Who Is the Real Étranger?
In late 2005, I was invited to be a panelist on an evening news show called Mots Croisés. The topic was the riots across France in the low-income, predominantly Muslim ethnic suburbs that surrounded big cities. There were about 10 participants, representing every...
The Saddest Street in Paris
By Anne Swardson Not so long ago, rue de Caumartin throbbed with activity noon and night. Its narrow sidewalks in the heart of Paris were jammed with office workers and tourists at lunchtime and patrons of three nearby performance venues at night. Fully 15 restaurants...
To Bise or Not to Bise?
By Anne Swardson When I came to Paris on a school-scouting trip before moving here, the outgoing Washington Post correspondent, a rather large American man, welcomed me with a two-cheek kiss. My reaction was, yuck. But, like him and like many foreigners who have lived...
Uncovering for Déconfinement
Originally published in The American Scholar By Anne Swardson The French are facing an existential question as their coronavirus lockdown phases down: Will they be able to go on vacation this summer? Cable television news and newspapers are filled with this topic....
The Wilding of Paris
By Anne Swardson Paris is in what is called the “red zone.” That is, its parks cannot yet open for fear of sparking a return of the coronavirus. An unexpected by-product of these post-lockdown days of garden neglect is that the city is bursting out in uncontrolled...
The Masqueteers of Paris
By Anne Swardson Starting today, masks are required on French public transportation, part of the transition out of our 56-day coronavirus lockdown. Based on what I’ve seen recently, many Parisians have a case of wardrobe malfunction. “Judging by how they wear their...
Liberté Scaring the People
By Anne Swardson The country that reluctantly accepted one of the strictest set of coronavirus lockdown rules in the Western world now is nervous about living without them. France begins phasing out its 49-day “confinement” Monday and details of the new regime have...
A Few Precisions on Frenglish
By Anne Swardson I came back to the apartment the other day and said very excitedly to my husband, “I got controlled! But it was OK, I had my attestation.” He knew exactly what I meant: I had gotten checked by the Paris cops and had the right form on my cell phone to...
French Resistance
By Anne Swardson In France, there are some rules that must be obeyed and others that can be ignored. The trick for non-natives is to figure out which is which. Owners of some of the small shops in my neighborhood, and elsewhere, must know something I don’t. Two weeks...
Papa, Please Pass the Fromage
By Anne Swardson Walking down a small street in my neighborhood the other day, I heard a sound that took me back decades: the noise of silverware clinking on a plate. Through the open windows, I could hear lunch. Three lunches, from three separate apartments. The...