Parisians

I’ve been living in Paris for seven months now, and I finally see it. At last, I see what everyone has been telling me; I see the difference between Parisians and the rest of the French. They’re not the same, it’s true, they’re different. They’re different in the most fascinating way. So here goes – here is my experience of Parisians. 

Parisians are loud, chatty, up front, busy, creative, stressed, diverse, open and above all, passionate. Parisians are eager, ambitious and have a spark in their eyes. They have a love for life and when the rest of the world goes to sleep at night, Parisians come to life. They can talk about anything and everything because they’re storytellers. They’ve lived a thousand lives and they’ll live a thousand more after they die. Parisians don’t go easily into the night, they’re tough, hard, and resilient. They push and shove to squeeze onto the metro, yet even in these fierce moments, they have finesse, taking out a tattered pocketbook and reading it in corner. 

Parisians walk quickly, their smart shoes barely skimming the pavement and they remind you of New Yorkers and Londoners, except instead of a bagel or a coffee in their hand, they hold a cigarette between two fingers.

Parisians have a mouth, capable of speaking the foulest words, and the most beautiful poetry. Parisians know that they live in the city of dreams, and they appreciate it, they embrace it, and yet they don’t. They take pride in their beautiful streets, but they take it for granted at the same time. They don’t admire Paris, or live in awe of it, but they rather exist in it because they are Paris. They embody Paris, in soul, body and mind. They might pause for a millisecond as they cross a bridge on the Seine, taking in the marvellous sight of their Notre Dame, but then they’ll keep walking to wherever they’re going, because Parisians are busy. Paris never stops and so neither do they. 

Parisians are a diverse people, and their city is a beautiful melting pot of cultures. Internationality marks the walls of the city, with graffiti and writing covering cracks of previous conflicts. The sight of the police on every third corner, and the sound of sirens haunting the narrow streets constantly reminds you of the honest truth – Paris is a city of tensions. Parisians may live in the city of dreams, but they remain anchored to the reality of our present day. Diversity and beautiful hubs of immigrants means the police roam the streets alongside them. History cannot be erased, nor changed and Parisians know this. They are strong and they embrace the conflict in their city. Parisians are not bystanders; they’re protesters, they’re activists, they’re revolutionists.

Amongst Parisians, you will find the wild and wonderful and the clichés and stereotypes and the crazy and the mad, but above all, you will find a people who are passionate.