This blog post is composed of snippets of a long letter I wrote to a childhood friend.
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Dear XXXX,
‘Twas good — very good!! — to receive your note. I miss you even more… Here’s the requested update.
You asked about the political climate in Paris == I have not seen any significant protests. Certainly, no juicy revolutionary stuff. Oh, okay, I’ve seen a couple little protests. Last week, fewer than 50 people, not all young, were marching with goofy hand-made signs down des Champs-Elysées, which is in the 8e arrondissement, one of the neighbourhoods in the centre of this city. No one paid them attention.
You asked about heat and food in Paris == The heat is off during the day in my apartment. Today’s high will be 34F degrees — under a blanket writing, my breath fogs my glasses as they sink down my nose. I’m used to, and even enjoy, winter coldness as well as sleeping at outdoor temperature so this isn’t a big deal for me but I imagine it would be rather uncomfortable for typical Parisians who seem a bit coddled.
Still, they don’t complain. This doesn’t mean they’re strong-minded, self-possessed stoics, however. I think they’ve either bought into the narrative of self-denial for the sake of the Ukraine/EU/France/international-community or are too afraid to openly challenge this hegemonic propaganda. I pointed out to a couple of French people that the EU bureaucrats are so afraid of those on whom they’ve been preying that they’re likely to act irrationally to defend their power and perks.
It didn’t sink in.
Censorship here is Orwellian. Like Twitter, the EU/France tries to control what people can learn and hear. Constantly, on my laptop, I get little reminders that I need to give up my privacy to get on a website, even one that deals with subjects as apolitical as architecture. All information in Paris is highly monitored and controlled. It’s very Soviet-like. Disturbingly so. Anyone with two brain cells knows how to get around these silly blocks, but I guess protecting the shallower end of the gene pool from political truth is worth it to them.
Back to coldness. My Anglican church has had no heat or hot water for almost two months. I learned that landlords, here, are pressured to turn off the heat in buildings where activities take place that the state does not consider important. Poohbahs in the church aren’t admitting, even to themselves, that in a secular state, churches are irrelevant therefore cold. Coffee shops and clothing stores, on the other hand, are toasty.
Paris is the opposite of the frog slowly boiled to death — it’s more like a scene in a Jack London novel in which the guy messes up his last match, knows he’s going freeze and die, so takes a nap. So yeah, the temperature is slowly decreasing, people know it, but … whatever. They’re napping.
I’m very cold, for example, in my wee 18thC apartment. It could be the case that older buildings made of thick stone don’t vary as much in temperature because they’re heat sinks – mass moderates temperature change — but that’s NOT what I feel. I’m just cold. All residential buildings are punctured with holes called windows, which, in Paris are about 8 feet tall, “outie” and single pane. This means they have zero insulative value. It’s quite lovely to open these windows to look at the streets below but I keep them shut because it’s so cold. (There are no screens in France, by the way. Not sure why.)
I have this theory that the French are willing to be cold in their homes as long as the government does not ever, ever touch their bread or wine. Again, I’m serious. A food shortage would surely trigger unrest but cold homes … meh! If the food in the little stores dwindled in quantity OR quality, Parisians would take to the street in a rampage to hit random people with stale baguettes. They couldn’t do anything more because no one here is armed. Self-protection as well as protection from the government are considered weird American obsessions, not responsible adult behavior. The French government, now, even is trying to ferret out “historical” weapons people may have kept after WWII, probably because it’s so desperately afraid of an populist uprising and, perhaps, revolution. Perhaps the government should be afraid. It’s policies have hurt many ordinary French people and will be hurting many more.
I wonder what the government will do when the American flood of weapons to the Ukraine hits the shores of Paris. This will happen soon, if it isn’t already happening. The black market, I’ve read, is full of this stuff. Should be interesting. You can be sure that the heritage French won’t be buying them …
You asked about anti-Americanisms == Yes, I’ve noticed a slight increase in anti-American sentiment since I’ve been here. Somehow, America is to blame for the cold rooms in France, but no one says this outright, at least in front of me. The French refuse to take responsibility for repeatedly electing incompetent politicians who then throw their voters under the bus so they can virtue signal to the universe how green and good and important they are.
Everyone here seems to know that the US/UK blew up the Nordstream – it’s just a common fact. But whenever the word Nordstream is mentioned, the room goes silent. People glance to their sides nervously as if a Soviet-era blanket is smothering the conversation. Something is going on but I don’t understand it. It’s culturally subterranean. I think it’s fair to say that more than a few people here are quietly changing their minds about the EU, UK, NATO, US, etc., but it’s slow to happen and not widespread.
Parisians have endured several gigantic bureaucratic incompetencies in the last year or so: 1) the COVID failure (incl. the ineffective, potentially life-threatening vaccines,) 2) the ever-worsening immigration/replacement failure, 3) the energy/fuel/heat failure and now 4) the failing, trumped-up NATO/US war against Russia (which I would LOVE to talk to you about, but …) yet, in spite of these failures, Parisians aren’t rebelling or complaining.
These thoughts, as always, are undeveloped, but off my head, here are three ideas why this could be happening:
1) Much more so than with conservatives or Christians, it’s very hard for proud leftists to admit they’re wrong. They’d rather live with their own self-aggrandizing delusions than admit they’ve been stupid. Thus, it will take a titanic-like event to shock them into reality. Losing the war in the Ukraine could do this, but probably won’t. A food shortage during the war is a more likely. If history is prologue, the next chapter isn’t going to be good, for like lemmings, the French completely fell for the COVID scare and willingly let themselves be jabbed with poisonous, untested vaccines. That says a lot about them as well as most Americans. When I see more and more people figuring out they’ve already lost the war in the Ukraine (unless NATO escalates it irrationally, which is a real possibility), I will have more hope. We’ll see. That the expert class lies is a truth slowly entering the populist consciousness … at … a … glacial … pace.
2) And, perhaps the EU successfully reached their goal of population replacement; no longer are there enough heritage Frenchmen/women willing to whine, complain and revolt. This is a real possibility. Don’t discount the fact that the heritage French are a minority in their own capital (in which 40% of the nation’s population lives).
3) Perhaps, the leftists here are true believers in the Greenie cult which has as a theological-like premise a pure hatred of human beings (other than themselves). The Green religion has it’s own secular version of original sin. People, in their thinking, are evil and deserve to die. But unlike Christianity, the Green religion has no redemption. It’s straight to hell with you and me, as far as they’re concerned. If we starve or get killed in a futile, unnecessary war, it’s all the better for the PLANET (which means themselves.)
Lately, they’ve been trying to shut down some of the most productive farms in Europe because weird, utopian, Green fanatics in the EU decided that farmers use too much nitrogen as fertilizer. They’d much rather have ordinary Europeans starve or munch on bugs than eat quality food.
We need to evangelize the truth of a loving God to the Greenies who hate us, themselves and humanity in general. Or …
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I thought I could pass as French – I even thought I had a bit of a Parisian accent because someone told me this, but, well, this was delusional on my part. When I’m outside, Parisians look at me and say, “English??” Some even say, “American … where from?” The only people who think I’m Parisian are foreigners looking for directions. I must look kind because I get at least one query every time I go for a walk.
This only adds to the lostness I feel here. My reasons for coming no longer are clear. I’ve lost my footing. I’m not reaching out to the people I had planned to contact or anyone else, for that matter. I’m just watching, looking and thinking. Observing, that is. Observing is my default behaviour when I feel insecure, sad or just curious. I go silent and withdraw into my little shell to watch, pray and think. That’s what’s happening. I pray to meet people, and on occasion have short conversations with strangers, but no “real” French person has taken an interest in me. This hurts. I’m praying for a French friend or lover.
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Oh, I wanted to tell you that the Anglican church had a lovely Christmas caroling evening. When I took two sips of “mulled wine” because I needed to swallow an aspirin, a gag-reflex overwhelmed me. Mulled wine is totally gross. At best, it’s an “acquired taste.” (Remember how XXXXX used to say that about any food he disliked?)
Other than those at church, the English people I’ve met here have a BAD attitude toward the French. They obviously love French culture but are still snooty, definitely looking down their lumpy noses at the French. Furthermore, though people talk about how the economic hub is moving from London toward Paris, what’s really happening is Londoners are moving to Paris and taking their money and book-of-business with them. The 1st arrondissement of Paris, one of the wealthier areas, is now about half English, I’ve been told. So, though the markets are abandoning London, Londoners are not abandoning the markets! They’re here. In force.
I’m pulling away from this and them. I may be lonely, but getting near that money-vortex is like being a moth near a candle — begging to be burnt.
Paris is a beautiful city, XXXX. It’s historic military, diplomatic and political abilities departed as the seat of government transferred to Brussels, yet the sun of French glory has not yet completely set. This is still a city of refinement. The arts are cultivated and valued — the Louvre stretches city blocks. Philosophy is respected. My eye rests in wonder on old architectural treasures with porticos and statues, granite and marble. Little passageways, clay tile roofs, and painted ceilings are easy to find. The modern stuff, which I generally like, leaves me cold because Paris’ past is much more attractive and poignant than it’s present.
It’s who we were at a better time.
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PS I have been looking for a little placard that reads, “To an Unknown God” …
