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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2011 18:38:45 GMT
" La Zone" has a special meaning in French. People mention it all the time, because they were going somewhere normal but all of a sudden they found themselves in the zone. Basically, it is the slang term for any unexpected ugly, dangerous and/or scary place where one ends up from time to time, usually involuntarily. It is the ultimate "you don't want to go there" place. Nevertheless, there is no way to avoid it. Either you know somebody who lives there, or you have to pass through it to get from point A to point B, or you have an unwanted but unavoidable appointment there. Naturally, " la zone" is different things to different people, because everything is relative. Somebody from the 6th or 7th arrondissement of Paris would call my area in the 18th "la zone" and often feel uncomfortable there. But what about me? If I live in somebody else's " zone," what does my concept of " la zone" look like? Well, I had an answer close at hand, because it is very close to where I live, and it is getting closer to me every day, sort of -- next year a metro station will open in the exact center of where the following photos were taken, as an extension of my metro line. It is the former industrial zone and current new Paris garment district in Aubervilliers, right on the other side of the périphérique (the expressway that rings Paris like a chastity belt). I decided that it was time to take some photos, because it is going to disappear very soon. (Thank god!) I took a local minibus line ('La Traverse') to Porte d'Aubervilliers. I was not surprised to be the only passenger on the bus. There is nothing there, even though it is still Paris. Major transformations are in progress, because this was an abandoned industrial zone as well. The old "MacDonald" warehouse (on boulevard MacDonald, nothing to do with the food company) is the longest building in Paris -- 630 meters. It is currently being restructured into a new luxury apartment complex, which will be ready in 2013. A chunk was removed to allow the passage of the T3 tramway line, opening in 2012, with a station in connection with the RER E line. The upcoming RER E station was code named "Evangile" for the past several years, due to the proximity of "rue de l'Evangile," but I read recently that the real name will be "Rosa Parks" to honor the Alabama woman who refused to move to the back of the bus. The times they are a-changing. I headed on foot in the direction of la zone. This brought me to the périphérique, the borderline of civilization in this part of Paris. Already there were a few indications along the way that this was not the ritziest part of Paris. And then I passed over the roadway. (to be continued)
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 16, 2011 20:08:50 GMT
Gad, take away the signage in some of the pictures, and you could be in Atlanta, or any number of other places. I wonder how often visitors, as they drive from an airport to a much-anticipated destination, are dismayed as they pass miles of the same kind of landscape they passed through to get to their home airport.
Kerouac, it appears from various things you've show us that Paris tends to do mass renovation in targeted areas, rather than spotty gentrification. Is that the case?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2011 20:57:45 GMT
Indeed, urban planning has very sharp teeth in France, ever since the days of Baron Haussmann. At the same time, there is a desire to save anything with any sort of architectural value, or else the MacDonald warehouses would be totally razed and replaced much more cheaply with apartment complexes. Actually that's exactly what happened across the street from those warehouses when the old Hôpital Claude Bernard was demolished. I'm sure that some of the buildings could have been saved, but that was done under a different administration (Jacques Chirac as mayor) rather than our current, more artistically inclined, municipal administration. Of course, once you cross the ring road, it's not Paris anymore. Aubervilliers has always been a city of poor workers, and it still has a communist mayor. Its main problem is that it has no money, since so many of the factories are gone and the remaining places are ultra low cost commerces. But rubbing up against Paris makes certain things attractive, and an old zone of industrial ruins is being developed into a high-tech district, with a big shopping mall that will open in just three months. But really, all of that is an extremely narrow band stuck right up against the Paris city limits. My mission was taking me a bit farther. The street of my itinerary was not quite the most appealing that I have seen in my life.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2011 21:29:13 GMT
I constantly tell people that there is absolutely no danger for security in Paris or even in the 'infamous' poor suburbs for anybody with any kind of urban intelligence. Of course, nobody with any street smarts would ever come here alone on foot, so I was basically breaking my own rule. In my defense, however, I did purposely choose Saturday afternoon to go on this mission, which is a pretty safe time, and I had removed excess cash before going on this expedition. I might be stupid, but I'm not 100% stupid. When you see a van with an exploded tire abandoned on a street, you wonder if the tire was shot out, if the van was stolen, why the van is still here if you are in a civilized country, and a number of other similar questions. Actually, the van had not been penetrated yet, so it must have been here for a very short time. I peered inside and the condition of the tangerine peels seemed to indicate no more than one or two days. Well, such things were clearly none of my business, and I had better not keep hanging around. Oddly enough, this nearby place called "Magic Mirrors" had a dance class in progress. I could hear through the canvas walls the French version of "A one and a two and a three and a four and turn. A one and a two and a three and a four and stop." etc. Actually, such things in the middle of nowhere are not uncommon, because many cultural venues have to look for extremely low cost locations to be able to survive. But let's move along... Most old residences had been condemned and abandoned. Better not get lost here, because it is not certain that you can find the directional signs to get where you want to go. Actually, there was quite a bit of traffic as I walked along, and two different cars stopped to ask me where something was located. I had no idea, but it confirmed to me that I look like a low class person who belongs in such places. Damn! The Canal Saint Denis was nearby. It is all going to be developed into a magnificent pedestrian walk and biking zone shortly, to connect it to the Paris bike and walking paths along the Canal de l'Ourcq, and to bring people to Saint Denis with its magnificent basilica where the kings of France are buried. Anyway, I had finished passing through the ruins of the no man's land and was now a grand total of 500 meters from Paris. I was now approaching the area that I wanted to see in Aubervilliers, even though maybe it cannot be considered to be the most touristy of areas either. Why on earth had I come here? Wouldn't you like to know? Why don't I do photo essays about beautiful areas like that nice young man who rides his bike all over the place and takes beautiful pictures? (more soon)
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 16, 2011 21:50:38 GMT
I wanna know! I wanna know! Actually, don't tell me. I'm quite satisfied with the novelistic fantasy of your revisiting the scene of lost youthful love/hope/ideals/illusions/etc. You already answered one question I had, about the canal glimpsed in reply #2, and explained in reply #3. That is going to be magnificent when the whole thing is developed. (Okay -- I can't stand it. What's your deal with the last picture in #3? ?)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2011 22:09:39 GMT
I was here to finally see the new garment district of Paris on foot. Lots of people do not know that the old garment district inside Paris ("le Sentier") is just a ghost of its old self. It still looks like it did in the past with its old Jewish merchants and Arab transporters in a frenzy all week long. Rue Saint Denis, rue du Caire, rue d'Alexandrie, rue d'Aboukir are all alignments of clothing wholesalers as they always were. But the real action is not there anymore. Old Jewish merchants selling clothes? What century is that image from? Everybody knows that the garment industry is now controlled by the Chinese -- and the Chinese chose Aubervilliers 10 years ago. Cheaper rent, less of a fire hazard, less police interference.... Aubervilliers is a Chinese paradise, also occupied by Maghrebi and African wholesalers. In this particular part of Aubervilliers, you will not find cafés, supermarkets, bakeries, florists, or any other kind of 'normal' place except for a few Chinese restaurants. Every single commercial space, not matter what it was used for in the past, is now occupied by wholesalers. Textiles are the big item, but also electronics, costume jewelry, bazaar sundries -- well, you know what kind of products come from China. They're all here. At the same time, the neighborhood is being torn down... This is an area where you can see the ultra poor at work, not beggars, but people who are struggling to make some sort of living, no matter how sordid. This man was trying to bend a big piece of metal that he had found so that it would fit in his transportation device. Finally he got it in shape enough to be able to put it in his 'vehicle' and continue looking for more good stuff with his female companion.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2011 22:16:23 GMT
Remember, we are still just 500 meters from Paris. Do you see the tree stump in the last photo? Every single tree on this street had been removed, adding to the charm.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2011 22:29:10 GMT
Any kind of old warehouse or factory will do as a showroom. Actually, I saw that many of the showrooms were incredibly elegant considering how they looked on the outside. I didn't dare take any photos up close, though, because I was afraid I might be kneecapped by the Triad. Where are the more lowly undocumented just-off-the-boat workers living, do you suppose? How about this building? Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean the lower floors. I was thinking of these lovely attic niches. That's good enough for them, isn't it?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2011 22:57:43 GMT
Okay, I was about reaching my saturation point on this reality check. I'm all for private enterprise and people getting ahead in life, but such an incredible contrast between the "haves" in Paris and the "have nots" just on the other side of the périphérique is kind of hard to accept. And people are surprised that there are "incidents" in the suburbs from time to time? What is surprising is that there are not incidents more often, when you see some of the living and working conditions. I took a different street to return to my own city. Part of Aubervilliers' new industrial district has been cleaned up already, and this is what the other area will look like in few years. Certain things can remind one of American suburbs That whole street that I was on is being totally transformed. There will be a brand new metro station in the area I photographed that will open next year. Here is a scoop for people coming to Paris in the second half of 2012: the direction 'Porte de la Chapelle' will become the direction 'Front Populaire' for awhile. And then in 2014, it will become 'Mairie d'Aubervilliers' when the final extension opens. To be fair to the city of Aubervilliers, pop 80,000, I only showed a very small part of the city. Most of it looks quite normal and even quite nice in the real downtown area. The municipal theatre is one of the premier theatres in the Paris metropolitan area, because communist municipalities pour a lot of money into culture. I still had a bit of a no man's land to cross before getting back to Paris. Even though this bus line passes in front of my apartment, I preferred to keep walking rather than waiting at the loneliest bus stop in France. I passed back over the périphérique and I immediately felt better. I'm glad that I finally went there, though, because that area will disappear without a trace before the end of the decade, and who will believe that it ever existed then?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 16, 2011 23:30:41 GMT
Outstanding! Anyone who has ever hopped the wrong bus or wondered where the hell they were being taken in a cab in an unfamiliar city should appreciate your efforts here. The photos really give a sense of being there, with the marvel of all that packed commerce and the depression of scuffing through litter and weeds.
What do you suppose will happen once the area is made more desirable &/or strictly zoned? Will it help some of the emptier parts of Aubervilliers, as people looking for affordable housing move there?
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Post by fumobici on Jan 17, 2011 1:14:54 GMT
I enjoyed this. I likes me some funk and this delivered.
I wonder if redevelopment will just inexorably push these gritty working areas further and further from the city center? There are still areas within the Périphérique in the Southern, Northern and Eastern arrondissements where one can see real people who obviously aren't making thousands of Euro per week live, but I wonder if the plan isn't to eventually push these areas outside the belt and make the city proper wholly a glittering gentrified playground for the relatively wealthiest? I'm sure many would prefer not having the reality of the world intruding upon their field of view.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2011 6:13:29 GMT
On the western side of Paris, suburbs like Neuilly-sur-Seine or Boulogne Billancourt are absolutely indistinguishable from their big neighbor. There is a seamless transition of the architecture, which merely becomes a tad smaller. Naturally, the other suburbs dream of this unattainable goal. Nobody talks about pushing out the poor -- politicians prefer to imply that their development plans are so brilliant that the poor will simply cease to exist.
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Post by tod2 on Jan 17, 2011 7:14:50 GMT
Kerouac you have done such an excellent job on the photo-essay - somehow you manage to get me reaching for my Paris map, get out the hi-lite pen and make all kinds of scribbled notes! Of course this means in 2012 I will be making my own visit to La Zone - I unfortunately won't see Paris this year as Asia is my big project in 2011. Thanks for the great photos and insight on whats around Paris
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Post by bjd on Jan 17, 2011 8:04:26 GMT
I hadn't realized that the Chinese had taken over in Aubervilliers. Much closer to "home" is the 11th arrondissement over the past few years. Boulevard Voltaire used to have lots of different shops (where we bought our double windows, for example), but now it's one Chinese clothing wholesaler after another. The entire street is completely dead outside working hours.
And the top of the Marais in the 3rd is jewellery and accessories wholesale. Also Chinese.
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Post by lola on Jan 17, 2011 17:33:53 GMT
Thank, K, our man on the scene.
I love the ones of the metal salvagers, and assume you used the zoom lens for that. In parts of St. Louis, some people use "borrowed" shopping carts to collect aluminum cans, etc. Scaling tall old buildings to strip copper flashing is another way to pick up a few non-easy bucks. This fall I put a length of guttering on the curb the day before recycling pickup, and within 10 min a young hispanic man loaded it into his truck, politely asking permission first.
I hope that area doesn't become too Office Depot-y afterwards.
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Post by tod2 on Jan 17, 2011 17:40:41 GMT
Yes, I meant to ask about them - where are they taking the stuff and what do they expect to get for it? Is it sold by weight like our scrap dealers here? The photo really made me think I was in Pietermaritzburg my home town!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2011 17:58:00 GMT
There must be a scrap metal place not too far away, because I can't imagine them going very far with that cart.
I was just thinking that anybody who lives on an upper floor in that area can see both Sacré Coeur and the Eiffel Tower, and quite likely La Défense as well. Boy, those places must seem as far away as the moon to them.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 17, 2011 20:20:39 GMT
I'm having a hard time downloading all the photos on this fascinating thread. I'm glad you mentioned that the centre of Aubervilliers is actually quite nice in parts (as are the centres of several other old inner suburbs (proche banlieue). Here is a photo of the centre of Aubervilliers from Wikipedia - very typical French town centre: fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Aubervilliers_centre_fr.pngI'll be back!
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Post by frenchmystiquetour on Jan 17, 2011 21:19:23 GMT
The nice young man who rides his bike everywhere would likely scare away his intended audience with a photo essay of Aubervilliers.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2011 21:26:46 GMT
Hmmm, that colon in Lagatta's link screws up the link, and it does the same thing for me. So I have downloaded the photo of the center and rehosted it.... Yes, downtown Aubervilliers is just fine. There will be 3 new metro stations going right to the center in a few years -- but they'll pass through the area I photographed.
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Post by mossie on Jan 28, 2011 15:19:10 GMT
That is a real eye opener. Many thanks Kerouac. I often wonder what that area is like as the Eurostar slows ready for Gare du Nord. When I come to Paris in May I intend to visit your area and specifically impasse du Cure to see if I can spot Eurostar.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2011 18:02:41 GMT
I almost bought an apartment in impasse du Curé. I was torn between the nice modern apartment there and the one I ended up buying about 200 meters away. You can definitely see the Eurostar from there.
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Post by mossie on Jan 30, 2011 14:19:32 GMT
Thanks for confirming that I may not have a wasted journey. Perhaps we may meet ?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2011 15:55:45 GMT
Just as an update about how fast areas can change, Le Millénaire (The Millennium) shopping mall opened on schedule at the end of April, and it completely modified the feeling of the area. Paris (and its fringe) is changing all the time....
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jul 23, 2011 16:44:33 GMT
wonder what happened to the chap with the shopping trolley.....
A splendid report Kerouac, very interesting. Presumably similar things are happening all over Europe as the homogenisation of our city centres continues....
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Post by fumobici on Jul 24, 2011 1:11:43 GMT
Quite generic in appearance, could just as easily be in Minnesota. I do like the idea of a free water shuttle to get people there on the canal, should entice people in.
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Post by tod2 on Jul 28, 2011 15:08:57 GMT
WOW! Thanks for giving us that update Kerouac - it all looks wonderful. I guess one could catch the water taxi from the metro instead of to the metro?!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2011 18:02:35 GMT
Obviously, the shuttle goes both ways.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2012 18:49:38 GMT
In places which are undergoing extreme modification, I think it's important to make a regular trip to see what it happening. So I returned to the Aubervilliers garment district/industrial zone today to see what had changed. Things are really being cleaned up fast, and most of the streets have been completely redone. The area around the shopping mall is now in perfect condition. I'll go back to see more in six months or so.
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 25, 2012 19:15:19 GMT
Wow, the area is shaping up nicely. It's fun monitoring construction projects. That reminds me, need to check on downtown sometime, there's a lot of important projects underway. We're experiencing pleasant March weather, too. No shirtless men yet, though.
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