Paris: The Passenger

The radiance of the “city of lights” can be blinding even for tourists: the clash with the real city, so different from the one depicted in films and books, results in some of them developing the so-called “Paris syndrome.” That said, the cracks in the postcard image of the city seem to multiply: terrorist attacks, the demonstrations of the yellow vests, the riots in the suburbs, Notre-Dame in flames, record heatwaves. Meanwhile, soaring living costs are forcing many Parisians to leave the city.

Yet these are not just a series of unfortunate events. They are phenomena―from increasing population density to climate change, from immigration to the repercussions of globalization and geopolitics― that all metropolises in the world must face. And in Paris, today, the mood is not one of defeat but of renewal: from ongoing environmental and urbanistic transformation to the children of immigrants who take to the streets for the right to feel French, and the women determined to break the sexism and stereotypes that dominate the fashion industry. Is there anyone who seriously thinks they can teach Parisians how to stage a revolution?