Let’s not lose the magic of Paris life.
© Meredith Mullins

Change Comes to Four Cultural Icons

“Panta Rhei” wrote the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. “Life is flux.”

This prescient philosophy, from more than 2000 years ago, is more commonly known as “Change is the only constant.” A truth in 500 BCE and a truth today.

In a city like Paris, the process of change can affect the visible cityscape, as well as its cultural icons. We are the witnesses as we go about our daily rhythms of sitting in our beloved cafés, taking the bus, getting the news, and, yes, finding a restroom.

In quotidian life, we face the modern renditions of places that were once part of the cultural heritage of Paris—transitions from the past to the future.

Layers of history
© Meredith Mullins

I feel nostalgia for bygone eras, even as I continue to walk on cobblestone streets and admire the buildings and bridges of past centuries.

And that makes me ask, “Is Paris disappearing?”—a question worth contemplating as I sit for a while in a sidewalk café.

Paris Cafés: A tribute to a slower pace of life
© Meredith Mullins

Leisurely Café Sitting or Fast Food?

Paris is not Paris without its iconic cafés. Parisians and visitors will never give up sitting on the rattan chairs, sipping an espresso or verre de vin, and watching the passing parade or talking with friends. Café sitting is the ultimate way to embrace a slower pace of life.

McDonald’s takes over a 19th century Haussmann building.
© Meredith Mullins

However, it is easy to notice that fast food has taken hold in the City of Light. From McDonald’s to Subway to Chipotle to Bagelstein to Burger King to Starbucks, a different kind of cuisine and culture is gaining popularity. It seems that some folks cannot get enough of America’s fast-paced habits.

The McCafé is not quite the same as the classic sidewalk gems.

Thank goodness, President Macron has recently allocated funds to keep the traditional cafés alive. It would be sad to see these testaments to the spirit of community disappear.

Is a Starbuck’s coffee really as good as an espresso at a sidewalk café?
© Meredith Mullins

A Bus Stop is a Bus Stop is a Bus Stop . . . Not

The Paris bus stops are a welcome sight, some so conveniently close to each other that you can see the next one from the one you’re standing in.

But, as with many things, modernization came to the Paris bus stops. In 2015, the shelters were converted to a futuristic design, complete with streamlined roof (some with solar panels and some with planted greenery), charger stations, and a goal of energy efficiency.

Sleek new bus stop design
© Meredith Mullins

In addition, the city added exterior signposts that indicate the buses that serve the stop and show how many minutes until the next bus. You know from a distance whether you have to pick up the pace or be prepared for some Godot-like waiting. The signs are illuminated at night, which makes them easy to see.

Form did not exactly follow function, however, as the new roof design does not protect bus patrons from the elements. You can get rained on, snowed on, or gusted by wind.

The new bus stop design provides little protection against wind-blown elements.
© Meredith Mullins

The old bus stops were a homey little cocoon with three sides—such an inviting shelter that many a vagabond called them “home.”

The city promotes the new “open” design, however, as more accessible for people with prams and for people with disabilities.

There’s more to come. The “Bus Stop of the Future” is in development. As new “community spaces,” these shelters will offer bus ticket sales, coffee, music, book borrowing, information on the neighborhood, bike rentals, and more. The RATP (Paris Transportation Administration) will begin to introduce these structures soon.

The legendary news kiosks, brimming with print material and souvenirs of Paris
© Meredith Mullins

All the News that Fits

The newspaper kiosks of Paris are legendary. The dark green color and the carved metallic dome with a delicate spire make us sure we are in Paris (or, at least, watching a Paris film). Newspapers, magazines, and postcards burst forth from the tiny doors and spill onto the street.

Where else but here would you buy your Le Monde for the day’s news or your L’Officiel des Spectacles for all the events in Paris for the week.

Now, one by one, these traditional kiosks are being replaced by structures made of recycled glass and aluminum. The green color is similar to the legendary green, but the domes are a thing of the past, leading critics to call the new design a soulless “sardine can.”

The change is primarily to improve the working conditions of the news vendors and to allow more walk-in space for the patrons.

It’s a new world.
© Meredith Mullins

The structure can be heated. The enclosed space protects the vendor (and the merchandise) from the elements. It’s more like a shop, with shelves, so vendors don’t have to unpack their magazines and papers every day and repack them at night when they leave.

Many of the kiosks will have refrigerators so they can sell cold drinks, and some will have bathrooms for the vendors.

What will happen to the old kiosks? You can buy one if you want to own a little bit of Paris. Contact edouard.rayer@mediakiosk.fr for details.

Kiosk for sale?
© Meredith Mullins

It’s also nice to know that a few of the old-style kiosks will remain in place—preserved for history (and for filmmakers and tourists seeking selfies).

The Last Pissotière

Paris is famous for its elegance and style, but it must also be noted for the practical transition that has taken place in the development of public restrooms.

For many years, the public pissotières were a staple on the streets and boulevards, from three-stall rotundas to monolithic solo spaces. All were deftly designed to ensure the privacy of key body parts.

They were as much a part of the Paris landscape as the cafés and news kiosks. (Women, of course, were more discreet, using the toilettes in cafés.)

Now, the pissotières have been replaced by stainless steel ovals, with a forceful gush of water to clean them after each use. They are omnipresent (and free) . . . and a bit frightening if you have a fear of being flushed into oblivion.

The modern Paris public restrooms
© Meredith Mullins

The last pissotière on the rue Arago is the lone survivor, a functioning, gurgling reminder of a bygone era.

The last surviving pissotière, fondly called a “battered rattle-trap” by writer Henry Miller
© Meredith Mullins

The Future of Change

More Paris changes are coming, especially as the city prepares for the 2024 Olympics. But, as some of the critics of past and present cultural changes have voiced: The city needs progress but also needs “guardians of the spirit of Paris of days past.” A disappearing Paris, erasing history and customs, is not the goal.

Long live the spirit of Paris.
© Meredith Mullins

My “Oh, I See” moment: Let’s move forward, but let’s treasure the past and those cultural icons that are rooted deeply in heritage and customs.

Vive les cafés, les kiosks, les arrêts d’autobus, et la dernière pissotière.

Thank you to MessyNessyChic for information about how to buy a news kiosk.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.