Always the scene of great events
Douglas Johnson
SEVEN AGES OF PARIS:
PORTRAIT OF A CITY by Alistair Horne Macmillan, .i25, pp. 520. ISBN 0333725778 The Italian author, Alberto Arbasino, has recently published a book recalling his stay in Paris as a student during 1956. Entitled Paris, 0 Paris, this describes his three sorts of activities, There was the intellectual. working with Raymond Aron and his political/academic circle; the cultural, meeting the great figures of literature, such as Mauriac and Cocteau, seeing the great figures of theatre, such as Jouvet and Edwige Feuillere, visiting the art galleries and exhibitions; and there was entertainment, in the cafds and clubs where conversation flourished and all sorts of sexual encounters were provided.
This is, in its individual manner, the picture of Paris that visitors have found over the centuries, just as they have been impressed by the proliferation of monuments and statues commemorating the past, And in that past Paris has been more often torn within its walls by civil conflicts and attacked from without by the invader than any other European city. Paris is the site of a series of great events, grandes fourmses, that asserted royal power, revolution, massacre, defeat or triumphant victory.
Paris is France. It has played a more essential role in French history than London has played in the history of England. To write a history of Paris is a daunting task. In this important and attractive work, Alistair Home has modestly disclaimed any intention to write a history of Paris. He suggests that he has written a biography, a suggestion that is all the more striking because he is convinced that Paris is a woman. And this is not only because Paris has thrown up many fascinating women who have left their mark on the city (one can cite HeloIse, Henri IV's Reine Margot, Louise Michel the `petroletise'. Edith Piaf and Coco Chanel amongst those whom he mentions); but it is also because in his three decades of being an eminent historian of France Horne has repeatedly returned to Paris and noted her changes of mood and temper. And this he associates with being a woman.
This may be a biography. Inevitably it is made up of history. Everyone will learn something from its pages. Thus the name of Montmartre is well known, but not everyone knows that it is the name of the hill where Dionysius (or Denis), the first Christian martyr, was decapitated. Hence 'Mons Martyrum'. The patron saint of Paris is Genevieve, because it was the prayers and the faith of this young girl which stopped Attila and his Huns from invading Paris in 451.
Horne is often attracted to a particular figure of the past. Henri IV is the most obvious example. He was clearly one of the great kings of France and was notable for his courage and good sense. With the Edict of Nantes. France gained some respite in the internal wars of religion, and with the work of Sully the nation's finances acquired a certain stability. But he also recounts many of the stories of Henri IV and women, explaining that this warm-hearted Gascon was 'always in love', adding the description 'usually inconstant' (which reminds us that a Victorian writer described him as 'this doubtful husband).
But the history of Paris is not forgotten, and we are told a great deal about the rebuilding of the Paris that Henri entered in 1594. It was still very much a mediaeval city, one that was in a sad state after the deprivations of the siege and after years of fighting, For Henri building was a passion and we are given details of many of the works that he undertook, notably the creation of the Place Royale that later became the Place des Vosges (where Victor Hugo was to live) and the Pont Neuf (which, in the following century, was described as Paris's greatest thoroughfare).
In Age Three of this portrait of Paris, covering the years 1643 to 1795, Horne spends much time on the reign of Louis XIV, considering both his official and his personal life. He has not resisted the temptation of telling the story of the `affaire des poisons', the worst scandal of the reign. A series of sudden deaths in the late 1670s aroused rumours of poisons and lethal love potions, along with allegations of witchcraft and black masses. A number of women were executed. But the rumour grew that Madame de Montespan was implicated in these affairs. She had been the king's close companion for some 13 years and she was the mother of his bastards, whom he had legitimised. Louis therefore brought all enquiries and legal proceedings to a halt. Whilst recounting this familiar story Horne tells us about the buildings with which we associate Louis XIV, such as the Louvre, the Invalides and the boulevards, especially the Champs Elysees, as well as the installation of an effective lighting system. However, Versailles was to replace Paris as the chief interest of the king (as Madame de Maintenon replaced Madame de Montespan).
The last of the Seven Ages ends with the resignation of General de Gaulle in 1969. Naturally, one regrets this. Since this relatively distant date, one knows of many fundamental changes that have taken place in Paris life and in the appearance of Paris. Horne has mentioned some of them, such as the dominant position of the motorcar. But there has been the development of `quartiers', often dominated by immigrants,
where poverty, unemployment and violence prevail, where bus drivers are attacked as they go about their business. There are moves out of Paris, not only to secondary residences in the countryside over weekends, but also away from apartments in the centre to small houses in the suburbs. And apart from the growing prestige of certain regional cultures, such as Breton and Alsatian, there is the political argument (now official) that the power of Paris over the rest of France is too great and should be diminished. Paris is no longer France.
It is, of course, a compliment to Alistair Home that we wish that his book should continue. He has produced a work of great scholarship, which, as Maurice Druon states in his preface, combines the art of synthesis with that of detail. And we have 'been told one story about post-de Gaulle Paris, President Mitterrand was determined to leave his mark on the capital and amongst many creations he built a new Opera House in the Place de la Bastille. It was not a success. Parisians asked the question, what is the difference between the Opera de la Bastille and the Titanic? Answer: on the Titanic, the orchestra played.
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