfish/lotte – Atlantic, Mediterranean. This meaty white fish tastes most delicate in early spring. Eel/anguille – Eel drifts towards the southwest French coast with the tides in spring, when its flesh is full of healthy omega 3s. MEAT & POULTRY Lamb/agneau – Center, south. Milk-fed lamb sold at Easter is six to eight weeks old; also look for spring lamb that has been out to pasture. Suckling pig/cochon de lait – Southwest. Though less popular than lamb, suckling pig is also raised for Easter. Rosa Jackson
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FOOD
&
DRINK
T
he urge to bite into a crunchy fresh baguette is as strong as ever in France, and has propelled the Paul chain into the country’s greatest bakery success since the glory days of Poilâne. Starting from a small bakery near Lille some 120 years ago, the company has expanded into 455 shops in France and another 129 in 24 other countries. Its market strategy is based firmly on the appeal of traditional artisanally-baked products, in contrast to the frozen varieties peddled by industrial bakeries. Paul’s black-fronted shops, half of which are franchise operations,
offer some 120 different kinds of bread. When France outlawed the use of the term boulangerie in 1998 for industrially-supplied bakeries, Paul had to drop the label, for only 40 percent of its shops bake their products on the premises. With an eye to maintaining quality, however, Paul supplies the rest with goods from the nearest Paul bakery that does. As a result, more than 4.5 million clients flock to its shops every month, snapping up some 3.6 million bread products. The company’s turnover has grown by about 80 percent since 2005, and last year reached 456€ million.
Chez Georges Step back into 1950s bohemian Paris at the old-time Chez Georges wine bar and cellar in Saint Germain des Prés. Opened in the 1930s, it hasn’t changed much since, but seems to have settled into the 1950s look. Even the patrons look like Left Bank intellectuals, circa Jean-Paul Sartre. You can get cheap wine by the small glass at the bar, tables or downstairs. Chez Georges serves up an authentic Parisian atmosphere, with never a tourist around. 11 rue des Canettes, 6th. Open evenings, closed Sundays and Mondays.
Great Organic Wines for Spring Châteauneuf du Pape Villeneuve Biens Aimés 2006 (39.00 €), goes well with thyme-roasted lamb Produced from the youngest vines of the Villeneuve domaine in the Rhône, which is dedicated to biodynamic viticulture. A fruity, spicy full-bodied red with a strong bouquet and little tannin.
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Alsace Pinot Gris Ostertag Zellberg 2006 (31.90 €), goes well with sauteed scallops A fairly full-bodied, minerally-dry white wine with a rich, voluptuous texture produced by one of Alsace's finest wine growers, André Ostertag, using organic and biodynamic methods.
Champagne Beaufort Saint Jean Brut (37.50 €) An elegant, aromatic, and freshtasting bubbly (80% pinot noir, 20% chardonnay) from the Beaufort domaine, a pioneer in organically-produced Champagne. Selected by the sommelier at Lavinia, 3 boulevard de la Madeleine 75001.
In Paris, 55.5% households have no car, 38.7% have one car, and 5.9% have two or more cars
PHOTO: BRIAN WRIGHT DESIGNLAB7.COM
Making Dough by Baking Dough
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CHILDREN ’ S PAGE
Fabulous children’s exhibitions, a sparkling selection of shows and a chic Easter egg hunt… Easter in a Palace
Showstoppers
Hôtel Ritz Easter Brunch April 4 (11 am – 3 pm) Real live bunnies, three Easter egg hunts and chocolate egg-making lessons are just some of the attractions for kids at the Hôtel Ritz this Easter. While parents indulge in a luxurious Easter brunch, children over five are invited to the Salon des Enfants (kiddies room) where sweet and savory eggs fill their tummies, and toys and activities keep them entertained. The palace will be decorated with hundreds of orchids, adding a wonderful fairy-tale touch. Reservations required. Adults: I50€; 5 – 12-year olds: 75€; Children under five: free 15 place Vendôme 75001 Metro: Tuileries, Opéra www.ritzparis.com
Aladdin and the Genie of the Lamp (Aladdin et le Génie de la Lampe) Comédie de Paris Mar 3, 4, 6, 7, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28 A colorful rendition (in French) of what most youngsters will know as a Disney Classic, whisking the audience off into the world of a Thousand and One Nights, where Aladdin, a poor, orphaned slave, has to save princess Scheherazade from an evil Magician. It’s a lively spectacular, with convincing, larger-than-life characters, bright costumes and honest singing. 42 rue Fontaine 75009 Metro: Blanche, Pigalle www.comediedeparis.com Winx on Ice Palais Omnisport de Paris Bercy Mar 12 –14 Based on the popular Winx Fairy cartoon (France 3 and Télétoon TV), this is a breathtaking ice-skating show that brings together atmospheric music, clever lighting and 30 talented ice-skaters (some dressed as giant spiders and ice monsters) to tell the magical tale of Bloom, princess of Domino, who has to save the fairy Caroline from the wicked Trix witches. 8 boulevard de Bercy 75012 Metro: Bercy www.bercy.fr
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Exhibitions Once upon a time there was Playmobil (Il était une fois Playmobil) Musée des Arts Décoratifs Until May 9 This enchanting exhibition looks back on the great story of Playmobil, the famous plastic figures created by the German brand 35 years ago. It's an opportunity for little eyes to marvel at seemingly never-ending scenes of circuses, knights, pirates, Vikings, cowboys and Indians, and animals, including rare pieces from the very first collection. It’s a nostalgic trip down memory lane for grownups too, and educational for older children who will appreciate the multimedia section, where films on how the toys are made and the brand’s old TV ads are shown. 107 rue Rivoli 75001 Metro: Palais Royal www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr
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Hungry Dinosaurs (La Faim des Dinosaures) Le Palais de la Découverte Until May 2 Ravenous, sharp-toothed monsters await your brood at this fascinating, interactive exhibition. Children can play at being paleontologists while mechanized dinosaurs (including the crestless, duck-billed Edmontosaurus, and the carnivorous Tyrannosaurus) growl, lurch and munch on plants or their freshly killed prey. It’s an exciting way for kids and parents to learn intriguing facts about how these prehistoric giants lived, and above all, what they ate. Avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt 75008 Metro: Franklin D. Roosevelt www.palais-decouverte.fr
Russia in the Park April 17 – May 16 Head to the Bois de Boulogne’s Jardin d’Acclimatation, which celebrates both its 150th birthday and France’s L’Année de la Russie (Year of Russia) with a fabulous array of Russian artisanal stands, traditional Russian dances, and live folk music. There will also be children’s workshops in dance, calligraphy and Russian doll painting. Open daily during the Easter school holidays. Jardin d’Acclimatation Bois de Boulogne 75116 Metro: Les Sablons 01 40 67 90 82 www.jardindacclimatation.fr
Bonton The long-awaited Bonton concept store for children's fashion and art de vivre opened its doors this February. Spread out over three levels, it groups together the different themes of the brand's already-existing Paris boutiques: Bonton (clothing basics in a rainbow of colors), Bonton Bazar (toys, home furnishings), Bébé Bonton (everything for baby) and Papillon Bonton (chic retro clothing with a British slant). Designed as a “living space,” the new store also has a children's hair salon, a sweet shop, a baby “spa” where young mothers can learn how to massage their babies, a reading library, and workshops for kids during school holidays. The first workshop, held on April 14 from 3 pm to 6 pm, will teach children how to bake and decorate cakes. 5 boulevard Filles du Calvaire 75003 Metro: Filles du Calvaire 01 42 72 34 69 Open Monday to Saturday, 10 am – 7 pm www.bonton.fr
Build-A-Bear Workshop Children can create their very own Teddy Bear and other stuffed animals at the Build-A-Bear Workshop. First they choose the furry friend they want to make, then stuff it, give it a heart and a personalized recorded message, and dress it after it has been stitched up. Each animal gets a birth certificate, and goes home in a houseshaped carrying case. The store organizes special birthday party workshops. Les Quatre Temps Shopping Center Parvis de la Défense 92092 La Défense Metro: Grande arche de La Défense 01 49 00 01 81 www.les4temps.com
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Around Town The best in art, theater, music and dance ART & EVENTS
Women with a Red Hat on the Fjord, 1891, by Edvard Munch at La Pinacothèque
La Pinacothèque de Paris Edvard Munch, or the Anti-Scream Until July 18 For the first time in 20 years the work of Edvard Munch is being shown in France. This retrospective offers fresh insight into the Norwegian painter known almost exclusively for his celebrated painting “The Scream.” While this painting is emblematic, it is not representative of the artist's work as a whole. Some one hundred paintings and sketches provide a wonderful opportunity to discover the experimental vision and singular style of this legendary and paradoxically little-known artist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who pioneered expressionism and fauvism. 28 place de la Madeleine 75008 Metro: Madeleine www.pinacotheque.com Tickets: 10€
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Musée du Louvre Holy Russia Mar 5 – May 24 As part of France's "Year of Russia" celebrations, the Louvre is hosting a major exhibition devoted to the history of Christian Russia, from the 9th to the 18th century. Over 400 works shown together for the first time in France, and coming mostly from Russia, trace Christian Russian art from its origins to the political and aesthetic changes imposed by Peter the Great. Pyramide du Louvre 75001 Metro: Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre www.louvre.fr Tickets: 9€ Musée d'Orsay Crime and Punishment Mar 16 – June 27 This exhibition explores the theme of crime and capital punishment and how it influenced the visual arts – including the works of great painters like Goya, Géricault, Picasso and Magritte – from 1791, when French politician Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau called for the abolition of the death penalty, to September 30, 1981, the date it was abolished in France. The result is a wide range of striking images that are sure to send a shiver up the strongest of spines. 1 rue de la Légion d'Honneur 75007 Metro: Solférino www.musee-orsay.fr Tickets: 9.50€ Musée Jacquemart-André From Greco to Dali – The Great Spanish Masters Mar 12 – Aug 1 The museum presents a group of paintings making their first appearance in France: fifty works by more than 25 great
masters from the collection of Mexican entrepeneur Juan Antonio Pérez Simón. They provide a remarkable overview of the last four hundred years of Spanish art: the Golden Age of sacred painting (El Greco, José de Ribera and Bartolomé Estéban Murillo); the art of portraiture and court life (Sánchez Coello, Goya); the assertion of a national identity (Joaquin Sorolla); and modernity (Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí and Tapies). 158 boulevard Haussmann 75008 Metro: Saint Philippe du Roule, Miromesnil w w w. m u s e e - j a c q u e m a r t andre.com Tickets: 10€ Musée Marmottan Claude Monet Women Painters and salons at the time of Proust April 15 – June 16 This fascinating exhibit recreates four of the most influential literary and music salons at the end of the 19th century, all held by women – including two princesses – who were friends and patrons of the artists. A special focus is placed on the salon of Madeleine Lemaire, herself a painter, who received artists once a week in the rue de Monceau. Through her charm and intelligence she attracted habitués such as the up and coming Manet, Bonnat, Gounod, Saint‐Saëns, Colette, Sarah Bernard and Marcel Proust. Paintings, watercolors, portraits, jewelry, documents and objets d'arts will be on display. 2 rue Louis-Boilly 75016 Metro: La Muette www.marmottan.com Tickets: 9€
Musée Cernuschi Four centuries of Japanese ceramics Until July 4 A selection of the most beautiful ceramics brought back from Japan by Henri Cernuschi during a trip he made around the world from 1871 to 1873. The 120 pieces on display, which date as far back as the 16th century, evoke aspects of Japanese life and tastes and their evolution over the centuries, particularly during the Edo period (16151868). 7 avenue Vélasquez 75008 Metro: Monceau, Villiers www.cernuschi.paris.fr Tickets: 6€ Fondation Henri CartierBresson Robert Doisneau Until April 18 Robert Doisneau, the popular French photographer who gave us such iconic images as Le baiser de l'Hôtel de Ville, is known for his honest, playful depictions of contemporary Paris street life. This exhibit brings together about 100 original prints taken between 1930 and 1966 in Paris and the suburbs (the majority of which are from Doisneau's private collection). They show another side of the photographer's work – a surprising seriousness and complexity – but also his sense of humor. 2 impasse Lebouis 75014 Metro: Gaîté www.henricartierbresson.org Tickets: 6€ Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais Turner and the Masters Until May 24 First shown at the Tate Gallery in London, this exhibition dis-
To protect its foundations, ground water under the Bastille Opera is pumped into the Seine at a rate of 100 cubic meters per hour
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Maison Européenne de la Photographie Personal Best: Elliott Erwitt Until April 4 A retrospective featuring the favorite photos of the American photographer Elliott Erwitt, a member of the Magnum photo agency since 1953, and an astute observer of daily life. Many of the 130 prints on display are rarely seen originals. Among the photographer’s favorite subjects:
children, dogs, the beach, politics and celebrities. 5/7 rue de Fourcy 75004 Metro: Saint Paul www.mep-fr.org Tickets: 6.50€
Paris 1910, the great flood Until Mar 28 To commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the great flood that struck Paris in January 1910, this exhibition brings together more than 200 spectacular images, most never seen before, as well as two rare films of the event. Though hard to imagine, the Seine rose almost to the height of its bridges. There were boats in the streets, one in four buildings were flooded, and 200,000 in the suburbs were also hit. The documentation offers an explanation of why the river rose so quickly. It also shows how inhabitants of the city came together to help with the lengthy clean-up and repairs that followed. 22 rue Malher 75004 Metro: Saint Paul www.inondation1910.paris.fr Tickets: 2€ – 4€
Musée du Louvre Meroë, Empire on the Nile Mar 24 – June 25 In this first exhibition devoted exclusively to Meroë, capital of a great empire on the Nile, two hundred works of art highlight the majesty of an ancient civilization and its intermingling of African, Egyptian and Greco-Roman influences. The royal capital of Meroë is famed for the pyramids of the kings and queens who dominated the region between 270 BC and AD 350. Pyramide du Louvre 75001 Metro: Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre www.louvre.fr Tickets: 9€ Mémorial de la Shoah Filming the concentration camps Mar 10 – Aug 31 Images of Nazi concentration camps, filmed by the allies, made their way around the world at the end of World War Two. The filmmakers, however, and the conditions they worked in, remain largely unknown. This exhibit pays tribute to three of them – John Ford,
Samuel Fuller, George Stevens – well-known Hollywood directors, whose lives and careers were changed by the atrocities they witnessed. Shown for the first time in France, a collection of documents, films and photographs trace, almost day by day, the experiences they lived first-hand and passed on to future generations. 17 rue Geoffroy-l'Asnier 75004 Metro: Saint Paul, Hôtel de Ville www.memorialdelashoah.org Free entry Espace Champerret Salon des vins Mar 27 – 30 An opportunity to meet with independent winemakers who come from all over France and are eager to have you sample (and purchase) their wares. An indispensable Inao winetasting glass is provided at the entrance and the winemakers will welcome you as if you were in their own cellars. 1 place de la porte de Champerret 75017 Metro: Louise Michel, Porte de Champerret w w w . v i g n e r o n independant.com/auxsalons/index .php Tickets: 6€
Yves Saint Laurent Retrospective Le Petit Palais (Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris) Mar 11 – Aug 29 For the first time, a major retrospective honors the 40-year career of the legendary French couturier who revolutionized women's fashion. Organized with the Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent Foundation, under the patronage of France's First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the exhibit presents over 300 haute couture and ready-to-wear masterpieces, including his signature tuxedo suits, Sahara jackets, Piet Mondrian shift dresses and magnificent evening gowns. The designer's developing style, starting with his early days at Christian Dior, is placed in historical context through photos and films. Avenue Winston Churchill 75008 Metro: Champs Élysées-Clemenceau www.yslretrospective.com Tickets: 11€
THEATER Théâtre de l'Atelier Je l'aimais By Patrice Leconte Mar 2 – June 30 In Patrice Leconte’s tear-jerking stage adaptation of Anna Gavalda’s novel Je l’aimais, Chloé (Irène Jacob), abandoned by her husband, finds herself alone with her father-in-law in his country home, where he tells a moving story of love and loss from his own life. 1 place Charles Dullin 75018 Metro: Anvers www.theatre-atelier.com Tickets: 8€ – 39€
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plays masterpieces by Canaletto, Rubens, Rembrandt and Titian alongside some of J.M.W. Turner’s most dramatic paintings, shedding light on a lesser-known side of the British Romantic painter: his relentless desire to prove that he was as good as, if not better, than the old masters he admired. More than 100 works explore the full range of Turner’s challenges to the past, as well as his fierce rivalry with his contemporaries. 3 avenue du Général Eisenhower 75008 Metro: Champs ÉlyséesClémenceau www.grandpalais.fr Tickets: 11€
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Théâtre du Palais-Royal On purge bébé & Léonie est en avance By Georges Feydeau Mar 2 – May 1 The Palais Royal theater offers two vaudeville plays for the price of one: On purge bébé, an uproarious farce about chamber pots, constipation and adultery; and Léonie est en avance, a tongue-in-cheek tale of premature birth, unpleasant in-laws and tyrannical midwives. The star-studded cast includes Cristiana Reali (last seen on stage in 2007 in Good Canary, directed by John Malkovich) and Dominique Pinon (of Amélie fame). 38 rue de Montpensier 75001 Metro: Palais Royal Musée du Louvre www.theatrepalaisroyal.com Tickets: 17€ – 52€ Théâtre de l'Odéon Un Tramway (A Streetcar Named Desire) By Tennessee Williams/ new translation by Wajdi Mouawad Mar 2 – April 3 Blanche Dubois (Isabelle Huppert) arrives in New Orleans with nothing but a suitcase full of shattered dreams and despair. With nowhere else to go, she settles into her sister’s tiny ground-floor apartment – an act that will set off a tragic, sexually explicit chain of events. Thirty
years after Williams’ death (and under the watchful eye of director Krzysztof Warlikowski), this steamy, atmospheric classic is as poignant today as when it received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1947. Place de l’Odéon 75006 Metro: Odéon www.theatre-odeon.fr Tickets: 7€ – 32€ Still on... Théâtre de la Madeleine Maison de Poupée (A Doll’s House) By Henrick Ibsen Mar 2 – July 4 Ibsen’s pertinent and hard-hitting portrayal of human nature tells the story of Nora (Audrey Tautou), a 19th-century bourgeois woman with a seemingly perfect life, who unconsciously leads herself and those around her into a web of blackmail, scandal and deceit. 19 rue de Surène 75008 Metro: Madeleine www.theatremadeleine.com Tickets: 20€ – 47€ And in English… Péniche Antipode Coffee By The Improfessionals Mar 10, April 7 After being voted the “Best Impro Show in Paris” in 2009 by the IDP
(Improfessionals Department of Propaganda), the English speaking improvisation troupe comes back to the Antipode river barge with a new extravaganza, Coffee, which promises to rock the boat (quite literally) with riotously juvenile sketches and plenty of audience participation. The show on April 7 is in French. 55 quai de la Seine 75019 Metro: Stalingrad or Jaurès www.improfessionals.com Tickets: 12€ Look out for… La Java Laughing Matters Presented by Karel Beer Stand up acts from the UK, Ireland and America play to crowds of Anglophones in need of decent belly-laughs. The program is finalized at the last minute, so check out www.anythingmatters.com for dates. Acts have previously included Greg Proops, Josie Long and Tom Rhodes. 105 rue du Faubourg du Temple 75010 Metro: Goncourt, Belleville www.la-java.fr Tickets: 15€
DANCE Palais des Congrès de Paris Show Dance April 9 – 10 After a successful France-wide tour, this glittery, 24-tableaux spectacular comes back to Paris with yet more Broadway-inspired dance (including jazz, tango, rock n’ roll, cha cha, flamenco and salsa), sparkly costumes and music to tap your feet to. 2 place de la Porte Maillot 75017 Metro: Porte Maillot www.showdance.fr Tickets: 33.50€ – 63.50€
Théâtre du Châtelet Morphoses (Christopher Wheeldon Dance Company) April 14 – 17 Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon (ex-soloist at the New York City Ballet) brings his recently-formed Morphoses troupe to the Châtelet for a triple set of imaginative, contemporary movement: Polyphonia or Continuum (with 20th-century music by Romanian-Hungarian composer György Ligeti); Slingerland Pas de Deux (to choreography by the great William Forsythe and music by Gavin Bryars); and Fool’s Paradise (with sound by one of today’s most prolific composers, Joby Talbot). 1 place du Châtelet 75001 Metro: Châtelet www.chatelet-theatre.com Tickets: 10€ – 50€ Théâtre National de Chaillot Le Prince de verre Mar 10 – 13, 16 – 20 The Centre Choréagraphique National de Nantes comes to town with the captivating tale of Samien, the “Glass Prince, who discovers that he is made of glass and sets off to discover his true origins. Expect a jamboree of offbeat, poetic choreography by Claude Brumachon and Benjamin Lamarche (co-directors of the Centre Choréographique). 1 place du Trocadéro 75016 Metro: Trocadéro www.theatre-chaillot.fr Tickets: 14€ – 29.50€ Opéra Bastille Siddharta Mar 18 – April 11 The themes of love, sacrifice and exceeding oneself are explored in Angelin Prejocaj’s allegorical ballet creation – a sumptuous interpretation of the life of Buddha, performed with humbling precision by the Etoiles of the Opera de Paris and with music by
Isabelle Huppert
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Every year, Paris hosts approximately 400 trade shows, 250 conventions and 700 business meetings
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By Marivaux Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord April 6 – May 15 In Marivaux’s 18th-century classic, Lélio, a money-grabbing suitor, promises to marry a rich Parisian, the Demoiselle de Paris (ex-Bond girl Carole Bouquet), but tries to woo an even wealthier countess. What follows is a cruel but wholly entertaining case of hidden identity, as the Demoiselle dresses up as a man (the Chevalier) to befriend Lélio and discover his true worth. Directed by film star Lambert Wilson. 36 bis, bd de la Chapelle Metro: La Chapelle www.bouffesdunord.com Tickets: 12€ – 26€ Carole Bouquet
Bruno Mantovani (his first musical creation for the Paris Opera and certainly not his last). Place de la Bastille 75012 Metro: Bastille www.operadeparis.fr Tickets: 5€ – 82€ Théâtre des Champs Elysées Les Saisons russes du XXIe siècle Mar 4 – 7 The Théâtre des Champs Elysées pays homage to 21stcentury Russian classical dance, with extracts from five ballets and costumes worthy of a Tsar’s court: L'Oiseau de Feu (with music by Stravinsky) and Shéhérazade (by Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakov) on March 4; and L'Après-midi d'un faune (by Debussy), Le Pavillon d'Armide (by Nikolai Tcherepnine) and a modern creation by the Kremlin ballet from March 5 to 7. 15 avenue Montaigne 75008 Metro: Alma Marceau www.theatrechampselysees.fr Tickets: 15€ – 89€ (Mar 4) Tickets: 17€ – 91€ (Mar 5 – 7)
Palais Omnisport de Paris Bercy Juste Debout (International hip hop dance competition) Mar 7 The world’s biggest hip-hop dance competition is a must-see for lovers of urban culture, with a mind-blowing array of performances by international street dancers – all tested on style, originality, personality and rhythm, and the four main techniques: Locking, Popping, Hip Hop and House Dance. 8 boulevard de Bercy 75012 Metro: Bercy www.bercy.fr Tickets: 25€
MUSICALS Théâtre Comédia Monty Python's Spamalot Mar 2 – April 30 Eric Idle’s celebrated musical “rip-off” of the cult 1975 movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, finally crosses the Channel with a faithful French adaptation
by Pierre-François Martin Laval (best known for the offbeat French comedy series Robins des Bois - the Robin Hoods). Expect the Python’s usual silly capers, plenty of laughs and genuinely excellent music. 4 bd de Strasbourg 75010 Metro: Strasbourg St-Denis www.theatrecomedia.fr Tickets: 9.50€ – 34.50€ Palais des Congrès de Paris Roméo & Juliette Mar 5 – April 4 After a colossal ten-year-long world tour, Gérard Presgurvic’s hit musical, Roméo and Juliette, comes back to the Palais des Congrès with all the old songs (including the theme “Avoir 20 ans” - To be Twenty years-old) and a few new faces (like John Eyzen, in the role of Mercutio, better known for his appearance in the TV reality show Star Academy). 2 place de la Porte Maillot 75017 Metro: Porte Maillot www.showdance.fr Tickets: 28€ – 83€
Café-Théâtre les Blancs Manteaux Broadway Baby Mar 7, 14, 21 & 28 Talented soprano Laetitia Ayrès (accompanied by Alexandre Javaud on piano) sings a selection of Broadway numbers. 15 rue des Blancs Manteaux 75004 Metro: Hôtel de Ville www.blancsmanteaux.fr Tickets: 20€ Casino de Paris African Footprint Mar 9 – 14 A wild mish-mash of African culture (tribal, traditional, ancestral and Americanized) with dances like Kwela-Jive, gumboot, tap, ballet and hip hop, accompanied by African percussion instruments and saxophone, and text based on the ideas of the famous South African poet Don Mattera. 16 rue de Clichy 75009 Metro: Place de Clichy www.casinodeparis.fr Tickets: 45€ – 56€ Palais Omnisport de Paris Bercy Star Wars in concert Mar 17 This unique show (an absolute must for Star Wars fans) combines John William’s cherished music (played by a live symphony orchestra and
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La Fausse Suivante
L'Olympia Captain Samouraï Flower Tour Mar 29 – 31 This brand new Rock-Opera, by Pop star Pascal Obispo, tells the story of Captain Samouraï Flower, who from his ship, Noway’s Arc, and accompanied by his crew (the members of which represent endangered parts of the planet), embarks on an adventure across the world to raises environmental awareness. 28 bd des Capucines 75009 Metro: Madeleine www.olympiahall.com Tickets: 42.50€
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choirs) with extracts from all six Star Wars movies, and a wonderful array of costumes - some of which have never been seen by the public before. May the Force be with you! 8 boulevard de Bercy 75012 Metro: Bercy www.bercy.fr Tickets: 51€ – 99.50€ Théâtre Essaïon Sophie, La Harpiste By Sophie Bonduelle Until Apr 18 Sophie the Harpist (AKA Sophie Bonduelle, a harp teacher by day and the star of her hilarious one woman show by night) whisks the audience off into the comical world of music exams, note-reading, composing and contemporary music. Expect a range of sound, from Baroque to Rap, and oodles of original sketches accompanied by the harp. 6 rue Pierre au Lard 75004 Metro: Rambuteau www.essaion-theatre.com Tickets: 10€ – 12€
OPERA Opéra Bastille Billy Budd By Benjamin Britten April 24 – May 15 Good and evil are the themed explored in Britten’s beautifully crafted tragic-opera (based on a short novel by Herman Melville), where Captain Edward Fairfax Vere (tenor Kim Begley), reflects on his life on the HMS Indomitable, and the cruel and unnecessary death of Billy Budd (baritone Lucas Meachem), a young, innocent sailor in his service. Place de la Bastille 75012 Metro: Bastille www.operadeparis.fr Tickets: 5€ – 138€
Opéra Comique Béatrice et Bénédict By Hector Berlioz Mar 2, 4 & 6 Berlioz’s 1862 comical opera (with a libretto loosely based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing) whisks audience into a larger-than-life Renaissance Sicily, where a group of matchmaking nobles convince Béatrice and Bénédict to fall in love and marry. 5 rue Favart 75002 Metro: Bourse www.opera-comique.com Tickets: 6€ – 108€ Opéra Bastille Don Carlo By Giuseppe Verdi Mar 2, 5, 8, 12 & 14 Undoubtedly Verdi’s sternest and noblest score, Don Carlo is based on the life of Carlos, Prince of Asturias (1545-1568) whose betrothed (Elisabeth of Valois) is forced to marry his father, Philip II, in a bid to end the Italian war of 1551-59. Tenor Stefano Secco embodies the title role with his usual flair and vocal dexterity. Place de la Bastille 75012 Metro: Bastille www.operadeparis.fr Tickets: 5€ – 138€
Metro: Madeleine www.olympiahall.com Tickets: TK€ L'Olympia Sylvie Vartan Mar 4 – 6 Star of the 70s, Sylvie Vartan, takes center-stage with songs from her new album, Toutes peines confondues (with text by artists like Carla BruniSarkozy, Marc Lavoine and Serge Lamy) – a soft, easy-listening concert for lovers of Chanson française. 28 bd des Capucines 75009 Metro: Madeleine www.olympiahall.com Tickets: 42.50€ Le Bataclan The Stranglers Mar 25 The Stranglers have to be the longest-surviving and most constantly successful band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the 1970s. Thirty years on, watch them showing the young’uns a thing or two about music at the Bataclan, with new songs and unrelenting energy. 50 bd Voltaire 75011 Metro: Oberkampf www.myspace.com/bataclanparis Tickets: 29.70€
CONCERTS L’Olympia Melody Gardot April 7 – 9 This new voice in jazz has taken the music world by storm, and is already on her second album. After Worrisome Heart, which came out in March 2008, she’s back to present her My One And Only Thrill, a beautiful mix of latin rhytmns, blues and melancholy love songs. 28 bd des Capucines 75009
Théâtre des Champs Elysées Barbara Hendricks Mar 17 The velveteen voiced soprano, Barbara Hendricks, sings Schubert’s Le Voyage d’Hiver (Winter Journey – a cycle of 24 poems by Wilhelm Müller) – a piece usually performed by a baritone. 15 ave Montaigne 75008 Metro: Alma Marceau www.theatrechampselysees.fr Tickets: 25€ – 84€ Palais Omnisport de Paris Bercy Peter Gabriel Mar 22 “Orchestra, no drums, no guitars” is the slogan for Gabriel’s new world tour, which features songs by David Bowie, Talking Heads and Radiohead all reworked for just orchestral instruments and voice. 8 boulevard de Bercy 75012 Metro: Bercy www.bercy.fr 58.50€ - 111.50€ Le Grand Rex The Australian Pink Floyd Show Mar 8 Come to the Grand Rex for a whole evening of Pink Floyd music, played faithfully (down to the very last note) by the bigbudget Oz-based tribute band The Australian Pink Floyd Show – a group of talented musicians
Dee Dee Bridgewater
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Salle Pleyel Dee Dee Bridgewater Mar 14 The great Dee Dee Bridgewater pays tribute to "Lady Day," Billie Holiday, in this fabulous one-off concert called “To Billy With Love”. 252 rue du Faubourg St-Honoré 75008 Metro: Ternes www.sallepleyel.fr Tickets: 45€ – 60€
More than 500 stray cats live in small colonies in the green spaces and cemeteries of Paris
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L’Olympia – 28 bd des Capucines 75009; www.olympiahall.com Mar 1: Chris Rea – a chance to hear Rea’s greatest hits, including The Road to Hell (39€ - 45€) Mar 7: La Fête de la Saint Patrick (St-Patrick celebrations) - three hours of World Music, and Celtic dancing (38.50€ - 57.20€). Mar 28: Tangerine Dream: Rocking Moon & Rolling Stars – German electronika at its best (55€ - 88€) April 5: Lisa Ekdahl – the Swedish Jazz singer performs English popfolk (45.50€ - 67.50€)
in their own right who have been perfecting the legendary rock songs for over 22 years. 1 bd Poissonnière 75002 Metro: Bonne Nouvelle www.legrandrex.com Tickets: 45.50€ – 56.50€ Casino de Paris The Four Tops & The Temptations Mar 31 For one night only, boogie on down to the funky disco and Motown hits of two of America’s biggest groups from the 60s. 16 rue de Clichy 75009 Metro: Place de Clichy www.casinodeparis.fr Tickets: 67.50€ – 95€ Palais Omnisport de Paris Bercy Rihanna Apr 28 The Barbadian R&B superstar performs her 4th album, Rated R, at Bercy, in what promises to be a truly breathtaking, high-tech show. Listen out for her worldwide hit Russian Roulette. 8 boulevard de Bercy 75012 Metro: Bercy www.bercy.fr Tickets: 46.60€ – 73€
Le Zénith Elvis, le concert Mar 9 The King as you’ve never seen him before, with several screens and live music by the Imperials (the gospel band Elvis performed with), the TBC band and Sweet Inspirations. Expect surprise songs like Live me and You don’t Have to Say you Love Me and classics like Blue Suede Shoes. 211 ave de Jaurès 75019 Metro: Porte de Pantin, Porte de la Villette www.zenith-paris.com Tickets: 45€ – 67€ Le Zénith de Paris The Cranberries Mar 22 & April 12 After seven years apart, the Irish rock band (headed by Dolores O’Riordan who has now started a solo career) is celebrating 20 years with a world tour. Expect the usual favorites, plus a few new numbers. 211 ave de Jaurès 75019 Metro: Porte de Pantin, Porte de la Villette www.zenith-paris.com Tickets: 51€ – 67.50€
Palais Omnisport de Paris Bercy Whitney Houston April 6 After years of controversy and turmoil, the queen of soul is back on track (and more beautiful than ever) with her “I Look to You” world tour and a new album, entitled Whitney Houston - The Deluxe Anniversary Edition. 8 boulevard de Bercy 75012 Metro: Bercy www.bercy.fr Tickets: 51€ – 89.50€
Le Grand Rex Foreigner April 13 The group that brought the world treasured songs like “I wanna Know what Love is” and “Cold as Ice,” play for one night only at the Grand Rex – a rare opportunity to see the rock classics played by the creators themselves. 1 bd Poissonnière 75002 Metro: Bonne Nouvelle www.legrandrex.com Tickets: 39.50€ – 51€
Casino de Paris – 16 rue de Clichy 75009; www.casinodeparis.fr April 1: Maceo Parker – James Brown’s former saxophonist plays over two hours of funky soul and jazz (36.20€ - 39.50€) Mar 16 – 28: Dany Brillant (Salsa Tour) – Fancy foot movement and vocals by France’s favorite crooner (37€ - 56€) Théâtre des Champs Elysées – 15 avenue Montaigne 75008; www.theatrechampselysees.fr Mar 22: Manu Katché – the renowned French drummer’s new jazz group, featuring Jason Rebello (piano), Pino Palladino (electric bass-guitar), Tore Brunborg (saxophone) and Kami Lyle (vocals) (35€) Palais Omnisport de Paris Bercy – 8 boulevard de Bercy 75012; www.bercy.fr Mar 20: La Nuit de la Saint Patrick – musical celebrations for St Patrick’s Day followed by a giant fest noz, a traditional Breton dance (29.50€ - 69.50€) April 14: Tokio Hotel – songs from the neo-gothic German band’s science fiction-inspired album, Humanoïd (41€ - 51€) April 20: Roberto Alagna – the golden-voiced Italian tenor presents his second album "Sicilien."
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AROUND TOWN
ALSO AT THE…
AROUND TOWN
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Sunset-Sunside 60 rue des Lombards 75001 Metro: Châtelet www.sunset-sunside.com The world-famous Sunset and Sunside clubs form a single complex offering two concerts every night. The Sunset is dedicated to electric jazz and world music, while the Sunside is devoted to acoustic jazz. For a complete concert schedule please visit the club’s website.
JAZZ CLUBS Duc des Lombards 42 rue des Lombards 75001 Metro: Châtelet www.ducdeslombards.com This club is one of the classics, featuring everything from free jazz to more traditional forms like hard bop. Each night the same artist performs at 8 pm and 10 pm. Entry: 19€ – 28€. Every Friday and Saturday, free entry to jam sessions starting at midnight. March highlights Concerts at 8 pm & 10 pm Mar 15: Niels Lan Doky (piano) with his Danish Trio featuring Alex Riel (drums), Morten Ramsbol (bass) Mar 16: Pierre Christophe Quartet Mar 17: Anne Paceo (awardwinning drummer) Mar 18: Arild Anderson Mar 19 & 20: Herb Geller (alto sax), Roberto Magris (piano), Nikola Matosic (bass), Enzo Carpentieri (drums) Mar 22 & 23: James Moody Mar 25: Hugo Lippi Trio with guest Christian Escoude Mar 29: Ed Cherry Trio Mar 30: Jean-Philippe Viret Trio April highlights Concerts at 8 pm & 10 pm April 6 & 7: Jeremy Pelt (trumpet) Quintet featuring JD Allen, Xavier Davis (piano), Dwayne Burno and Gerald Cleaver (drums) April 12 & 13: Kyle Eastwood – the son of Hollywood star Clint Eastwood has become a talent in his own right as a critically-acclaimed acoustic and electric bass player. His most recent album, Metropolitain, was produced in Paris and features some of today's top jazz musicians. Don't miss the opportunity to hear him perform his signature laid-back groove mixed with jazz and funk. April 19: Amnesic Quartet, Trib-
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Kyle Eastwood, son of actor Clint Eastwood
ute to Radio head Sébastien Paindestre (keyboard), Joachim Florent (double bass), Fabrice Theuillon (soprano sax), Antoine Paganotti (drums) For full March/April programs please consult the club’s website. Le Baiser Salé 58 rue des Lombards 75001 Metro: Châtelet www.lebaisersale.com This branché jazz fusion club has concerts nightly at 7:30 pm and 10 pm. Free jam sessions every Monday night at 10 pm, one drink minimum, from 11€.
and double bass 12€ – 17€ Mar 22 at 7:30 pm: Xavier Harry – the pianist/composer and his band perform a show in tribute to French Guyana 10€ – 15€ Mar 26 at 10 pm: Cyril Achard (acoustic guitar), Véronique Ebel (vocals) – a sensuous program of love poems by Louis Aragon set to music. 13€ – 18€ Mar 27 at 7:30 pm: Daniela Conejero (vocals, percussion, acoustic guitar), Simon Gonzalez (electric and acoustic guitars), Marcelo Cordova (electric bass, double bass), Davy Honnet (drums) latin jazz 10€ – 15€
March highlights Every Monday at 10 pm: Jam Session with percussionist Francois Constantin and guests. Free entry. Every Tuesday at 7:30 pm: Antilles Project – Mario Canonge (piano), Tony Chasseur (vocals), Thierry Fanfant (bass), and JeanPhilippe Fanfant (drums) 10€ – 15€ Every Wednesday at 7:30 pm: Jazz Duo – Mario Canonge (piano)/ Michel Zenino (double bass) 10€ – 15€ Mar 20 at 7:30 pm: Kpricorne – Jean-Baptiste Foulquier (guitar/vocals), Daniet (drums), Yann (guitar), Michel (flûte), Bernard (bass and guitar) 10€ – 15€ Mar 21 at 9 pm: Susanna Bartilla Quartet – vocals, guitar, piano
April highlights Every Monday at 10 pm: Jam Session with percussionist Francois Constantin and guests. Free entry. Every Tuesday at 7:30 pm: Antilles Project – Mario Canonge (piano), Tony Chasseur (vocals), Thierry Fanfant (bass), and JeanPhilippe Fanfant (drums) 10€ – 15€ Every Wednesday at 7:30 pm: Jazz Duo – Mario Canonge (piano)/ Michel Zenino (double bass) 10€ – 15€ April 2 & 9 at 7:30 pm: Lydie Wai (vocals/piano), Thierry Lier (piano), John Betsch (drums) and Darryl Hall (double bass) 10€ – 15€ April 16 at 7:30 pm: Xavier Harry – the pianist/composer and his band perform a show in tribute to French Guyana 10€ – 15€
Sunset Program highlights: Mar 3 at 10 pm: Glenn Ferris (saxophone) Trio - contemporary jazz 22€ Mar 12 – 13 at 10 pm: Thomas Savy (clarinet) Trio 22€ April 16 – 19 at 9 pm: Carte blanche with Daniel Mille (accordeonist) 25€ Avril 22 – 25 at 10 pm: Mina Agossi (vocals) - pop jazz 25€ April 30 & May 1 at 9 pm: Alex Tassel (trumpter) quintet 22€ Sunside Program highlights: Mar 3 – 4 at 9 pm: Kellylee Evans Quartet 22€ Mar 7 (6 & 9 pm) – Mar 8 (8 & 10 pm): Dave Liebman and the mythic group “Quest” 25€ Mar 13 at 9 pm: Matthieu Boré Quartet 22€ Mar 16 – 18 at 8 & 10 pm: Jacky Terrasson Trio 25€ Mar 30 – April 1 at 9 pm: Giovanni Mirabassi Trio 25€ April 2 – 3 at 9 pm: Miguel Zenon Quartet 25€ April 14 – 17 at 9 pm: Moutin Reunion Quartet - bebop jazz 25€ April 19 – 22 at 9 pm: Julien Lourau Quartet 25€ April 28 – 29, May 1 at 9 pm: Baptiste Trotignon 25€ Festival Bee Jazz March 19 – March 23 The Bee Jazz label is one of the most dynamic European labels in the jazz sector and presents its
There are 1,300 commemorative plaques in Paris, 1,000 of which are related to the Second World War
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At the Sunset Mar 19 at 8 pm: Issam Krimi “Barbara piano solo” and guests 20€ Mar 20 – 22 at 8 pm: Karen Lano (vocals) – pop jazz 15€ Mar 21 at 10 pm: Jozef Dumoulin Quartet 22€ Mar 23 at 9 pm: Nelson Veras Trio – guitar, drums and double bass 22€ At the Sunside Mar 20 at 9 pm: Guillaume de Chassy (piano), Daniel Yvinec (double bass) and guests 25€ Mar 21 at 8 pm: Issam Krimi “Barbara piano solo” and guests 20€ Mar 21 at 9 pm: Stéphane Spira (saxophone) and Giovanni Mirabassi “Spirabassi” (piano) 25€ Mar 22 at 9 pm: Edwin Berg Trio – piano, drums and double bass 22€ New Morning 7/9 rue des Petites Ecuries 75010 Metro: Château d'Eau www.newmorning.com March highlights Mar 13 & 17: Patricia Barber – piano/vocals Mar 15: San Francisco Jazz Collective plays the music of Horace Silver - Stefon Harris (vibes), Edward Simon (piano), Mark Turner (sax), Robin Eubanks (trombone), Avishai Cohen (trumpet), Miguel Zenón (sax), Matt Penman (bass) and Eric Harland (drums). Mar 16: Boubacar Traoré – blues Mar 18: N’dambi – soul singer Mar 20: Mike Mainieri & Northern Lights - the famous vibraphonist performs with the new group of Norwegian pianist Bugge Wesseltoft. Mar 27: Elliott Murphy – blues
April highlights April 12: Fred Wesley April 23: John Scofield For a complete list of March/April concerts please consult the club’s website. Le Caveau des Oubliettes 52 rue Galande 75005 Metro: Saint Michel www.caveaudesoubliettes.fr A great old-fashioned jazz venue in the Latin Quarter. Open every day 5 pm – 4 am. Concerts or jam sessions every night, 10 pm – 2 am. Free entry – drinks from 6€. For a list of March/April concerts please see the club’s website. Chez Papa Jazz Club and Restaurant 3 rue Saint Benoit 75006 Metro: Saint Germain des Prés www.papajazzclub.com Listen to great live jazz over dinner or a drink: Tuesday to Thursday, 9 pm – 1 am/ Friday & Saturday, 9:30 pm – 1:30 am. Drinks 13€ 20€. French singers often perform on weekends. For a complete schedule of March/April concerts, please consult the club's website. Upcoming concerts: Mar 3: Laurent Courthaliac (piano) and Dmitry Baevski (saxophonist) Mar 5 & 6: Philippe Duchemin (piano), Dano Haider (guitar) and Fabien Marcoz (double bass) Mar 10 & 11: Alain Jean Marie (piano), Yves Brouqui (acoustic guitar) Mar 12 & 13: Jacques Vidal Trio – Double bass, piano and drums Mar 17 & 18: Alain Jean Marie (piano), Caroline Faber (vocals) Mar 19 & 20: Maria de Angelis Trio – vocals, piano and doublebass Mar 24: SOIRÉE BLUES – Pierre Sibille (vocals/piano) accompanied by drummer Moses Patrou (to be confirmed)
Mar 25: Makoto Kuriya Trio – the former pianist of Chuck Mangione is accompanied by double bass and drums Mar 26 & 27: Trio Façon Fats Waller – with the award-winning pianist Louis Maztier and Pauline Atlan (vocals) April 2 & 3: Marc Thomas Trio – vocals, piano and double bass April 9 & 10: Margeaux Lampley (vocals), Olivier Hutmann (piano) and double bass April 14, 15 & 16: Ayati Kafe – Frank Sinatra-style singer, accompanied by pianist Alain Jean Marie and double bass April 30: SOIRÉE SWING JAZZ – a very rhythmic evening with pianist Rémi Toulon, Vincent Frade (drums) and Jean-Luc Arramy (double bass) Théâtre du Châtelet Brad Mehldau Mar 3 The American jazz pianist who played with the Joshua Redman Quartet before forming his own trio, returns to Paris for a solo performance. 1 place du Châtelet 75001 Metro: Châtelet www.chatelet-theatre.com Tickets: 20€ – 55€ Théâtre des Champs Elysées Django 100 Mar 14 Gypsy jazz celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Danjo Reinhardt – featuring his grandson David Reinhardt, Boulou Ferré, Elios Ferré, Romane, Noé Reinhardt, Angelo Debarre, Stockelo Rosenberg and Mathieu Chatelain. 15 avenue Montaigne 75008 Metro: Alma Marceau www.theatrechampselysees.fr Tickets: 42€ Caveau de la Huchette 5 rue de la Huchette 75005 Metro: Saint Michel www.caveaudelahuchette.fr This temple of swing jazz has
hosted all the greats since its opening in 1947. The club opens at 9:30 pm. Concerts every night, 10:15 pm – 2:15 am. Entry: 12€ (Sun – Thurs) and 14€ (Fri & Sat). For an updated concert schedule, please visit the club’s website. Mar 1 & 2: Dominique Bertrand, band inspired by West Coast jazz Mar 3: Nicolas Dary and Luigi Grasso, Talented young saxophonists, Swing to Bop Mar 4 – 6: Jacky Milliet, Swiss dixieland band Mar 8 – 11: Jérome Etcheberry, trumpeter Mar 12: Brother "D" Blues Band, inspired by the blues from 1945 to1955 Mar 16 – 17: Eric Luter, a tribute to Boris Vian Mar 18 – 21: Drew Davies Swing Band, repetoire of Louis Jordan, T Bone Walker Mar 23 – 27: Sarah Moreau, American trombonist Mar 28: Sweet System, trio of female jazz vocalists Mar 28 – 29: David Sausay, saxophonist Mar 31: Julien Brunetaud, pianist influenced by Fats Domino, Fats Waller, Count Basie April 1 – 2: Julien Brunetaud, pianist influenced by Fats Domino, Fats Waller, Count Basie April 4 – 5: David Sausay, saxophonist April 6 – 9: Gunhild Carling, internationally-renowned Swedish poly-instrumentist April 11 – 14: Pat Giraud, organist April 16 – 18: Good time Jazz, middle swing repertoire April 20 – 22: Robert Papasian, tribute to Django Reinhardt April 25: Brothers "D" Blues Band April 24 – 27: Marc Thomas, crooner and saxophonist April 28: Sweet System, trio of female jazz vocalists April 29 – 30: Drew Davies, saxophonist Compiled by Anna Brooke
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AROUND TOWN
second festival at the Sunset and Sunside. Along with its star artists, Bee Jazz is also featuring its newly signed ones.
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EDITORIAL
Où Sont les Taxis? As President Nicholas Sarkozy correctly pointed out, “Paris is the only major city where you can’t find a taxi.” In fact, one of his first initiatives after becoming president in 2007 was to try to change the law in order to allow more taxis on the streets of Paris. The result was typical: massive strikes by taxi drivers blocking the major gateways to the city. After two days of one- hour waits to pass through areas such as the Porte Maillot, the plan was given up. The taxi drivers won again but the residents of Paris lost. A golden opportunity was squandered even though, unusually for France, most residents of the city were against the strikers’ demands, which amounted to keeping the unworkable status quo of few available taxis. We all know the frustration of calling for a taxi to go to the airport at 8 am only to be told that no taxis are available until after 10am. (Why It’s so Hard to Find a Cab in Paris, pages 12-16). The reason is simple: they are all already at the airport waiting in line for fares into the city. The few taxis that are in Paris make for a hit-or-miss proposition. Sometimes there are taxis at the cab stands and sometimes there are none. Suitcases in hand, we wait – there could be ten taxis lined up ready to go or not a single one in sight for hours. The solution is obviously to put more taxis on the streets. How a city like Paris could have roughly the same number of taxis as in 1937 boggles the mind. Private Hire Vehicles (PHV) could also help alleviate the problem, if they were allowed. These taxis can only be reserved by phone and do not cruise the streets looking for fares. They add to the number of taxis by picking up the slack for the lack of taxis available for reserved trips. When London had a similar problem, it added 42,000 PHV, while in the same time period Paris added a pitiful 100. A proposal for more PHV in Paris was scuttled by the taxi union, which proceeded to declare it a victory for both drivers and consumers – completely denying any semblance of reality. It is high time for government capitulation to end. President Sarkozy tried, but backed down as quickly as his predecessors, even though his reforms were relatively minor. The taxi unions must be taken on and defeated – it is that simple. The present shortage is a huge impediment to economic growth in the city and a source of needless frustration for its citizens. n
PARIS MAGAZINE 11 av. de l’Opéra, 75001 Paris Tél. 01.53.45.70.10 info@parismagazine.fr Publicité: Tél. 01.53.45.70.16 Published by JSW Group EURL Capital 9,000 euros 11 av. de l’Opéra, 75001 Paris 493831580 RCS Paris Executive Editor: John Flint Editor: Marie Puleo Art Director: Brian Wright at www.designlab7.com
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Opening Day Each spring, on the first day of baseball season, the old Herald Tribune (later the International Herald Tribune) published Dick Roraback’s ode to an expatriate’s longing for baseball, “The Crack of a Bat.” The poem ran every opening day from the early 1960s until a few years ago, when The New York Times bought the International Herald Tribune. Roraback, a longtime sports editor of the Herald Tribune in Paris, got his job in an unusual way. One day, while reading the paper’s sports pages, he became so upset with their shoddy quality that he wrote an editor a letter of complaint. The editor wrote back that if Roraback felt he could do a better job, he should come by. Roraback did just that, was hired, and remained the sports editor for 15 years, from 1957 to 1972. In the tradition of the old Herald Tribune, here is Dick Roraback’s reflection on living in Paris but longing for opening day of the baseball season.
THE CRACK OF A BAT by Dick Roraback Away on this side of the ocean When the chestnuts are hinting of green And the first of the café commandos Are moving outside for a fine And the sound of spring beats a bolero As Paree sheds her coat and her hat The sound that is missed more than any Is the sound of the crack of a bat.
Advertising: Chealsy Choquette Directeur de la publication: William Martz Circulation and Marketing Director: Jane Blassel Writers: Anna Brooke, Tobias Grey, Tina Isaac, Jeffrey T. Iverson, Rosa Jackson, Corinne LaBalme, Alec Lobrano, Meredith Mullins, Lisa Nesselson, Cathy Nolan, Carolyn Pfaff, Virginia Power, Joe Ray, Annabel Simms, Thirza Vallois Photographers: Alison Harris, Meredith Mullins, JB Russell, Annabel Simms, Brian Wright Le numéro de CPPAP: 1011K89969. ISSN 2103-9011
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There’s an animal kind of a feeling There’s a stirring down at Vincennes Zoo And the kid down the hall’s getting restless Taking stairs like a young kangaroo Now the dandy is walking his poodle And the concierge sunning her cat But the heart’s with the Cubs and the Tigers And the sound of the crack of a bat. In the park on the corner run schoolboys With a couple of cartons for props Kicking goals à la Fontaine or Kopa While a little guy chickies for cops “Goal for us,” “No it’s not,” “You’re a liar,” Then the classical shrieks of a spat But it’s not like a rhubarb at home plate Or the sound of the crack of a bat. Here the stadia thrill to the scrumdowns And the soccer fans flock to the games And the chic punt the nags out at Longchamp Where the women are dames and not dames But it’s different at Forbes and at Griffith The homes of the Buc and the Nat Where the hotdog and peanut share laurels With the sound of the crack of a bat. No, a Yank can’t describe to a Frenchman The rasp of an umpire’s call The continuing charms of statistics Changing hist’ry with each strike and ball Nor the self-conscious jog of the slugger Rounding third with the tip of his hat Nor the half-smothered grace of a hook slide Nor the sound of the crack of a bat. Now, the golfer is buffing his niblick And the tennis buff’s tightening his strings And the fisherman’s flexing his flyrod Like a thousand and one other springs Oh, the sports on both sides of the ocean Have a great deal in common, at that But the thing that’s not here At this time of the year Is the sound of the crack of a bat.
g
Parisian Soirées by Adrian Lees Food and passion, two good reasons to live in Paris, are also essential ingredients of any successful dinner party. If you do crack an invite to one, don’t confuse it with a light-hearted gathering for a bite to eat. Generally speaking, the earlier the invitation arrives, the more serious the event. It’s not uncommon for the hostess to reveal an element of the meal (“I’m thinking of doing a bœuf bourguignon, do join us on the 12th…”) as a way to set the tone and guide you in the choice of wine to bring. For heaven’s sake don’t arrive on time or you are likely to catch your host carrying the Picard boxes out to the trash and your hostess swigging from left-over lunch wine before she steps into the shower. On Dinner Party Day, be sure to Google the news before setting out – if someone important has died, you don’t want to find this out over appetizers, particularly if you have never heard of the recently deceased. If in doubt, lament the loss of anyone from the arts but beware of politicians (some people actually like them). Dress up and go extravagant – flowers are always a winner, go for abundant wrapping. You can’t go wrong with champagne either, and if you do bring something edible, it should be from a trendy Left Bank speciality store, in its original packaging. If you are really broke, go to Belleville and procure an obscure but exotically presented box of Vietnamese confiseries and pass it off as the latest thing. Consider the aperitifs and snacks as foreplay. Passing around the platter of salmon toasts lets you approach everyone under the foil of the servable newcomer. Suss out the guests (this is where the alliances form), but don’t commit until you know the seating plan. French dinner parties require audience
participation – the hostess has spent hours doing the catering, and now it’s your job to amuse. Be prepared to perform – guests are less interested in your opinion than in the passion with which you express it. It’s perfectly acceptable to hit the table with a body part, preferably one of yours, to make your point, but do keep an eye on the crystal glasses or things could get ugly with the hostess. You have to be able to back up whatever you say, preferably by some celebrity endorsement (Carla Bruni says…) or if all else fails, hard fact. Sex, politics and religion make excellent topics of conversation – gossip and hearsay are far more entertaining than astute analysis. Like a good soufflé, keep it fluffy, keep it light. And keep eating – the more courses you survive, the more likely you are to get invited back. Do ask your hostess the origin of her more original treats – note the pride with which the exact stall and years of patronage at a distant market are described. Dessert and the accompanying sweet wine always provide the perfect moment to patch up any differences. When to gracefully exit is key – if you rise, wave, grab your coat and dash out, you will never cross the threshold again. A key measure of success for the hosts is whether guests are having so much fun that they miss the last metro and have to taxi home. It is important to linger in the entrance hall, as if too mesmerised (rather than anesthetised) by the beauty, charm and harmony of it all to want to leave. As a rough guide, from table to outside on the landing should take as long as it took from arrival to being seated at the table. And remember that sounds carry far in old staircases, so only start disparaging the other guests – or the particularly pompous host – once you are well out of earshot. n
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PARIS LIFE
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Paris Life Great activities for spring
LITERARY EVENTS
Other events
Special Events
AMERICAN LIBRARY IN PARIS 10 rue du Général Camou 75007 Metro: Ecole Militaire, Alma Marceau 01 53 59 12 60
A Night at the Movies Presented by film school professor and consultant Judith Merians, this series explores how storytelling in words differs creatively from storytelling in films.
Unless otherwise noted, events take place at the library at 7:30 pm, and are open to the general public free of charge.
Mar 25: Jaws – Creating suspense on screen through music and editing. April 12: Schindler's List – Establishing a documentary feel through the use of black and white film and historical details.
Mar 13, 2 pm – 6 pm Spring Open House: Tours, demonstrations and activities for children. April 15: San Francisco theater company, Word for Word, presents Tennessee Williams's short story, Two on a Party at the Salle Adyar. For ticket information visit: www.americanlibraryinparis.org
Mar 10: Ann Mah discusses food, fiction and the regional cuisine of China and presents her book, Kitchen Chinese: A Novel about Food, Family and Finding Yourself. Mar 24: Paula Butturini will be discussing her memoir, Keeping the Feast. April 7: Stephen Clarke, author of A Year in the Merde, presents his new book, 1000 Years of Annoying the French. April 14: Michael Palin, former Monty Python comic, discusses travel writing and his book, Around the World in Eighty Days.
Evenings with an Expert Mar 4: Jane Weissman presents Protest and Celebration: Community Murals in New York City. Mar 23: Talk About Art: Jamileh Talebizadeh discusses Hemingway, Cézanne and Flaubert: the influence of writers on artists and vice versa. @The Library events The Library joins with other non-profit organizations in the community to present its @The Library program. Mar 9: WICE@The Library: Writers on Writing. Tioka Tokedira discusses the ins and outs of getting a children's book published. Mar 18: WICE@The Library: Upstairs at Duroc. An evening of contemporary poetry readings to celebrate France’s Poetry Month. Mar 30: AAWE and MESSAGE@The Library: Clinical social worker Kristin Duncombe will discuss bullying and harassment, and how to help children cope.
THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF PARIS Mar 16 at 6:30 pm A conversation with the recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Literature Gao Xingjian, in the Grand Salon (31, ave Bosquet 75007 Paris). Open to the public free of charge. Contact Dan Gunn to reserve: dgunn@aup.fr WH SMITH 248 rue de Rivoli 75001 Metro: Concorde 01 44 77 88 99 Author events take place at the bookshop at 7pm and are open to the general public free of charge. Reservations are recommended. For schedule updates, please see www.whsmith.fr Mar 25: Stephen Clarke will present his new book, 1000 Years of Annoying the French. SHAKESPEARE AND COMPANY 37 rue de la Bûcherie 75005 Metro: Saint Michel 01 43 25 40 93 Readings take place at the bookshop at 7 pm and are open to the public, free of charge. For an updated schedule please see www.shakespeareco.com
Mar 1: A reading and wine tasting with American writer Kristin Espinasse and her husband, winemaker Jean-Marc Espinasse (Domaine RougeBleu). Kristin will discuss her book Words in a French Life, based on her popular blog (French Word-A-Day). JeanMarc will conduct a wine tasting afterwards with the wine that he produces. Mar 8: Chloe Aridjis will read from The Book of Clouds, a haunting, masterfully wrought debut novel about a young woman adrift in Berlin, where a string of fateful encounters leads to romance, violence, and revelation. Mar 15: Roma Tearne, a Sri Lankan-born artist and novelist based in Britain, will discuss her writing and read from a selection of her works, including Mosquito (shortlisted for the Costa First Book Award), Bone China and Brixton Beach. Mar 22: Constance Borde and Sheila Malovany-Chevallier will discuss their new collaborative translation of Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex, a landmark in the history of feminism that marks its 60th anniversary of publication. They have produced the first integral translation, reinstating a third of the original work. Mar 29: As yet unannounced reading. Please consult the website. April 5: As yet unannounced reading. Please consult the website. April 12: Irene Vilar will read from her much-praised memoir Impossible Motherhood: Testimony of an Abortion Addict, and will also discuss her first book The Ladies' Gallery.
Michael Palin
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The stalls of the 217 book sellers (bouquinistes) lining the banks of the Seine hold some 300,000 used and rare books
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VILLAGE VOICE 6 rue Princesse 75006 Metro: Mabillon 01 46 33 25 34 All events take place at the bookshop at 7 pm. They are open to the public, free of charge. For more details and an updated schedule visit: www.villagevoicebookshop.com March 25: Peter Jungk will present his newly released novel The Inheritance. Jungk is the author of eight books including the acclaimed biography of Franz Werfel. He lives in Paris and works as film script author, translator and essayist. April 15: Jerome Charyn discusses his new work The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson, an astonishing novel that removes Emily Dickinson’s own mysterious mask and reveals the passions and heartbreak of Amerca’s greatest poet.
IRISH CULTURAL CENTER EVENTS CENTRE CULTUREL IRLANDAIS 5 rue des Irlandais 75005 Metro: Cardinal Lemoine, Place Monge 01 58 52 10 30 All events are open to the public and, unless otherwise noted, are free of charge. Reservations are recommended. Exhibits Mar 12 – April 23 (opening Mar 11, 6:30 pm – 8 pm) Frame, Glass, Black – Niamh O’Malley The artist's most recent exhibit consists of a major new video work filmed at the Humber Bridge in northeast England, a series of sculptures using painted two-way mirrors, and a new series of drawings. Concerned with the fabricated nature of the viewing experience, her use of complex framing devices emphasize the distance between source and spectacle. Hours for the above exhibit: Tuesday to Saturday, 2 pm – 6 pm (until 8 pm on Wednesday) and Sunday, 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm Cinema Mar 2 at 7:30 pm The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008) – Mark Herman's drama film based on the best-selling book by Irish novelist John Boyne. Set during World War II, it recounts how a 9 year-old German boy, whose father is in command of Auschwitz, befriends a Jewish boy who lives in the concentration camp. Literary encounters Mar 4 at 7:30 pm John Boyne – The award-winning Irish author of numerous
short stories and novels, will discuss his work, including the literary phenomenum The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (translated in more than forty languages), and his latest book The House of Special Purpose. Mar 18 at 8 pm Literary Café: Eureka Street – The Irish Cultural Center and the Université de la Sorbonne-Paris IV invite you to a literary discussion (in English) of Eureka Street, a novel about contemporary Ireland written by Robert McLiam Wilson. Reservations required (places limited to 25). Tickets: 5€ Mar 23 at 7:30 pm The Media Library meets... Conall Morrison – Artist-inresidence Conall Morrison is a Dublin-based director and writer who most recently staged La Traviata for the English National Opera and The Taming of the Shrew for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Free entry. Reservations required. Concerts Mar 17 at 7:30 pm St Patrick's Day concert North Cregg – This traditional group produces some of the freshest and finest sounds to be heard in Irish music today. Reservations required. Tickets: 15€ Concert and reading Mar 31 at 7:30 pm A “Beat Generation” Evening The Irish Cultural Center's composer-in-residence Sid Peacock met Allen Ginsberg when he read at the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast. Accompanied by fellow-musician Steve Tromans, Peacock will narrate some of the major Beat works: Allen Ginsberg’s Howl, Gregory Corso’s Bomb, excerpts from Jack Kerouac’s On the Road and William Burroughs’ The Naked Lunch.
Conferences Mar 25 at 7:30 pm A Look at Ireland A conference presented by Mary Raftery, a broadcaster, filmmaker and writer whose scrutiny of the Irish childcare system between the 1930s and 1980s led to the government’s creation of a special child abuse commission.
CITY WALKING TOURS
Paris Movie Walks Michael Schürmann, a journalist based in Paris since 1993, has written a book of ten walking tours, entitled Paris Movie Walks: Ten Guided Tours Through The City of Lights! Camera! Action! Four walks take you past all of Paris' famous sites, another four take you to more hidden nooks, while telling you where famous movie scenes where shot. Two others explore the "Old Paris" of 30s and 40s film classics. Along the way, the author provides commentary to enrich your appreciation of what you're seeing. Maps make it easy to follow the routes, and a film index guides you to the locations used in 160 films, ranging from The Bourne Identity to The 400 Blows. A fresh, fun, low-
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PARIS LIFE
April 19: Magda Danysz, accompanied by street art and graffiti artists, will present her fascinating book From Style Writing to Art, the first street art anthology ever published. It looks at why graffiti, or street art (also known as style writing), is turning out to be the major art movement of this turn of the century. April 26: Shakespeare and Company and The St Petersburg Review present prize-winning Kenyan writers Parselelo Kantai and Mukoma Wa Ngugi, both shortlisted for the Caine Prize in 2009. Parselelo Kantai is an investigative journalist and writer of short fiction who is currently working on a novel. Mukoma Wa Ngugi is the author of Hurling Words at Consciousness and the forthcoming novel, Nairobi Heat.
PARIS LIFE
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cost way to explore Paris. Available at the English language bookshops in Paris. Paris Walks Tours in English are led every day by long-time resident expats. No need to reserve, just show up at the meeting point and pay in cash. Choose from a variety of themes, such as Hemingway’s Paris, the French Revolution, the Old Marais Quarter, Paris during the Occupation, and Medieval Paris. Adults 12€, students (under 21) 10€ and children (under 15) 8€. 01 48 09 21 40 www.paris-walks.com Context Tours In-depth themed walking seminars led by scholars and experts, including architects and art historians. Six people maximum per group. Prices range from 35€ per person for a Paris Orientation Walk to 200€ per person for a gastronomic tour that includes a three-course lunch. 01 72 81 36 35 www.contexttravel.com/paris/tour s/complete-list City Walks Architecture Paris-based American architect Michael Herrman has designed a series of self-led walks that explore the city’s architecture, from Gothic monuments to the emergence of Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Modernism. The boxed set of
25 itineraries, entitled City Walks Architecture: Paris. Available at the English language bookshops in Paris.www.michaelherrmanstudio.com
Philosophy Café Café de Flore 172 boulevard Saint-Germain 75006 Metro: Saint Germain des Prés 01 45 48 55 26
EVENTS
On the first Wednesday of every month from 7pm to 9 pm, themed philosophical discussions in English take place on the upper floor of the Café de Flore. The “Café Philo” has been meeting for almost a decade.
Sunday dinner with Jim Haynes 83 rue de la Tombe Issoire 75014 Atelier A-2 Metro: Alesia Every Sunday for the last 33 years, American-born Jim Haynes has been having about 70 people to dinner at his converted artist's studio in the 14th arrondissement. Guests of all ages include artists, writers, scientists, locals, expats and travelers from all over the world. There's no charge, but guests may leave a donation. 8 pm – 11:00 pm. Call 01 43 27 17 67 or send an e-mail to jim_haynes@wanadoo.fr Buffet Time is Talktime Michael Muszlak holds buffet dinners every Saturday from 8 pm to 11 pm at his home near Notre Dame. A relaxed setting for a language exchange (1/2 time any language but French, 1/2 time only French). For more details call: 01 43 25 86 55 / 06 20 87 76 69 or e-mail: buffetime@muszlak.com
European Toastmasters Conference in Paris April 24 This competition brings together Toastmasters clubs from France, Luxembourg and Belgium, and provides an opportunity to hear public speaking at its finest. It showcases prepared speeches on a range of topics, in French and English, plus key evaluation techniques and professional training workshops. 40€ - 50€, includes lunch. For more information about the conference and the four Englishspeaking Toastmasters clubs in Paris please visit: www.district59.org/division-a-bconference or call 06 22 69 89 94. Bloom Workshop Mar 13 at 9 am – 5:30 pm 65 quai d'Orsay 75007 Metro: Alma Marceau 01 40 62 05 00 For 39 years, the Bloom workshop organized by the Women of the American Church has been helping English-speaking newcomers to Paris settle in and make new friends. Participants will learn about the different culture cues needed for the workplace, school and daily living in Paris. Topics relevant to all ages will be covered, including how to find housing, how to access healthcare, how to help children adjust to living in a new
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country, how to start your own business, and how to shop for groceries you're used to back home. 20€ per adult, 10€ per child For information and registration visit: www.woac.net Films & Hikes The Abbey Bookshop 29 rue de la Parcheminerie 75005 Metro: Saint Michel, Cluny-La Sorbonne 01 46 33 16 24 The Abbey Bookshop regularly organizes hikes and movie outings that are open to everyone. Monthly, on a Tuesday Cinéclub: meet at the bookshop around 6:30 pm for a drink, then everyone heads to a cinema in the Odeon area for the showing of the film that's been selected. Drinks and discussion of the film follow at a nearby pub. For the film title, call the bookshop at 01.46.33.75.00 (or email clubcanadaparis@wanadoo.fr). Mar 14 and April 11 Walks in the woods: a 20-25 kilometer hike in the countryside around Paris. For details, please call the bookshop at 01.46.33.75.00 (or send an email to clubcanadaparis@wanadoo.fr).
CHURCH CONCERTS American Cathedral 23 avenue George V 75008 Metro: George V, Alma Marceau 01 53 23 84 00 www.americancathedral.org All concerts take place at the Cathedral and, unless otherwise noted, are open to the public free of charge.
Beneath Paris lie 300 kilometers of former rock quarries, 169 kilometers of Metro tunnels, and 2000 kilometers of sewers
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Worldwide moving specialists Weekly removal services between France and the UK Secure storage facilities
+33 (0)1 44 30 03 30 www.clarkandrose.co.uk www.clarkandrose.fr Email: paris@clarkandrose.co.uk
PARIS LIFE
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Mar 4 at 12:30 pm Baroque Music Timothée Oudinot, baroque oboe Sophie Iwamura, violon Elodie Seyanian, harpsicord Works by: Telemann, Mattes, Graun, Bach Mar 6 & 27 at 8:30 pm Gospel Dream Tickets: 25€ and 30€ Information: 01 43 14 08 10 www.gospeldream.com
Mar 11 at 12:30 pm Vent Anemos Quintet: Isabelle Prain Lebel, flute Marika Lombardi, oboe Marina Moth, clarinet Valérie Granier, fagott Etienne Godey, horn Works by: Farkas, Hindemith, Ibert, Ligeti Mar 13 at 8 pm American Cathedral Choir and pianist Justin Nash Mar 18 at 12:30 pm
GOOD WEBSITES IN ENGLISH For the inside track on the Paris restaurant scene, visit the website of veteran food writer and Paris Magazine restaurant reviewer Alexander Lobrano. It’s even on the list of The New York Times’ top ten food websites. www.hungryforparis.com If you’ve ever tried navigating the SNCF website for train schedules, you know that there must be a better way, and there is. Try the SBB English-language train schedule website run by the Swiss railways: www.SBB.ch/en. It lists all trains running in Europe, including the connection times. For a terrific English-language website listing all the movies playing in Paris, go to Google and type in “Anglo Info movies Paris,” which will give you the link. You can search for a specific film, a day of showing or an arrondissement by the week. The list includes new releases, revival house films and times, all in an easy-to-use format. Run by a long-time Paris resident and author of the excellent Paris Inside Out books, the website www.paris-anglo.com is a tremendous resource for a variety of things of interest to English-speakers in Paris. A fun and educational website to practice and learn French is French Word a Day. Go to Google and type in “French Word a Day,” then go to the website and sign up for a daily e-mail of a new French word and how to use it in context. One of the most popular blogs on the internet is from Paris-based pastry chef David Lebovitz. It's all about French food, cooking and life in Paris, with excellent photographs and a good dose of humor. Check it out at www.davidlebovitz.com. For all the latest ‘chic’ news on Paris fashion, beauty, parties and more, check out www.chicsetera.com, in both English and French. A fun website with lots of insider information. From the former editor of the International Herald Tribune and awardwinning AP reporter, Mort Rosenblum, comes this very interesting and readable website dedicated to media discussion and world news. There is also a link to subscribe to the excellent dispatches quarterly magazine. www.mortrosenblum.net
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Les Skylarks (trio of voices with piano) Amy Lavietes, Arlene Thiel, Rebecca Tepfer, and Chris Biehl, piano Works by: Arlen, Berlin, Bizet, Debussy, Ellington, Gershwin Mar 20 at 7 pm Paris Choral Society Rachmaninov’s The Liturgy of St. Jean Chrysostom Tickets: 17€ at FNAC and Virgin, 20€ at the door, 10€ for students Mar 23 at 8:30 pm Paris Choral Society Rachmaninov’s The Liturgy of St. Jean Chrysostom Tickets: 17€ at FNAC and Virgin, 20€ at the door, 10€ for students Mar 25 at 12:30 pm Alexandre Mion, piano Works by: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven April 8 at 12:30 pm Galina Besner (piano), Rachel Schiffmann (soprano) Works by: Moussorski, Rachmaninov April 10 at 8:30 pm Gospel Dream Tickets: 25€ and 30€ Information: 01 43 14 08 10 www.gospeldream.com April 15 at 12:30 pm Grégoire Baumberger (piano) Works by: Chopin, Albeniz April 22 at 12:30 pm Shelby Banks, classically trained American soprano specialized in African American song. Works by: Duke Ellington, Margaret Bonds, Hall Johnson, John Carter April 29 at 12:30 pm Alexandre Mion (piano) Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf Children’s show: two short sessions at 12 pm and 1pm The Scots Kirk 17 rue Bayard 75008 Metro: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Champs Elysées-Clémenceau 01 40 70 09 59 www.scotskirkparis.com All concerts take place at the
There are an average of 31,700 births and 15,700 deaths in Paris each year
Church and, unless otherwise noted, are open to the public, free of charge. Mar 13 at 8 pm La Conférence des Oiseaux – Staged tale by Jean-Claude Carrière, choreographed and danced by Pierre Lamoureux. Irina Kataeva (piano) Contribution requested: 15€ Mar 20 at 8:30 pm Ensemble Quentin Le Jeune: Concert of baroque music; trio sonatas by J. S. Bach and his sons. Contribution requested: 18€ (12€ students and members of the ensemble's association)
Mar 22 at 8:30 pm Presentation of the work of the Chanter Autrement Master Class 2009-2010, a group of 22 professional singers of all styles, from French "chanson" to opera. Chris Cody (piano) April 10 at 8 pm Concert by the Tolstoia family April 17 at 8 pm Paul Leavitt, piano. Program includes Chopin 4 Ballades April 24 at 8 pm Ali Hireche (piano) and friends Chamber music
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PARIS LIFE
SERVICES IN ENGLISH
THE LEGAL CORNER by Samuel Okoshken
Taking a Job in France If you hail from a country, such as the US, where it is relatively easy to hire and fire, French labor laws and practice will delight you if you are an employee and shock you if you are an employer. Management-labor relations are a mine field of administrative rules and potential penalties, even for a foreign-based employer. Before taking a job, a prospective employee should consider some key points.
American Cathedral (Episcopal, Anglican) 23 avenue George V 75008 Metro: George V, Alma Marceau 01 53 23 84 00 www.americancathedral.org American Church in Paris (Inter-denominational) 65 quai d'Orsay 75007 Metro: Alma Marceau 01 40 62 05 00 www.acparis.org St. Joseph's Catholic Church 50 avenue Hoche 75008 Metro: Charles de Gaulle-Etoile, Ternes 01 42 27 28 56 www.stjoeparis.org The Scots Kirk (Protestant) 17 rue Bayard 75008 Metro: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Champs Elysées-Clémenceau 01 48 78 47 94 www.scotskirkparis.com St. George's Anglican Church 7 rue Auguste Vacquerie 75116 Metro: Kleber, Charles de Gaulle-Etoile
1) If you are entering France for employment, you need the appropriate visa (unless you are from an EU country), and may qualify for a “Certificate of Coverage,” which would allow you to remain in the social security system of your home country for up to five years. 2) If the employment contract is made outside France, you get only minimum protections from French law, such as vacation time and unemployment pay if you are later fired. 3) If you are a “local hire” (employed here by a French company), the term of your employment will be indefinite unless otherwise agreed. 4) Here are some automatic French benefits: • Coverage by an industry-wide collective bargaining agreement that relates to your
industry. (Most but not all service and other industries are covered.) • Minimum vacation time (usually five weeks). • 35-hour or 39-hour work week, except for some executives. • Possibly a 13th or even 14th month of additional salary. • Maternity leave with a guaranteed right to return. • If dismissed, severance pay based on length of service. • If dismissed, compensation for unused vacation days. 5) You can negotiate additional features, such as: • A tax-free sign-on bonus. • A tax-free travel bonus if your job entails traveling. • A longer “notice period” – the minimum time (usually one to three months) the employer must continue to pay you after you have received your dismissal letter. • A guaranteed minimum term of employment. • Perks, such as use of a car, housing, participation in stock options, a complementary retirement plan, and other incentives, tailored to your situation and needs. • For US nationals, a tax equalization or tax reimbursement plan.
Samuel Okoshken is a Paris-based American tax lawyer. You may contact him with legal or tax questions of general interest for publication at The.Legal.Corner@gmail.com
Opinions on legal matters are not reviewed substantively by the editors nor endorsed by them.
01 47 20 22 51 www.stgeorgesparis.com St. Michael's Church (Anglican) 5 rue d’Aguesseau 75008 Metro: Concorde, Madeleine 01 47 42 70 88 www.saintmichaelsparis.org
Kehilat Gesher (Reform and Conservative Judaism) 7 rue Léon Cogniet 75017 Metro: Courcelles, Wagram and 10 rue de Pologne 78100 Saint-Germain-en-Laye RER A: Saint-Germain-en-Laye 01 39 21 97 19 www.kehilatgesher.org
Chapelle Saint-Patrick (Catholic) Located in the Collège des Irlandais 5 rue des Irlandais 75005 Metro: Cardinal Lemoine, Place Monge 01 58 52 10 89 www.geocities.com/irishchaplaincy/index.html
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POSTSCRIPT
Urban Cover-Ups Paris buildings are getting eye-catching, and sometimes mind-boggling, screens to hide renovation work
T
hrough this May, the place de la Madeleine is the urban frame for Paris’ largest and most mysterious abstract painting. Last January, the flagship Cerruti boutique unveiled a 350-square meter original artwork that will dress its facade in high style while the store closes for renovation. Why mysterious? Unlike most construction cover-ups, the two-story high artwork entitled “Yellow Chevron Bâche” doesn’t advertise the high-fashion merchandise of the company who paid for it. “It was an invitation to drop a UFO in central Paris,” says Brooklyn-based abstract painter David Malek, 32, who received the mega-commission from Cerruti President Florent Perrichon last November after creating frescoes for the temporary boutique that Cerruti has occupied in the
Trois Quartiers mall since last summer. “It’s the first time in Paris that a retail company has dared not to place a brand name front and center on their construction tarp,” adds Laurence Dreyfus, the independent art consultant who managed the project. Working in France was particularly gratifying for Malek because, as a 22-year-old exchange student, he discovered his artistic vocation after seeing an Yves Klein exhibit in Nice. Today he often chooses to work with X and diamond shapes. “They are an easy way to divide a pictorial space because what interests me most is playing the color game.” For this project, he used a computer to transform a small, enamelled painting into a 31-meter-long tarp that uses 40 colors worked in tones of yellow and grey. In Cerruti’s case, an original artwork was
Abstract artwork conceals renovations at the Cerruti boutique.
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transferred to a construction site. It can also happen the other way: In 2007, the Athem Agency worked with artist Pierre Delavie to create a trompe-l’oeil tarp for the Bleecker real estate company at 39 avenue George V. The fanciful result – a Haussmann building melting in the sun à la Dali – was so beloved that the tarp was chopped into pieces and auctioned at Drouot in January 2009. “Tarp decoration has become an increasingly design-driven field,” says Sonia Axiote, president of One Off Item, an industrial graphics firm. “Clients are looking for a way to publicize themselves without polluting the visual environment.” With numerous other renovations in the works, Parisians can expect to see more public artworks in place of ad-filled facade covers. n
The ‘surrealist’ tarp at the avenue George V before it was auctioned off
In clear weather, you can see for a distance of about 67 kilometers from the top of the Eiffel Tower
LEFT PHOTO: LINDSEY RECANATI
by Corinne LaBalme
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