The Inside Story of Paris’s Outdoor Reopening
It was the most-awaited day in France since the pandemic began: Restaurants and cafés could finally open. Closed by government decree since Oct. 26, eating and watering and caffeinating places had survived only by offering takeout, and by a dose of government aid. For...
Paris on the Edge
I made my third circuit around Paris the other day. The first, a few years ago, was on foot, over 16 weekend days. The second, just after the second COVID lockdown ended last fall, was by bike. This trip was on the Paris tram system, which encircles almost all of the...
America’s Great Big Express Lane
Much of what’s good about America can be found at the grocery store. Like many long-term residents abroad, Charlie and I experience reverse culture shock when we go back to the U.S. We marvel at the width of the highways and their broad medians as we drive away from...
Building for the Renaissance
Until the pandemic, I never associated the word "hope" with the word "construction." But my wanderings around Paris show that people are investing money and time in businesses that are not even allowed to operate now. It's a sign they believe this will all end before...
The Bouquinistes of Paris Talk Their Book
Paris’s riverside booksellers have had to be tough to make it through the 500+ years they’ve been in business. Kings censored or outlawed them multiple times and wars shut them down. They’ve always come back to set up their green-metal stalls along the Seine. The...
At a Snail’s Pace
Originally published in The American Scholar On the evening of March 6, 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, went to the theater. They saw a performance of Par le Bout du Nez, By the Tip of the Nose, about a French president who has an itch...
The Void at the Eiffel Tower
This month marks what would be, in normal times, the start of the Paris tourist season. The British half-term, the American spring vacation, the German winter break, all happen close to now. Chinese and Japanese tour groups arrive too, as the weather warms and the sun...
Is Paris Half-Full or Half-Empty?
The question of whether Paris is still alive isn’t just a philosophical issue, even in a country that cherishes les philosophes. For almost a year, the most central and touristic parts of the of the city have been largely devoid of people, driven away by lockdowns,...
How My Father Deconstructed Paris
My dad loved everything about Paris, but he especially enjoyed its residents’ daily struggle to get from one place to another. With his little camera – what kind? So many things I wish I’d asked him – and its telephoto function, he’d focus on cyclists, or...
Three Strikes for the French Government
For months, I bragged to my friends in the U.S. that France’s COVID vaccination program would be rapid, efficient and well-run, in keeping with its national health system. Silly me. The vaccination rollout here has been nothing short of a disaster. It’s replete with...