Nation-Bastille (random wandering) - by kerouac2

[Deleted]

Every now and then I take the metro or bus at random to places with which I am unfamiliar. While Place de la Nation is well known to everyone in Paris, frankly most of us have no reason to go out there if we don't live nearby. One major thing about "Nation," however, is that it is the termination point of most major protest or political marches, which are almost invariably routed "République > Bastille > Nation" -- except for this year, due to the complete renovation of Place de la République which is not yet finished. While I have marched my fair share over the years, it must be admitted that I often poop out now by the time the march gets to Bastille, so I have been seeing less and less of Nation. And thus it became my starting point on a recent walk.

Looking towards the outskirts of Paris, you see the huge avenue du Trône, former location of the Foire du Trône fun fair. Now it is just too big and too empty. (Place de la Nation used to be called Place du Trône until the revolution.)

The columns mark the old customs barrier, with administrative buildings by Claude Nicolas Ledoux (who also built the Rotonde de la Villette). The statues on top of the columns date from 1845 and represent Philippe Auguste and Saint Louis. The kings face the visitors (or invaders) entering Paris.

But the main thing you see at Nation is the very busy set of statues in the middle of the square.

It is an oasis of calm in the middle of the traffic circle, which is at least as big as Place Charles de Gaulle on the other side of Paris but with only about one tenth of the traffic except at rush hour. I was thinking of the poor municipal gardeners, who do a splendid job there but with almost nobody bothering to visit the central core -- and when they do, it is for a demonstration when everything gets trampled.

I decided that I would be walking up avenue Philippe Auguste, since I had no recollection of ever having done so before.

One last glance back at Place de Nation as I walked away.

This sign intrigued me. Could they possibly mean it? I would find out.

Meanwhile, the first three eating establishments that I passed helped to confirm that it was a very cosmopolitan area.

                   






This grand old building probably never thought it would have a pawn shop on the ground floor.

There were also some certifiably French eating establishments.

                   

[tod2]

This is great Kerouac - I have never been to Nation. Always so much to see and so little time!

You have done an excellent photo of the Castor Oil plant. Those red prickly seed pods and the closer growth on the stem, is lovely.

The staues are magnificent - the features on that man are really ruggered in a sort of "Ad for men's cologne" way! ;D

I hope there is more......

[Deleted]

That guy would probably need a good deodorant, too. Yes, there is more on the way -- still a long way from Bastille!

[Deleted]

The adoption centre actually was an adoption centre.                            

I next came across the Lycée Dorian, a technical high school specialised in mechanics, electronics, optical equipment and a lot of other things. This place has gone through a lot of transformations. I read that it was built as a municipal elementary boarding school in 1887, then it became a technical elementary school in 1893 (children already forced into learning a trade right from the start ), a technical middle school in 1945 and then a technical high school in 1957. It was totally renovated in 2005.

               

Speaking of trades, I am always happy to see that these places still exist -- keymaker-locksmith-cobbler-printer-engraver-laminator-rubber stamp maker, etc. In case you're wondering, "tampons" are rubber stamps. Even though now a lot of this is done by automatic machines, it does require some impressive multi-tasking.

I decided to change streets here as I reached rue de Charonne, at this traditional tired lower middle class café.

Rue de Charonne is a rather unwanted address in Paris, due to the events of 8 February 1962. Whenever this street name is mentioned, everybody always thinks about what happened there. The police brutally attacked a demonstration by the leftist parties in favour of Algerian independence, taking particular care to injure the rare Arab participants, who mostly did not dare demonstrate. Several hundred people sought refuge in the Charonne metro station, provoking a stampede that crushed 9 people to death.

It should be mentioned that the head of the Paris police at this time was Maurice Papon, who had slipped through the cracks at the end of World War 2 but who was indicted for crimes against humanity in 1983 at last. With the help of the best lawyers, he was able to stay free most of the time and only spent 3 years in prison from 1999 to 2002. He was released for medical reasons since he was supposed to be on his deathbed, but he walked out of the prison on foot, causing outrage across the country. Meanwhile, he went to the European Court of Justice and got most of his conviction cancelled for technical reasons. There were still monetary fines to be paid, but he arranged to be insolvent before any victims could receive any payment. He died at age 96 in 2007.

Anyway, to go back to Charonne, the left organised a general strike and march on 13 February 1962, which went from République to Père Lachaise. There were between 500,000 and a million participants. The end result? The prime minister went to the Préfecture de Police to salute the fine work of the police and express his admiration. Maurice Papon also received a letter of special commendation for being a great leader and a rampart against communism.

So, no, rue de Charonne is not an address that appeals to most Parisians, so it is a bit countercultural.







I turned the corner again here.

[Deleted]

One great thing about metro line 2, is that it has created a great walkway for almost the entire length of the line, since it is right under the surface (having been built using the ditch-and-cover technique rather than the tunnelling technique).

And summer is rapidly coming to an end.





I don't know what this building is, but I thought it was super lucky to have its own huge lot far from the street.



I saw a café with more than the usual vegetation in the distance.



They decided to create their own oasis in this mineral environment.



Definitely not overpriced

   

[patricklondon]

Kerouac, am I right in thinking the "events at Charonne" also included reprisals by the police against some of the later demonstrations, with some numbers of people "disappeared", and were the half-referred to background of Haneke's film "Hidden", that a lot of people outside France didn't quite pick up the relevance of (to the film's theme about responsibility for the past)?

[Deleted]

Indeed, all of those events from 1962 have been a cancer in French society to this day, with the most visible tumor being Jean-Marie Le Pen. Lots of FLN supporters disappeared and no great effort has been made to elucidate a lot of the cases.

It was very significant this year that when Algeria celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence, France was not invited.

[Deleted]

Continuing along, I wonder about people who are terrified of driving in Paris. Okay, not every boulevard is like this one.



Just a bit farther, every commerce is an undertaker ("pompes funèbres"). Why is that?



And the café is called "Purgatory."



That's because we have arrived at the main entrance of Père Lachaise cemetery. But we are not going there today.



Here is a tourist group wearing their respectful mourning attire.



Right across from the entrance, we turn into rue de la Roquette. Ha ha, there is a little graffiti change.

[fumobici]

I do appreciate the Texan-looking guy in the blue T appears to have a spit cup for his "chaw" instead of just letting fly on the monuments ;D

God I want to spend a few days soon strolling the Paris streets. This will do for now however.

[fumobici]

Oh, that's a phone. Never mind.

[komsomol]

He probably needs a spit cup too.

[bixaorellana]

I enjoyed this so very much, from the beautifully balanced first photo, through the heroic statuary, the drop-dead gorgeous, 3-D seeming, perfectly fabulous close-up of the euphorbia, the streets, the repurposed buildings, the archetype picture of summer's end, the cleverly framed solemnity of the graveyard with the emerging tourists, right on through to the bit of fun on the enameled sign.

May we have more, please, sir?

[Deleted]

Rue de la Roquette is the final stretch to Bastille on today's wandering route.



It is not part of "Haussmannian" Paris.



This tea room looks more like a leather bar to me. Maybe it is.



Rue to la Roquette is mostly known for its huge quantity of funky cafés and restaurants.



I have a vague memory of eating here once.

You have to live in France a long time to catch the constant plays on words. Art & Thé = Arrêtez = "Stop here!"



mmmm.... warm bread for dinner



.... and hot croissants starting at 4 a.m.



Sometimes a street name strikes me for some reason.

[Deleted]

Here's a little park. Might as well take a look inside.



The "occupying army" imprisoned 4000 women in this park during the liberation of Paris.



Today everybody seems to be here voluntarily.









There were little botanical displays from around the world.







You can tell that it's late in the season for most of the flowers.

And finally some social housing for pigeons!

[Deleted]

"founded in the last century" = more than 12 years old



A little alley caught my eye. It looked charming.







There was a "liberated" Vélib with the hitching hook ripped off.

       











That was refreshing. What is the name of this alley?



In all fairness, there were two "industries" left. An elevator company....



.... and a clothing warehouse.



If we chopped down all of the trees in Place Voltaire, we could see the city hall for the 11th arrondissement in the back.



Now we have arrived in the officially trendy section of the street. Need any footwear?

[Deleted]

an absinthe bar



a cutting edge theatre





It was a total slum here in the 1970's, so they tore down huge patches of it. They did not build anything lovely in exchange.



a synagogue



a church



Oh well...







In the distance, I can spot my final destination.





a high school











And here we are at Bastille.

Time to go home...

[lola]

Very nice, K. I'm up working tonight so able to get these hot off the press.

I like the Marianne statue. Is she a little mossy?

I'm glad you turned down rd la Rocquette. My daughter stayed a half block down Passage Charles Dallery two falls ago, so I did a little googlemaps strolling there to get a feeling for it. Eventually she became a regular at La Fee Verte. (not, I hope, sucking down the absinthe.)

[lola]

Funny! As I was typing you posted a photo of La Fee Verte.

One wants one's daughter to have friends, but not necessarily be on a first name basis with all the staff at an absinthe bar.

I love the one of Mercury above the chimney pots. Classic.

[mossie]

Lola I want you to know that I had no relations with Marianne's mother ;D ;D

Thanks for another entertaining balade Kerouac. Your Texan appears to have two right arms, one holding the spittoon/phone, the other in his trouser pocket. Could the dame behind him be after something

[bjd]

I know this area so well that it's interesting to see someone's else's photos. This area is where I usually wander around when I don't want to go too far from where I'm staying.

Given the crowds in some of the cafés & restaurants, I find it amusing that certain places get popular all of a sudden and are always packed, while others nearby are not but have the same sort of food and drinks.

[lagatta]

Yes, I know this area quite well too. You did take the long way, not the usual route for demos, along Faoubourg St-Antoine.

I liked the little blue café with the greenery and the cheap, typical old-fashioned bistro lunch. And of course, the park where the notorious Prison de la Roquette used to stand. Isn't place Voltaire actually place Léon-Blum, or am I thinking of another nearby "place"?

God, 1970s "urban renewal" has left scars in so many cities. Of course the old buildings were unsalubrious, but if they couldn't have been salvaged, they could have incorporated better design principles in the new ones.

[Deleted]

Yes, of course it is Place Léon Blum on top of metro station Voltaire -- that is very common in Paris; people call my little square at metro Marx Dormoy "Place Marx Dormoy" when it is actually Place Paul Eluard.

[frenchmystiquetour]

This is one of my favorite areas to hang out in. Lots of cheap food and drinks, funky bars and cafés and some of my musician friends always seem to be playing in some little bar around here. One of these days when I have more time (maybe in November) I'll finally have to get around to doing my report on the 20th, of which I took all my photos almost a year ago.

[lagatta]

Yes, fmt, I am extremely fond of the 20e as well - it is a little less central, urban, and I found it very relaxing, as I was staying in a flat a bit up the hill from rue des Pyrénées. Lots of air and breeze. And the thrilling bus trip down rue de Ménilmontant "into town" (where I live in central-northern Montréal, old-timers say "aller en ville" for travel either into the business centre or more central neighbourhoods such as Le Plateau).

I may be working in a conference in Paris in November, and will definitely be looking into staying into this general part of town, also because it is because it is where many of my friends there live.

I think I've reached the age where I'd rather not stay chez les amis, and they would honestly rather not be bothered, in a small Parisian flat, so if I go I'll need some modest and autonomous lodging!

Fmt, I'm looking forward to seeing your report on the 20e. I haven't been to Paris since 2006.

[lugg]

Thank you for this entertaining photo essay.

I too am a fan of the photo with the July column appearing just above the rooftops.

Interesting about the play on words which led to the cafe's name.
As I look at the signs, menus etc in your reports generally It always amazes me how much written French I can understand, as opposed to the spoken word.

[tod2]

Such a joy to S L O W L Y peruse this wonderful photo-essay and be reminded of our week long stay in a little apartment on Rue Petion, and having to walk by Cite` Industrielle to and from the apartment.
It looks much nicer in your photos than I remember it!

In my Thirza Vallois guide, she states that the Mairie in Place Leon Blum is one of the earliest in Paris, built at the time of Haussmann.

It is also interesting to learn that although Rue de La Roquette was not of Haussmann's making, he successfully integrated it into his modern street network. Way back in earlier times this was just a rural road leading to a convent of the same name.
In the 19thC as the funeral processions and hearses headed for the new cemetery of Pere Lachaise it became known as "the sinister way".

I so dearly remember the little park and the bird house!
The flowers in the South African section show gazanias and corriopsis I think - also see photos of proteas!
That roofed porch and entrance gate is all that remains of the old prison where all those women were kept. I approached it from Rue de la Croix-Faubin as I was hunting for the remaining granite flagstones used by the executioner's assistants to securely wedge the uprights of the guillotine. They are embedded in the tarmac and very hard to find!



Sadly though we never got to have a drink at La Fee Verte

[Deleted]

Since I have made threads about both east and west Paris now, I would like to show once more how Paris is split politically. Here are the legislative districts after the elections in June 2012. Pink = Socialist, Green = Green, Blue = right wing.

[ssander]

K:

Thanks so much for another great "stroll" in Paris.

What is that political map made of?

SS

[lagatta]

I don't "get" the order in the political map - at first I was wondering where on earth the 15th and 16th went, then the huge 1st arrondissement (it is very tiny).

And it is rare to see le Bois de Vincennes in such "political" maps of Paris. Do any humans actually live there?

[Deleted]

The map does not correspond to the arrondissements of Paris, because there are only 18 districts now for 20 arrondissements. The Bois de Vincennes does indeed have residents, because there are military barracks there and a lot of live-in horse carers -- in any case, more than the Champs Elysées, which reputedly only has something like 8 registered voters on the avenue.

However, the previous Sarkozy government was very much accused of gerrymandering the new districts. This kept the political situation in Paris the same and prevented the left from winning one or two new districts that it normally would have won -- notably district 2 which encompasses (among other things) the Latin Quarter and which has been slowly shifting to the left. Putting it with the 7th arrondissement ensured that the left would not win.

Ssander, I admit that the map looks very strange, but I just photographed it from the newspaper the day after the elections.