The monumental is what the French do best. Colossal, gargantuan, mighty monuments. The Arc de Triomphe springs to mind. No purpose other than to be there. The Eiffel Tower the same – be big, be high, be there. The July Column (Bastille), the Obelisk of Luxor (Concorde), the Column Vendôme – high, higher highest in no particular order. All prodigious examples of the French will to see and be seen. The passion to impress, and they are impressive. Extravagant and overwhelming, and meant to be so. In a word – monumental.

Original appearance May 13, 2005, © 2005 / CIP 54, OO 15, RD 10, YP 30/7-10

There are a thousand things positive about France and they all have to do with things. The monuments are magnificent and the streets sublime; the bakeries are delectable and the aroma exquisite; walking is wonderful and the museums world class. There are even a few positive things about the people – family and style comes to mind. There is however one huge negative about the people, and that is negativity itself. The French pride themselves in finding fault and they are very good at it. It starts in the schools (yes it is actually taught) and it ends in death. Except for with the family, ‘no’ (non), and ‘yes, but…’ (oui, mais…) are a way of life till death do us part. Thank goodness for family and a thousand other things.

Original appearance May 13, 2005, © 2005 / CIP 072, OO 15, RD 10, YP 30/7-10

Prime beef and fat cats are served here. It has always been so. From the days of Tallyrand (1808-1815) and then later the American Colonel Thorn (1822-1848), lavish entertainment has been the hallmark of this palace. Since 1958 prime beef has been served to the Prime Minister in residence. If nothing else he can just pop across the street and invite the Syrian Ambassador over for a bite. The manor was first built for Charles-Louis de Montmorency Luxembourg, Prince of Tigny and Maréchal de France, but he couldn’t afford to keep it and sold it to the Count of Matignon. With the largest private garden in Paris and even it’s own Petit Trianon it has a storied past and only the upper of the upper class get to dine here regularly. Unless of course you are Colonel Thorn who according to Trollope “was an American of fabulous wealth who was for a season or two very notorious in Paris.” They say he entertained fabulously in order to marry off his children to European bluebloods, but all the comments seem to have an undertone to them.

Original appearance Feb 8, 2006, © 2006 / MATIGNON / HÔTEL MATIGNON, (MANSION) / 57 RUE DE VARENNE, 75007 / NONE OR NL / KEYS : MANSION, PRIME MINISTER RESID., NOT OPEN TO PUBLIC, COURTONNE / CIP 192, OO 17, RD 08, YP 30/7-8

Personally I see considerable similarities to Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox & the Tar Pit of Uncle Remus fame. Some of my French friends will no doubt sniff that Jean de La Fontaine was much more sophisticated, but they are more impressed with sophistication than this country boy. Certainly he loved rural life but his ethical hedonism was a bit beyond the pale. Still he used animal figures, viewed life ironically, and concentrated on witty dialogue with a colloquial turn of phrase. He borrowed much of his material from Aesop, who very well may have been a slave of African descent. Similarities abound. Perhaps we have a sheep in wolves clothing. No doubt he was earlier, but stealing first may not be an unalloyed virtue (nor second, nor fifth). The longer I live (and read), the more I become convinced that there is very little new under the sun. Own a bookstore for an eon or two and you will see considerable repetition and recycling. By the way I love Uncle Remus too.

Original appearance Nov 8, 2005, © 2005 / Jean de LA FONTAINE / 1621-1695 / author, fables / good / C / 14 / CIP 314, OO 17, RD 08, YP 30/7-8

Would that good could write as well as evil. Charles Baudelaire along with Mallarme & Verlaine were known as ‘the Decadents’. Three horsemen, and two out of three made this list. As the song says: ‘two out of three ain’t bad.’ The content was deep and dark and dank, but boy could this boy write – and translate too. Besides being the main translator of Edgar Allen Poe into French (a project he worked on from 1852-1865), his best known work was ‘Les Fleurs Du Mal’ (The Flowers of Evil). Baudelaire spent most of his life sick and deeply in debt. In his time he was considered vulgar, a dandy and a drug addict, and he was convicted of obscenity. It wasn’t till the first half of the 20th century, with Europe’s devolution into depravity, that his stock started rising. Then he became the father of modern criticism and, with his controversial and dark poetry of perversion and vice, he became the poet of modern civilization. His star has not set yet.

Original appearance Nov 8, 2005, © 2005 / Charles BAUDELAIRE / 1821-1867 / author, romanticism, poet / better / B- / 82 / CIP 382, OO 17, RD 08, YP 30/7-8

I have to love the man. His poetry and plays and particularly his satire was constantly getting him in deep trouble. He was exiled in England for a few years, he studied Locke and Newton and became an admirer of perfidious albion. A singular Frenchman. On his return his patron the Marqise du Chatlet protected him for awhile. François-Marie Arouet was his real name, but the world came to know him by his pen name, Voltaire. Gradually his stature grew and he was elected to the Académie Française in 1746. Frederick the Great employed him in 1751, but it couldn’t last. Finally he bought a large estate at Fernay just inside the French border and for the last 20 years of his life was quite the squire. He entertained and corresponded with everyone who was anyone and the aphorisms flowed. His masterwork followed. ‘Was Candide a candid candidate or am I just being optimistic?’ Leibniz might have queried. “A witty saying proves nothing.” Voltaire said. Or perhaps I am now just glossing over it.

Original appearance Nov 8, 2005, © 2005 / VOLTAIRE / 1694-1778 / author, philosopher, one word / best / A / 33/ CIP 333, OO 17, RD 08, YP 30/7-8

To some degree he lives a lie. If you research his history he was born and raised in a middle class Parisian family. To listen to him he is from the banlieue (suburbs, their polite way of saying the ghetto) and he talks the talk. Basically he is Eminem in French. Rap in the ‘Paname’ (argot for Paris). Renaud was involved in the 1968 student revolt and emphasizes the de rigueur strong left wing political themes. He burst on the scene with his Amoureux de Paname (1975) album, established a following but began to fade as he mellowed in the 90’s. He reestablished his stridency and popularity with Boucan d’Enfer (2002, roughly The Din of Hell) and its successor album which won him the 2003 Album of the Year and the Artist of the Year award. You probably have to be young to fully appreciate him.

Original appearance Nov 8, 2005, © 2005 / RENAUD / 1900-1994 / musician, rap, one word, young / mixed / D- / 73 / CIP 373, OO 17, RD 08, YP 30/7-8

The Republican Guard guards it on state occasions, but otherwise there is just a whole lot of police around. Actually that is true of most places in Paris. Beyond that, from a distance (you can’t go in, or even get close) its quite nice. A little less pretentious than most things official and with a very lovely garden. It was built originally for the Comte d’Evreux in 1718-1722 by Armand-Claude Mollet. Quite classical: a courtyard, a town house (3 floors, with single floor wings) and a garden. Madame de Pompadour lived here, later the Duchess of Bourbon, and later still Caroline Murat, Napoleon’s sister. Since 1848 it has been the residence of the French President.

Original appearance Aug 7, 2005, © 2005 / Elysée, Palais de l’Elysée, Elysee Palace, (White House) / 55 RUE DU FAUBOURG-ST-HONORÉ, 75008 / NONE OR NL / CIP 139, OO 14, RD 07, YP 30/7-7

Right down the street from where I live – three minutes, maybe five, walking – there is an honest to goodness cobbler. And not an old man barely hanging on to a dying trade. There are three of them in the shop, quite young, all seemingly vibrant, proud and real craftsmen. They repair shoes here, not throw them away. Oh yes I know there is an occasional cobbler at home, but I have seen maybe a dozen shops here in my wanderings. It is a small pleasure, but it is a definite pleasure, to see some of the trades flourishing here that are near extinction in the US. It is a pleasure knowing my boots might outlast me.

Original appearance May 10, 2005, © 2005 / CIP 090, OO 14, RD 07, YP 30/7-7

Whether it be inside the store or in the shop windows, the French have a flair for display. Creative, often subtle, and always stylish they pay huge attention to detail, color, and composition. The end result pulls the eye, soothes the senses, and harmonizes the whole. There does not seem to be as much emphasis on selling the product as emphasizing good taste. Of course there are fewer garish sale price signs because there are way fewer sales. Competition in pricing is largely controlled by the state. One of the beautiful byproduct of this is splendid store displays.

Original appearance May 10, 2005, © 2005 / CIP 089, OO 14, RD O7, YP 30/7-7