In Paris there are sales on clothes only twice a year. Stores are regulated by the government so that they cannot have sales whenever they want. Today, Friday the 13th, which is a lucky day in France contrary to our culture’s superstitions, we decided to return to La Défense to explore Quatre Temps, the mall in the area. I’ve been trying to mimic the French style so I bought boots, a wool hat, and a Pashmina scarf, all of which can be seen on at least half of the French women you walk by at any point.
As I’ve been walking around I’ve noticed one peculiar thing that I never see in the U.S. Most policemen in Paris travel on foot it seems, and they always travel in groups of three or four, sometimes as many as five. The first time I saw this I was startled because any time you see a cluster of police in the U.S. either something bad has happened or there is a very large event going on that requires extra security. So to walk along the sidewalk and pass clusters of police who are talking and laughing like regular people, I couldn’t help but think that their attitude toward work and life is very different from ours.
January 13, 2006
On fashion and the French police
