Spirits of a Good Samaritaine

In the centre of Paris sits one of its most haunted spots. On one side, the bustling, commercial Rue de Rivoli, and on the other, the animation of the river Seine. Between the two, narrow, silent Rue Baillet and the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.

Ghosts of Christmas present. The buildings of La Samaritaine still stand firm, but like a ghost town in a Western film the inhabitants have all taken their horses and ridden away. The shutters are pulled firmly down, the locks rusting and the bottle green paint peeling and flaking to the ground. It is easy to imagine tumbleweeds rolling down this street and a loose wooden shutter creaking in the wind. There may even be a cowboy hidden away somewhere.

Ghosts of Christmas past. Generations of shoppers pushed open these doors, climbed the iron staircases, admired the art nouveau fittings and filled bags with quality goods and quality presents. In Christmas present the gifts will come from elsewhere. The doors of La Samaritaine have now been closed for four years and will never open to shoppers again.

Ghosts of Christmas past. These buildings are a gift from Ernest Cognacq. His first trading outlet was small change on the Rue de la Monnaie, but his vision was much grander. With his wife, Marie-Louise Jaÿ, Cognacq developed the structure, taking inspiration from the Bon Marché store on the left-bank, and built up a shop of departments, each individually owned and run. He plucked the name from a ghost, the Samaritaine fountain that used to sit on the neighbouring Pont Neuf.

It became an immense success, the right solution at the right time, celebrated with a redevelopment in a fashionable Art Nouveau design by Frantz Jourdain between 1903 and 1907. Later, in 1933, Henri Sauvage added a river-facing Art Deco palace, a ten-story temple to shopping with a rooftop terrace and a restaurant with a view across the south of the city. Ghosts of Christmas past, ghosts of Christmas present. It is these architectural touches, listed as historical monuments in 1990, which have saved the structure from destruction or brutal redevelopment, but which perversely also led to the decline of the store.

Ghosts of Christmas present, ghosts of Christmas yet to come. Along one side of the store runs the Rue de l’Arbre Sec. Legends tell us that this name refers to the dried wood of the hangman’s gibbet, and the association is apt here. La Samaritaine was condemned to die by its owners LVMH in 2004. It had become too old and dangerous they said. An expensive and time-consuming refit would be necessary to make it fit the required norms, so wouldn’t it be better to hang it out to dry, let time pass and put the buildings to more profitable use.

Ghosts of Christmas yet to come. In June 2008, LVMH submitted a plan to transform the store into office, small retail units, a hotel and a sprinkling of social housing - a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down. The city of Paris have accepted the plan, preferring life to this slow death, and the redevelopment should be complete in 2013. The cavernous, empty interiors will breathe again, but the ghosts will never go away.

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach”

City of Confusion

Go, don't go, wait, slow down and stop. It's a daily battle between the city and the individual. Diverted, round and round, sent underground, a dead end, it's where we all end up. The city is in control. Red lights, INTERDIT, the doors are locked, come again another day.

Penalty fine, €180 for leaving a trace of yourself on the streets of Paris without permission. A hidden corner, signs scream out the rules, but they are so easy to ignore when no-one is looking. When one breaks the law, others sneak through the gap behind them. If the city loses control, in the chaos, we all lose control of the city.

But how can we find our way around this city maze when even the street names can't be trusted? Pierre is higher, Pierre comes first. Marie added, an afterthought, a lead-lined coffin in the Pantheon of great men.

Something for the Weekend? (5th - 8th November)

I have found only three interesting events taking place this weekend in Paris, so this time I will supplement the programme with a couple of exhibitions currently taking place in the city. The advantage is that you will have longer than just this weekend to visit them!
Note: One free event - a concert at L’International is taking place tonight (Thursday).

If you have any events or activities you think should be promoted or which you would like to promote yourself, please add them in the comments. Let me know also if you have any events in the coming weekends you would like to promote.

A Treasure Hunt in the 5th Arrondissement
A group called 5sur5 and professional treasure hunters ‘Ma Langue au Chat’ (who I have previously featured on Invisible Paris) have joined together to organise an event this Saturday in the 5th arrondissement. This treasure hunt will take you around the district and into the bars and boutiques in search of clues that will help you to solve the enigma. Of course, this will also give you the opportunity to sample some of their produce, including secret cocktails and rare wines!
Saturday 7th November, 3.30pm and 5pm. Prize giving at 7pm
Place Maubert, M° Maubert-Mutualité

The Reopening of the Musée Henner
Closed four years ago after only attracting 3800 visitors a year, the Musée Jean-Jacques Henner has been renovated, with the hope of now attracting upwards of 50000 visitors annually. The reopening takes place this weekend and will be your chance to rediscover this interesting 19th century artist’s residence. Henner was a very fashionable portraitist in his lifetime, but quickly fell out of fashion after his death. It was his niece who acquired this house, previously the studio of the artist Guillaume Dubufe (who painted the ceilings in the Train Bleu restaurant in the Gare de Lyon), in order to display her uncle’s work. She donated the residence to the state on the condition that they open it up as a museum. Although the artist’s work is not especially original, the house, particularly after this renovation which has sought to take it back to its original state, is certainly worthy of a visit.

Top tip: residents of the 17th arrondissement get in free this weekend if they come with a copy of the free ParisDixSept magazine. I can’t guarantee that this will work, but if you go first to the Mairie du 17eme (on the Rue des Batignolles) and pick up a copy of the magazine in the entrance you’ll probably be able to get in free too.
43 Avenue de Villiers, Paris 17e
Metro Villiers

Les Nuits Populaires – Sing Different, Sing French!
Who says that the English language is dominant in the music world? The intriguing idea of this festival is to get a selection of non-French artists to sing in French. Featuring musicians from Canada, the United States, Spain, Brazil and the Lebanon, it should produce some fascinating results. The highlight will probably be the wonderful April March on Saturday who is more than used to singing in the language!
Full programme available here: http://www.cridupeuple.com/
5th November – at L’International (free entry)
6th – 7th November – at Les Trois Baudets (16 Euros)

The Musée Carnevalet ‘Fait Sa Révolution’
Paris has never had the museum that its rich history deserves, compared to the excellent Museum of London for example. The Musée Carnevalet in the Marais plays this role, but the exhibits are a little disparate, and there are whole chunks of the history of the city missing. However, if there is one period on which it is particularly strong it is the French Revolution in the city, and this is even more true today. A temporary exhibition in the museum has given it the opportunity to display hundreds of artifacts from this period in its collection, ordered by theme; the role of women, famous individuals, vandalism, religion and fashion for example. You’ll even be able to see some of the clothes worn by the royal family during this period!
From Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm
Entrance price : 5 euros
Until 3rd January 2010
23, rue de Sévigné, 75003

100 Years of Gala Menus at the Musée Maxim’s
The Musée Maxim’s is basically a large apartment above the famous restaurant crammed full of Art Nouveau knick-knacks. The result is rather overpowering, but there is an interesting recreation of a courtisane’s “chambre d’amour”! Currently though there is a fascinating temporary exhibition on the theme of Presidential ‘gala menus’ from the last 100 years. 140 menus are displayed, including creations by Mucha and Chagall, for events that have included guests such as Eva Péron, Churchill, the Czar of Russia and John Kennedy. It is a really absorbing way to see what the famous and powerful have eaten over the years, and also how tastes have changed.
From Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 5pm
Entrance price : 6 euros
Until 28th February 2010
3 Rue Royale, 75008

The Serbian Ambassador’s Residence

Perhaps the most secret areas of any capital city are the diplomatic missions of other foreign states. Although embassies and official residencies are not sovereign territory of the represented state, the fact that the host country must ask permission before entering such buildings means that they can operate in tranquil seclusion.

In Paris, several of the most luxurious townhouses in the most chic parts of the city have been transformed into embassies or ambassadorial residencies. Typical visitors to embassies find themselves waiting outside in long lines, before finally being admitted into the most banal administrative zones, whilst the residencies only admit a select few guests. Not many people have access to all areas, but one such person is the Serbian journalist Jelena Kalicanin. Here she opens the doors to the residence of the Serbian ambassador, one of the most impressive in Paris, and gives a little insight into what can be found behind these highly protected walls.

Why did you visit the Ambassador’s residence?

I am a Serbian architect and journalist working for Kuca Stil home interiors magazine. I chose to write about this residence because it is very interesting both in terms of architecture and decoration, certainly for the people of Serbia. I am also lucky enough to go there very often when I am in Paris.

What is the building and what is its history?

The building is the Hôtel de La Trémoille on the Boulevard Delessert in the 16th arrondissement. It was designed by the architect Ernest Sansson and built between 1910 and 1920 by the 11th Count of Trémoille, very much in a classic 18th century style. The count died before it was finished, but his son and grandson continued the construction. The family lived in the house until it was sold in 1936 to Alaxandar 1, the King of Yugoslavia.

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Is the interior in French or Serbian style?

The decoration is pure French, but you can consider the residence as a kind of gallery of Serbian artists who have lived and worked in Paris, such as Vlada Velickovic, Petar Omcikus, Milos Sobajic and Djordje Ivackovic. One of the the greatest Serbian painters to have lived in Paris is Milenko Serban, who studied at the Académie Colarossi.

What is particularly interesting about this residency for you?

Well, my article was titled ‘The Million Dollar View’ because the view of the Eiffel Tower from the residency and the garden really is exceptional! I think that perhaps no other building in Paris has such a wonderful view. Inside, there is a very large gallery of Serbian painters on the first floor, and a large and valuable tapestry in the antechamber which belongs to the French state. Each year they take it away and bring it back after cleaning it. There are also two painted wooden walls in the dining room that belong to the French state too.

The role of the ambassador is to represent the citizens of their country and to promote their country abroad. Is there a history of good relations between Serbia and France?

When the President Tito opened the Yugoslavian frontiers in 1962 many people left the country. Most of them went to Germany, but the architects and designers went to Paris. In general, relations between France and Serbia (Yugoslavia) have been very good. The old Belgrade fortress was designed by a Frenchman, Nicolas Doxat de Morez, following the model of the French engineer Vauban. There is also a monument which was erected in the glory of France thanking her for her support in the 1914-18 war which says “We love France as she loved us”.

However, after the start of the NATO offensive on Belgrade in 1999 in which the French participated, the monument was covered with a black cloth. That cloth was of course quickly removed, but the symbol was important. As for ill-feeling today, I'd say there is none in Serbia, but it probably still exists in France. History is always difficult. When talking to French people, I compare Kosovo to Corsica, and Milosevic to Napoleon, but they can't really understand this. When I asked them what Napoleon was doing in Russia, one person replied that he "wanted to show Russian people how to live better".

Anyway, I myself love France. During the war years, I was the only journalist in Belgrade who was able to go to France, and I love going there as often as possible.

Thanks to Jelena Kalicanin for her time and for the photos that accompany this post. See http://www.jelenakalicanin.com/index.htm for more information on her work as a journalist.

It should also be noted that this residence can sometimes be visited during the annual Journées du Patrimoine in September.

La Colonne Médicis – a mystery for Halloween

In a city that has been investigated and documented as much as Paris, not much remains that has a glimmer of mystery. Alongside the Bourse de Commerce near Les Halles though stands a 31 metre high column for which there are two unanswered questions; what was it used for and why is it still there?

The column itself is the only remaining vestige of a royal palace know as the Hôtel de la Reine. This palace was built for Catherine de Médicis in 1572, with the column being added three years later. It seems that Catherine de Médicis was a great believer in the divinatory arts, and employed an astrologist called Cosme Ruggieri, who she consulted before taking important decisions. This column may have played an important role in those decisions.

According to some evidence, the column was used by Ruggieri, primarily as an astrological observatory. Ruggieri had a workshop at the top of the tower, but interestingly it could also be accessed directly from Catherine de Médicis’s apartment in the palace via a spiral staircase. What exactly took place in Ruggieri’s workshop is not clear, and neither is the exact role astrology played in the life of Catherine de Médicis, an incredibly powerful woman, who was Queen from 1547 to 1559, then Queen Mother and advisor to three of her sons during their reigns.

Catherine de Médicis died in 1589, but the tower has survived long after her. Ruggieri continued with his work in his room, but made many enemies in the church and the court. When he died in 1615 he was refused a decent burial, and instead his body was dragged through the streets of the city and left on the wayside. Is it surely for this reason that there have often been reported sightings of a dark figure at the top of this column on stormy nights.

After the death of Ruggieri, it is probable that the column became purely decorative or possibly defensive. The column was sold separately from the rest of the palace, thus saving it from destruction, although it is not known why this was the case. It was eventually sold on again to the city of Paris, and has stood firmly in place whilst first the palace was demolished, then two other buildings were built around it (initially the Halle aux Blés, then today’s Bourse de Commerce).

The column looks curiously out of place today, even if the Bourse de Commerce that blankets it was designed in a similar classical style. It looks like an extravagant chimney, or a rather absurd decorative feature, but given this, it is still easy to overlook it in the congested landscape of Les Halles.

Does it still serve a purpose today? The staircase still exists inside the tower, but today there are no echoes of footsteps mounting and descending the steps. The doorway on the ground level is now firmly closed, and nobody stands at the top anymore – do they?