Impossible City: Paris in the Twenty-First Century – A place like no other

Waiters in traditional attire take the start of the 'Course des garcons de cafe' , in front of Hotel de Ville in central Paris, last Sunday. Photograph: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFPSimon Kuper has what he describes as his dream job, writing a weekly column for the Financial Times on the topic of his choosing while living inwith his wife and three children. In the run-up to next summer’s Paris Olympics, he has published a charming book about his first 20 years in the French capital.

And yet, the pleasure of living in Paris never fades. Kuper analyses the French art of conversation and the ritual of Parisian dinner parties, which can be “genuinely joyous ... the conversation, food, beauty, friendships and flirtations could transport you to a higher realm”. His house guests from New York don’t get it.

Because Paris is the most densely populated city in Europe, Parisians are afflicted with permanent cabin fever, “trying to have private conversations in cafes while sitting six inches from the next table, trying to keep their toilet visits and orgasms silent, and managing the neighbours”.

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