Time Out for Bastille-day 2011...

Tonight and tomorrow, the Paris firefighters brigade,
which celebrate this year its 200th anniversary, organize
a dozen free balls in various 'casernes' all around the city...




... click on the map, check the addresses and make your choice!

* The Bals des Pompiers, hosted by bands and some DJ, will begin at 21 pm to close at 4 am.
As usual, admission is free, but you will find the traditional barrel at the entrance to collect
donations for the Association for the development of social work of Paris' firefighters.
* Several free Bals populaires are also provided tonight and tomorrow in the streets of Paris.
[check LeMonde.fr for details].



July 14 Défilé' : Fighter jets overflying Ieoh Ming Pei pyramid...

[Thomas Cox - AFP/Getty Images]

And later on, at night...

[sjangro] has caught the fireworks from the street level, which gives back a very Parisian
and almost confidential view of the final bouquet.
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Second Asian 'Dies Iræ' in Paris' streets

This Sunday, at the initiative of the collective of Asian associations in France,
several thousand people marched in Paris, from the place de la République
to the place de la Nation, to protest against violence and require more security.

Apparently, no concrete solution has been found or desired
since last year when, for the first time, the Chinese community
organized a demonstration to denounce the intolerable
situation which has lasted for fifteen years, asking authorities
to protect people from any aggressive behaviour and violence.
For some reasons, the protest had turned to ethnic clash...
because of subsequent aggression on a Chinese woman.


To understand the basis of this wrath that could jeopardize the art of 'living together' which
has long characterized a multicultural neighborhood of Paris like Belleville, I suggest you to
listen to this France-Culture podcast:
- China from the edge: "Belleville, Chronicle of a Yellow Anger" - an audio documentary
by Alexander Héraud and Nathalie Salles about how and why all this first started on June 2010
and still hurts one year later.
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[Happy listening ... However, if you are familiar with French].

When the Seine River Overflows...

According to the government agency Vigicrues, the Seine River overflows since the
2nd week of December and exceeds of 3.78 m today, flooding the banks of the capital.

[Slideshow on Libération]

Once again, happily, we are far from the great flood of 1910, when
the Zouave du Pont de l'Alma was submerged up to its shoulders.
One hundred years have passed since then and the chances for a
similar flood happening again are taken very seriously.






The virtual exhibition "1910-Paris flooded"
brings together exceptional documents
[photos, postcards, posters, newspapers,
advertisements, etc.] from the History Library
of the City of Paris as well as from the agency
Roger-Viollet.
[clich on images to see all docs].

At the origin of the flooding, heavy rainfalls since summer 1909 and later snow, triggering
the floods of the Seine and its tributaries. These floods affected the Paris region, then the
capital from 21 to 28 January 1910.
The Seine River finally reached 8.50 m above the level 0 of La Tournelle Bridge.


[notremaxnational]
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It's the fault of Meteo-France !

So said the French PM on December 8th,
when panic gripped motorists after a 15 cm
snowfall.



Today is the yellow G@tto who complains about not seeing any snow storm in Paris,
however announced by last week's weather forecasts !

Now, seriously, is this what you call "snow"?

Is it serious a snowfall that lasts only 2 hours, with 2° or 3°C ?

I WANT A WHITE CHRISTMAS OR NO CHRISTMAS AT ALL !
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Fantastic snowfall over Paris on December 8/2010

From late morning until late afternoon, the snow covered Paris...
causing of course many problems to motor traffic but...
... turning some of the city's parks and streets in fabulous skiable slopes.


- Above, G@tto's Griset spot,
- Below, Benji's iPhone photos taken along the Vincennes racecourse fields.



But if it didn't last long, alas, in my fief...


... things were very different on some Paris heights !
Have a look at this freeride happening on the Buttes Chaumont gardens, tonight...

[Enjoy the article[fr] and the slideshow on SkipassMagazine]

And the Butte Montmartre, then ?
... transformed by snow in a fairy alpine village !


Waiting now for the next episode, winter is still young !
. . .

Halloween 2010 according to PaPoGris

BOO !

Did you get scared ?
... très bien !

Yours faithful,
G@tto

[Previous Halloween posts].

This Nuit has been Blanche !

The first night-time trail through the streets of Paris and its contemporary-art scene

took place on 5 October 2002, and the opportunity for anyone to explore artistic

creation for a 'sleepless night' has come back every year since, usually in October.

[Discover what Nuit Blanche is here]...

Out late and no time for the grand tour, just a little trick up my fief...
here are some spots worth checking out between Ober and Belleville.

rue Moret, a new art gallery...



Great atmosphere - surfing across Le Cannibale crowd


(rue de la Fontaine au Roi), Hakima El Djoudi's video installation


(rue de la Fontaine au Roi), the Galerie Italienne


Zoo Project, on the way to Belleville, and a stunning Lang/Baumann's work



Featuring people faces at the Zèbre, with Rebecca Bournigault's real time portraits


Place de Belleville : cheap shoes and free Nuit Blanche guides



Always nice, rue Désnoyez - aka graffiti street.


Back in Oberkampf, (Rizzotti's) Le Mur takes the stage, on Place Verte !

[photos by G@tto]

Go for a similar white tour with Any Port in a Storm.
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