BETWEEN PARIS AND ITS SUBURBS

Illustration: Philippos Theodorides

“Aside from the Sacré-Cœur, the city gets more and more beautiful. Like most of the country, it is becoming an immense museum. Soon enough we shall have no industries anymore, tourism will save us from misery and hunger, our grandchildren will be working as guides, coach drivers or employees in the Paris hotel business, and Paris –not dumb at all– is actively gearing up for that. It gets dolled up so as to be sold at a better price, like some women who are ageing, and the perfection of their make-up and clothing compensate for the collapse of the flesh”.

Paris is an aging city, but also a city in change. Writer and translator Michel Volkovitch writes about life in the suburbs and the changes he’s been observing over the past years in the city of light.