Gina Martins

Professor John Bailly

IDH 4007
July 31, 2017
A Culture on Every Stop

The Paris metro transit line 2 is one of the older lines; you can tell from the art nouveau
sign outside all the stops. The line was established in 1900 and over 100,000,000 people use it
every year. This line was interesting because part of it was over ground, so I got a good view of
the city. Line 2 covers the northern part of the city, very similar to a half circle. It runs through
famous neighbors like Pigalle and Montmarte, as well as Champs-Elysees.

My first stop was La Chapelle. This entire neighborhood was dedicated to South Asian
businesses such as restaurants serving Gujarati, Tamil and Sri Lankan food; there were boutiques
selling traditional clothing, spice stores, and media shops with south Asian movies and music. To
an outsider like me, I initially think, "This area has a lot of Indian restaurants." As I explored
more, I noticed it went beyond Indian restaurants. There were people from Pakistan and Sri
Lanka. This area was not just exclusive to food, but to a culture that deeply resembled a way of
life. In Miami, there are ethnic neighborhood, such as little Haiti and little Havana.
Another stop very similar to La Chapelle in terms of a multi-cultural neighborhood would
be Belleville. From what I experienced, there are two different sides to it. One side is Chinatown
with many Asian food markets, restaurants, and Asian owned stores. In this area, French seems
to be a forgotten language amongst the residents here; they have established their own
community amongst one another. It made me forget I was still in Paris. On the other part of
Belleville that I noticed a large youth population. This area was popular for young Parisians to
go to bars. This reminded me of gentrified places in Miami which started off dirty and ruined
areas, but because of a counter culture movement, have taken to a tourist attraction. While La
Chapelle does not seem to me to have potential for tourism, Belleville has this attraction for
me.
 After going to La Chapelle, I walked to the next metro stop which was Barbes-
Rouchechouart, which had one of the oldest hospitals in Paris. I went inside and there is a huge
courtyard in the middle of the hospital. The layout of the hospital is like a rectangle and had a
huge garden in the middle. It is promising to see such an old hospital have a warm atmosphere.
When a hospital is pictured, you think of death and disease. When I came to this hospital, I
thought of peace and tranquility.

Stalingrad
An alliance is a promise to stay true to the golden wonders inside you,
Come out tonight to celebrate the fraternity we hold in our hearts.
Celebrate the party and the light inside of you.
Stumble upon a random sight,
Oh, its liberty.
 I walked to the next stop, Jaures and found a plaza with a fountain in the middle. In this
plaza, bikes and motorcycles could pass through; so it was very pedestrian friendly. I sat in this
area for an hour, soaking in the sun. There were a few people running around in the fountain. I
feel like if people tried doing this in the states, they would have gotten a fine. This space felt
natural; for it was right by the Seine, hidden by the trees. This would not exist in Miami; plazas
are either full with dollar-tree stores and maybe a restaurant. In France, this is among many.

On Colonel Fabien, there is a statue dedicated to Albert Camus for his book, The
Stranger. In literature, this book is significant because it addresses the issues of apathy towards
emotions and a distrust towards humanity. France was built on human rights and the main
character is sentenced to death for a lack of connection to the human emotion. This statue
reminds me to always stay vigilant but also serves me feel that if people are socially different,
they will be reprimanded.
 The next two metro stops, Couronnes and
Menilomontant have a lot of immigrants and people of color as residents. It has a lot of
graffiti on the buildings and trash on the floor. I have noticed that the more variety of ethnicity in
a neighborhood, the more run down it appears. I want to connect this again to the discussion I
presented talking about La Chapelle. There is a socio economic disparity in neighborhoods that
often coincide with race. These multicultural places have been pushed to the northern part of
Paris to the city limits. I have often been warned to watch out exploring these areas by myself.
Often in multi-cultural areas, the price of living is very cheap, yet the condition is low. In the
United States before the Civil Rights Act, people of color were blatantly denied better housing in
fear of establishing an ethnic aesthetic. Since France has never had segregation, I find it so
curious as how these multi-cultural neighborhoods are not as grungy as it would be in Miami.
These residential areas are far more superior on outside appearances than in other ethnic
neighborhoods would look like in the United States. Alexandre Dumas metro stop is similar, is
has more trash on the street and many homeless people in the parks. This seems to skip over the
Pere Lachaise metro stop.

Pere Lachaise and Philipe Auguste are metro stops for the world famous cemetery,
which attractions millions of people- thus making this metro stop a tourist destination. I learned
in class, Pere Lachaise was a cemetery that as built to be famous and to make profit off selling
burial plots. This is acceptable of course as it is necessary to maintain graves, but with this
attraction for tourism came a lot of disrespect towards the graves in this cemetery. Oscar Wildes
grave had to have a barrier built because of people carving silly things into the stone. People
would climb on the grave next to it to reach the top of Wildes grave and a piece of the grave fell
off and crushed it. Jim Morrisons grave has been barricaded due to someone stealing the bust of
the grave during the late 80s. Meanwhile, other graves rot and are overtaken by nature with
plants growing.
 Avron
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v3d-hNVTzo

I was born in Bulgaria and I came to France 7 years ago. My English is no good, but
many Americans give me money. I do many things, but I work to help my mother who is sick at
home. It is hard to be immigrant in France.

The end of this half of the line was Nation. It is a huge intersection and I walked to a large statue
set in the middle of the intersection. The name of the statue is Triumph of the Republic. This
stop used to be around the entrance of Paris before the revolution. This was called Place du
Trne and monarchs would enter through Paris through this entrance (Metro Paris). Later on, this
area hosted thousands of peoples deaths through the guillotine for 6 weeks in the Reign of
terror. It was renamed Place du Trne-Renvers. The bronze sculpture was added in 1899 (Metro
Paris)
 Anvers is the metro stop that takes you to the hill to Montmarte and Sacr-Cur.
Climbing up the hill made me feel like I was following the precise steps of Ernest Hemingway or
Pablo Picasso. The climb to Montmarte felt like a pilgrimage, since it has one of the best views
of Paris.

Pigalle was probably my favorite stop. This area is part of the red light district since
Moulin Rouge is the next metro stop over. It has a vibrant nightlife scene and people are on the
streets until late at night. A real look on Parisian culture. Blanche is next and right when you get
step into ground, you are greeted by Moulin Rouge. This entire street is dedicated to sex stores
and hidden prostitution. Since it is not legal in France, I am skeptical of the commodification of
sex this area has created. Sex sells through Moulin Rouge, a place where people go to literally
watch women be sexually free and explicit. One could argue this has made women sexual
objects, but I see this as a sexual liberty.

Place de Clichy has a statue outside the stop as a tribute to Haussmans remodeling of the city as
well for the memory of fighting during the siege of 1814.
 Rome had the Lyce Chapal, which taught over 2,000 students. The French government
took over this intuition after it went bankrupt.

The housing on line 2 starts to get more sophisticated on Villiers as I ran through different
metro stops to the end of the line. I noticed that the streets start to get nicer further down this
line. Old and new styles are mixed in with more traditional Parisian homes are here. The next
stops are Monceau, Courcelles, and Ternes. These are right by a very big park that reminds me
of Luxembourg garden. These public spaces are instilled into French leisure time; almost even
necessary because it provides a public space for people to gather, share ideas, exercise, or just
read a book on the grass. This helps the environment by absorbing the carbon dioxide in the air.
In Miami, we dont have many common spaces like the gardens in Paris. They are remote from
each other, especially since Miami is mostly spread out.
 Next stop is Charles de Gaulle Etoile. It is a very long metro station that connects to
others. It has an exit that leads right on Champs-Elysees. On the other side is the Arc de
Triomphe. This area is highly commercialized; full of designer stores and pricey restaurants. It is
packed constantly with people looking for something new to buy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3hu9lBonqo
Trust my bank account,
I have the purse to prove it.
Look at these fine leather couture fur coat I just bought.
My husband got it for me before he left me for his secretary.
 M Rolex just broke, I have to replace the diamonds.
What do you mean you dont know what Gucci is?
My sunglasses were made in China but they are designer because of a label.
$300 on sale? What a good deal.
Meanwhile, a woman is begging on the same street.

The Eiffel Tower is just a 15 minute walk from Victor Hugo station while the Porte Dauphine
stop will take you back to the Arc de Triomphe. It is a long walk, but it is exciting to see the Arc
de Triomphe get bigger as you walk closer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGgBvwegrDY

This metro line was very long, but each stop took me to a new discovery, whether it be a
new park, food, or seeing different people and hearing their conversations. It was kind of
difficult running through some stops on my own, especially at night as it gets less populated
towards the end of the lines. Metro 2 is probably the most multi-cultural metro line in Paris.
 Works Cited
"Metro.paris." A ticket for Paris. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 July 2017.
"Paris Metro Map." Paris Metro - Maps, Timetables, Tourist Information. N.p., n.d. Web.
31 July 2017.