France in Focus

Nothing special, not those impressive buildings, everyday life, snapshots:
















The other side of le Gare du Nord, empty tracks, another strike action:





Inside it was a bit chaotic, only a few international trains, what platform?




Outside: ' Collectif des usagers de la SNCF pour la grève générale illimitée! '

Nice empty cycle lane.......

Fascinating photos - keep 'em coming.

Let's go out for dinner or lunch, it's part of the French culture isn't it. For some Parisians le Petit Palais does have its charmes, nice mosaic floors.








For other Parisians life is less comfortable, even in summertime when the living ought to be easy, seeking shelter under the Promenade Plantée.

Great shots, RA ! Keep 'em coming !

Silence in Paris? Yes, not far away from gare D'Austerlitz, in le Jardin des Plantes.









Almost silent, very well behaved French school children

Lovely photos. They remind me of what I miss in France.

I deliberately haven't been to Paris in years.

The last time was an overnight stop in the Bastille marina on our way down the Seine in 1984, when we found all the nearby restaurants had closed right after we had arrived, cleaned up, and changed, ready for a nice meal just before 8 pm. We were grudgingly served with hurried pizzas in a place where they were just pulling down the shutters.

The main things I remember from my first visit in 1961, hitch-hiking there and back from the UK, are trying to sleep, together with dozens of others who couldn't afford hotels, in the Gare du Nord while gendarmes regularly woke everyone up to discourage this, and tramps sleeping on the pavement level grilles exhausting warm air from the Metro.
Oh - and the toilets.