A tour in multicultural Paris

Paris, France is known far and wide as the beautiful City of Lights, the capital of the fashion world, capital of haute cuisine, etc. etc. etc. It is often forgotten however that up until the middle of the last century Paris was also the capital of the French Empire, which spanned a significant portion of the globe, especially in Africa and Asia.

Although the Empire has long since passed away, many of the countries which used to form part of it still have strong cultural and economic ties to the Métropole as France itself is often known. Back in the day France had significant influence even in many countries which didn’t form part of its Empire proper and these links too have in many cases survived until today. The legacy of these relationships can be seen in some of central Paris liveliest and most interesting quarters.

Let me give you a quick guided tour around one of them, focusing on the area around the Rue de Faubourg Saint-Denis and Boulevard de Strasbourg and Boulevard de Magenta in Paris 10th Arrondissement.

Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis

In the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, if it weren’t for the occasional wood paneled Parisian café or brasserie you could be forgiven for not realizing that you were in France at all. It seems that people of every nation under the sun have been scooped up in a cup, shaken like dice and then scattered at random along the whole street. Turkish and Greek snack bars vie with each other to sell you endless interesting variations on the theme of the kebab. Caribbean restaurants, clothes shops and supermarkets pump out reggae rhythms and hot the smell of hot sauce in about equal measure. Just about all countries from east Asia are represented - if you have ever wondered what Cambodian people eat, or what the average Chinese family has in their kitchen cupboards back home, just wander in to one of the many tiny supermarkets and browse through the weird and wonderful articles on the shelves.

Rue de Strasbourg

About one third of the way along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis is the tiny Passage Brady which leads off at right-angles to the main street and goes all the way through to Rue de Strasbourg. This narrow covered passageway is home to an amazing collection of Indian restaurants, mini-markets and barbers shops. Chairs and tables spill out of the tiny restaurants into the equally tiny pathway as waiters call their wares and invite you into their often gorgeously decorated restaurants. Resist the temptation to get drawn in to the very first one you see and instead wander up and down for a while to check out the different dishes (and prices) on offer. If, after you have eaten, you like what you tasted, you can head to one of the herb and spice shops nearby to pick up the ingredients to try and replicate your meal back home.

Boulevard de Magenta

Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis and Rue de Strasbourg both end up on Boulevard de Magenta, close to the main facade of the Gare de L’Est. Along the Boulevard is a huge concentration of west African shops and restaurants, selling fufu, gari, pounded yam, spicy meats and stews and so on. If you need to make a phone call, but haven’t got a France Telecom card to use in a public phone booth, then this is the place to come to as there are many “calling shops” here, which allow you to use phones and pay by the minute in cash. It is also a good area to shop for clothes as many of the African and Russian shops in this area have a huge selection for often very low prices.

So there you go, your first quick tour around an often overlooked but genuinely fascinating face of Paris, a blending of its international past and present.

Photo of French North African wedding in Paris originally posted by austinevan

Topic: Tips and Ideas | 0 Comments
Tags: culture, Paris