by Serginio Sylvain
This JSF trip was my first visit to Paris. Upon setting foot on Paris I quickly realized that this was the most beautiful city I had ever visited. However, what took me a while to notice was the fact that Paris suffers from what many other large cities struggle with: localized poverty.
As is often the case with large cities that attract tourists and immigration, an increasingly high cost of living chases middle-income and low-income families out of the center of Paris and the most attractive municipal districts and forces them to the fringes (for Paris these are the suburbs or districts further from the center) or other cities. By visiting Paris it became apparent to me that this was the case. In the most beautiful neighborhoods rich in monuments or historical sites (like the Quartier Latin where I resided for the duration of the trip), I did not see any rundown buildings or any area which could be deemed poorer. It was not until I had visited the 18th District that I started seeing buildings that were poorly maintained.
The 18th District is also home to most of the people of African or Caribbean descent in Paris. This may be because the 18th District just happens to be where they originally began moving to upon the arrival of the first generations of immigrants to Paris. It may also be because this is where there are the most elements they find necessary or relate to. Indeed, on Rue de Jean there is large open market similar to what is common in many Caribbean islands and African countries. This market, unlike the one at Haymarket (in Boston) is well maintained. In fact when I visited it there were several government employees cleaning the area. In addition there are many small shops held by people of African and Caribbean descent that provide products popular with people of African or Caribbean. However, I also believe that the reason for the 18th District to be populated mainly by people of African or Caribbean descent is an economic one. It is significantly cheaper to leave there. In the 18th District, the signs of poverty were clear to me and could be read from the poor derelict appearance of the buildings. Furthermore, Barbès and Château Rouge, which are two neighborhoods in the 18th District, are reputed for having gang activities and illegal activities which are common to poorer areas in large cities.
Another neighborhood where illegal activities are known to take place is close to the Grand Rex (one of the largest movie theatres in Paris located at the Bonne-Nouvelle stop on the Metro in the 2nd District). On Rue Saint-Denis, directly across from La Porte Saint-Denis (a monumental stone gate that dates from Louis XIV) the Quartier des Prostituées [Neighborhood of the Protitutes] looms. When I visited this neighborhood, I went down Boulevard de Bonne-Nouvelle to get a better look at the monument and I was shocked when I noticed the contrast between the beautiful monument and the unattractive sight of the street that is Rue Saint-Denis. It was only 4 PM but walking on Rue Saint-Denis I could already see prostitutes every ten feet standing in front of poorly lit corridors and displaying their assets under very revealing clothing. They were not very young and if I may allow myself to say this, they seemed pretty well seasoned. The buildings along the street seemed pretty rundown and lacked the general luster and order of Haussmann’s buildings.
The presence of these poorer neighborhoods is not unique to Paris. It is something that is common to all large cities. In fact, it is in my opinion tied to the economics of large cities and is very difficult to avoid. Nonetheless, since it is easy to locate these poor neighborhoods (it only took me a few days) it should not be too difficult to target the areas that need the most help, assuming that the right funding, interests and policies are in place.