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Edith Piaf's eastern Paris

Where creativity flourishes now

The intensity of Edith Piaf's iconic love songs fits the drama of the working-class neighborhoods where she grew up. 

Today, relatively low rents attract young people and artists. Imagination peeks through the drab façades.

Where cannon were placed...

 

 

  • This hilltop is part of a fierce history

 

"They were the descendants of the Communards and it was no struggle for them to know their politics. They knew who had shot their fathers, their relatives, their brothers, and their friends when the Versailles troops came in and took the town after the Commune and and executed anyone they could catch with calloused hands..." - Ernest Hemingway, "The Snows of Kilimanjaro"

 

The Paris Commune (March-May 1871) is one of the most tragic episodes of French history. It memory remained vibrant at least until the 1980's and to visit this part of the city without explaining what took place is inconceivable. We use  photographs and a map of the fighting to do so.

 

 

  • An authentic "vieux Paris"

 

 

This venerable café looks like a movie set.

An Algerian runs this café, but the only sign of immigrant-oriented change is inexpensive couscous. Otherwise he maintains the atmosphere of "le vieux Paris". We came on a Friday night for chansons françaises, and  overheard a woman say that her cousin had written songs for Edith Piaf. The clients, who were neighbors, drew us into the dancing...

 

 

  • Walls and shops reveal vitality

 

 

There is an unusual amount of wall art here.
Same artist, five minutes away.
Muslim bookstore

There are children's books as well, that show the Muslim take on Bible stories in a simple way.
African crafts

Three boutiques for African handicrafts lie within five minutes of each other.

 

 

 

  • Flourishing arts

 

 

Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, Hollywood 1962...

Robert Aldrich's "Whatever happened to Baby Jane?" is an American movie classic.
and in eastern Paris's heart, 2009

A play about the movie's shooting was written and performed in far-off eastern Paris... where pocket theaters have sprung up everywhere.

 

 

 

•Costs: Please CLICK

 

Credits: urban art in evening light / Anne Vanet; "Baby Jane" / trailer on internet; actresses / photo given by the artists; other photos / Camilla Macfarlane