June 20, 2022
Rue Saint-Lazare
The covered passages of Paris are an early form of shopping arcade built in Paris, France, primarily during the first half of the 19th century. By 1867, there were approximately 183 covered passages in Paris but many were demolished during Haussmann’s renovation of Paris. Only 25 survived into the 21st century, all but one are in the arrondissements on the Right Bank of the Seine.
I did some shopping at the Passage du Havre, a contemporary shopping center inaugurated in June 1997. The original Passage du Havre, established in 1845, functioned as a bustling commercial thoroughfare connecting Rue Saint Lazare and Rue Caumartin, leading to Boulevard Haussmann. During the mid-19th century, Parisian covered passages served not only as hubs of commerce but also as venues for leisurely strolls and social gatherings. In its early days, Passage du Havre hosted popular market stalls and gained notoriety during the Second Empire for discreetly distributing risky images, libertine literature, and political pamphlets.
Translation:
Macron: The only project that I will be able to carry out is not to name Mélenchon to Matignon.
I did enjoy shopping for books and vinyl.
Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut, pioneers of French New Wave cinema, are two of my favourite filmmakers.
The pair met during the 1940s in a Parisian cinema club before becoming co-workers as film critics for Cahiers du cinema. Before too long, the duo started making movies, co-directing a short together called The Story of Water. However, Truffaut made a name for himself when he released The 400 Blows in 1959, a beautiful coming-of-age story inspired by his childhood.
The following year, Truffaut provided the story for Godard’s debut feature, Breathless, highlighting the rising dominance of a new wave of young filmmakers. Both The 400 Blows and Breathless experimented with exciting new formal techniques. The directors took an informal approach to filmmaking, shooting on location away from the restrictions of studios, improvising dialogue, and using handheld cameras.
Books
‘François Truffaut: Le Secret perdu’ by Anne Gillain
Considered by many to be the best book on the interpretation of François Truffaut‘s films.
‘Godard: Inventions d’un cinema politique’ by David Faroult
Jean-Luc Godard was known for his “highly political voice”, and regularly featured political content in his films like 1963’s ‘Le petit soldat’ which dealt with the Algerian War of Independence.
‘Histoire de France’ by French historian and journalist Jacques Bainville.
This book covers the history of ancient France when it was populated by a Celtic people called the Gauls to the end of the First World War.
‘Monet. Le Triomphe de l’Impressionnisme’ by Daniel Wildenstein
Biography of Claude Monet. Of all the Impressionists, it was the man Cézanne called “only an eye, but my God what an eye!” who stayed true to the principle of absolute fidelity to the visual sensation, painting directly from the object.
Serge Gainsbourg, a French music legend is one of my favourites.
Born Lucien Ginsburg in Paris in 1928, after he began writing songs and performing in clubs, he changed his name to Serge Gainsbourg. Jane Birkin who was his lover and mother of his daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg says he changed his name because he wanted something more punchy and artistic and ‘Lucien’ reminded him of a gentleman’s hairdresser. He was a fascinating character – a rogue and a poet, a louche, chain smoking alcoholic and artist.
Vinyl
Jacques Dutronc – Self-titled (1968)
Serge Gainsbourg – L’Homme À Tête De Chou (1976)
Edith Piaf / Théo Sarapo – Récital Bobino (1963)
Notre-Dame-des-Champs is a station on line 12 of the Paris Métro in the 6th arrondissement. It is named after the nearby Notre-Dame-des-Champs church on the Boulevard du Montparnasse.
It was time to bid farewell to Montmartre and Paris.
Paris vous aime.
