Paris: a Goutte d'Or moment (by kerouac2)

[Deleted]

The Goutte d'Or is considered by many people, including Parisians, to be the absolutely worst neighborhood in all of Paris. It has immigrants, it has drugs, it has immigrants, it has crime, it has immigrants, it has Muslims, it has immigrants, it has contraband, it has immigrants, it has violence. Get the picture?

I live exactly 5 meters from the Goutte d'Or, assuming that my street is 10 meters wide. The borderline is the middle of my street. Actually, nobody considers the other side of my street to be in the Goutte d'Or morally, because it is just a sliver a block and a half wide, separated from the main section by this:

And it's absolutely true. The Gare du Nord train tracks create an enormous canyon, and the neighborhoods on each side are not the same. They don't shop in the same places, they don't take the same subway lines, and it's not even the same ethnic mix.

My side is "La Chapelle," a place where Joan of Arc camped out, with a rich French tradition. Of course, now we are mostly Indian and Chinese, fallen away Muslims and ultra strict orthodox Jews, and even a few old time French type people. On the other side of the track canyon, you are in Africa and among very traditionalist Muslims, and even a few old time French type people.

But hey, basically we all get along, and it's not a problem. I spend part of every day over there, because my mother has gone over to the dark side. Well, I guess I sort of put her there.

Today there was going to be an event that I absolutely wanted to attend, nothing to do with the nearby Fête des Vendanges in yet another part of the arrondissement, but a worthy event nevertheless, or at least I hoped it would be.

I was a bit early, so first I visited the little local museum, actually just two little rooms, but I loved it. It was right next to the Saint Bernard church, which became an icon for the struggle to help undocumented aliens in the previous century.

This wonderful little place is dedicated to the cultural variety of La Goutte d'Or. Speaking of which, I should mention somewhere here that the name of the area comes from the wine that used to be produced there: The Golden Drop.

My mother lives just a block and a half away on rue de Laghouat. See it on the map?

The rest of the street on the way to the church seemed to have a special theme.

(to be continued)

[Deleted]

In a few moments, I had arrived at the Eglise Saint Bernard, the largest African parish of the city. Photographers were getting ready.

An interesting 'bobo' crowd was gathering, too. Bobo = bourgeois bohemian. I confess to being a member of this group. Some people consider the term pejorative, but I just take it as a fact of life. We're all in one category or another when all is said and done.

[photobucket height=480 width=640]http://s450.photobucket.com/albums/qq228/kerouac2/EmpereurChateauRouge/?action=view¤t=44ee5367.pbw[/photobucket]

We were all coming to see a fashion show. Fuck fashion week and its hoity toity presentations. (I will not disparage the results, because I find many of them fabulous on the evening news.) This was Goutte d'Or fashion for the people of the neighborhood.

The Parisian African icon of Château Rouge had been reconstructed for the occasion. Château Rouge metro station is the absolute heart of Africa in Paris.

Painting some cardboard boxes red is perfectly fine for constructing a red castle.

At the appointed time, the Empereur de Château Rouge made his appearance with his sceptor.

And then the models were unleashed with their special cotton fabric seen all though West Africa although it is imported there from Germany.

The crowd liked it a lot.

The Emperor of Château Rouge introduced the Princess of Barbès for the finale.

I thought it was a wonderful half hour event for an area that does not often indulge in glamour.

The designer was brought out to wild applause.

She appeared to be scared shitless but still very happy.

Afterwards, people mingled a bit and had fun. A free beverage was distributed (not top of the line champagne).

As I was leaving, three Vélib riders arrived and had a definite WTF moment.

Paris can be full of surprises.

[fumobici]

Thanks so much for this. As much as the world of haute couture is profoundly soporific to me, this is one fashion event I'd have loved to have attended. Really wonderfully documented too, I think your photo skills have noticeably improved of late.













v

[hwinpp]

Sunshine?!? Nice weather and a nice show, I bet.

A pity I don't go to Paris when I'm in Europw. All the Paris/ France threads and comments by you, FMT, Jazz, Lola, Imec and BJD (hope I didn't leave anybody out) make me a bit home- sick....

That one oic that changes is a nifty thing. Is it done by the board or do you have to construct it, upload it then just post it as usual?

[bixaorellana]

Oct 11, 2010 3:54:12 GMT hwinpp said:

That one oic that changes is a nifty thing. Is it done by the board or do you have to construct it, upload it then just post it as usual?

anyportinastorm.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=fotobasics&action=display&thread=4302

[hwinpp]

Sank you ;D

[bjd]

Years ago my husband and I had a project of visiting unknown (to us) Paris neighbourhoods over the course of a week. The only one where we turned around and left was La Chapelle, it just being too dull and ugly for words. It looks as though it's time for a return visit.

I'm glad that the fashion show and get-together had nice weather, encouraging lots of people to turn up. Were the bobos local too?

[Deleted]

Yes, those were local bobos, because there was not much publicity for the event outside of the neighborhood. (I live in boring La Chapelle -- this is the Goutte d'Or on the other side of the tracks.)

As for the fabric, it is "bazin" -- a factory woven cotton damask which is dyed and startched by soaking in gum arabic (acacia sap). It is considered a prestige item and a symbol of wealth in West Africa. While Germany remains the principal producer of the basic cloth, obviously China is gaining a larger and larger share of the African market.

Here is the website of the people who organized yesterday's show: www.olympeproject.com

[lagatta]

Oh, there are plenty of bobos in that area, but usually not truly "bourgeois" in the sense of being wealthy. I thought that fabric was made in the Netherlands, but I guess that is more the printed "Dutch wax". Emporer and Princess are striking indeed.

Think the cyclist on the left is not riding a Vélib...

[Deleted]

True, the one on the left is not a Vélib.

Bobos are not at all in the same financial category depending on their neighborhood. Basically, they are just a cut above the "average" level and have a little extra revenue for futility. But the whole 'bourgeois bohemian' lifestyle just means that you are living below your means (known as 'slumming' in olden times).

In this part of town, it does not take a whole bunch of means to qualify as a bobo.

[Jazz]

Fascinating to see a bit more of Paris inconnu. I would have gone to see this, without doubt. Your photos express a full sense of the event. I love the sequence with the Emperor of Château Rouge and the Princess of Barbès. They are beautiful. Interesting that the designer is white.

La Goutte d’Or is one area that I would like to know more about. Obviously, the fashion show is only one aspect of this quartier which appears to be in transition. Recently I have read that young designers are moving into this area. Émile Zola first introduced me to La Goutte d’Or in L'Assommoir (The Drunkard), his masterpiece written in 1876. The compelling story of Gervaise and alcoholism. One evening in Paris I began to read this exceptional book and finished it within three nights. I was fascinated by the introduction which said that parts of this area remained unchanged from the late 19th century and I simply had to go to see if this was true. With this book as a rough guide, so many parts of the quartier were recognizable and unchanged...startling. Coexisting with this, I found the ‘new’ African element. The whole evening was powerful and one of my most unforgettable moments in Paris. It was the oddest combination of the uncomfortable and exotic. La Goutte d'Or remains mysterious to me.

The opening photo of railway tracks as metaphor is perfect.

[Deleted]

One of the big changes in the Goutte d'Or is the arrival of the young designers. There is a street devoted to them, the rue des Gardes. It is lined with 30 boutiques and workshops reserved by the city of Paris for them.

[lagatta]

I have friends who live rue Stephenson; always thought that was the easternmost street of Barbès/La Goutte d'Or. The railway tracks are such a huge physical barrier that I can't imagine a street east of them being seen as part of that neighbourhood.

The educated people I know living in La Goutte d'Or, La Chapelle and similar areas in the 19th and 20th aren't living above their means; they really couldn't afford to live anywhere else in Paris proper and don't want to move to the suburbs. Despite this, in some ways they are gentrifiers. I'm sure I've been one myself, not due to having much of anything in the way of money and resources, but simply due to cultural and educational factors.

[Deleted]

Actually, here are the "unofficial" neighborhoods of the 18th arrondissement. Officially, each arrondissement is composed of four districts. In the case of the 18th, the official administrative districts are:

Quartier des Grandes-Carrières (69e quartier de Paris)
Quartier de Clignancourt (70e quartier de Paris)
Quartier de la Goutte-d'Or (71e quartier de Paris)
Quartier de la Chapelle (72e quartier de Paris)

[lola]

Excellent report, K.

Love the museum. I'm bobo, too.

[imec]

This looks like a load of fun! Thanks K - great report!

[lagatta]

Le quartier de l'Évangile was once largely industrial, with huge gasworks: fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rue_de_l'Évangile I read the Marcel Aymé description many, many years ago. We think of other vital but not particularly agreable urban activities along the outside rim of Paris which have already been discussed here the former slaughterhouse district (La Villette) and the morgue and funereal activities.

K2, I think I recall you mentioning a large-scale urban redevelopment in that area?

[Deleted]

There is a ton of stuff going on in that area -- the extension of the #12 metro line, the extension of the T3 tramway line, a new tramway line from the suburbs that will end there, and the creation of the Evangile RER E station. The new Millennaire shopping mall (with a Carrefour) will be opening in April 2011 just on the other side of the périphérique in Aubervilliers, and the biggest architectural exploit is going to be the conversion of the Boulevard MacDonald warehouse (the biggest building in Paris, something like 800 meters long) into luxury lofts and apartments -- but most of those things are in the 19th, not the 18th.

Thanks to all of you who like the thread. I love these funky little neighborhood events.

[lagatta]

I do too. Someday the good fairy will leave me a proper camera (I've rarely had one as I've always painted, but it is easier to upload photos) as we have our own. I don't remember seeing the Boulevard MacDonald warehouse, though I must have.

Nothing whatsoever against luxury lofts and apartments, but I do hope something is planned for us ordinary folks (including lumpen-bobos). Healthy cities need housing for all kinds and classes of people, including the people working at that shopping mall.

[Deleted]

The Entrepot MacDonald is the sort of building to which we try to train our eyes to be completely blind. (Note the excellent bike lane, though.)

It is already being cut into sections. For example, the tramway line that is supposed to follow the big outer boulevards will be cutting through the building to have a stop next to the Evangile RER station.

In 2013, it will have turned into something completely different.

[tod2]

Wonderful photos Kerouac! It was lovely to see the church of St.Bernard again - we called in there after walking down Rue Myrha as part of your Ethnic Walk.

[kerouac2]

The Paris African fashion industry is finally getting some recognition.