The beach in the center of Paris – a phenomenon of urban culture
What attracts visitors to Paris-Plage? What is the secret of the success of this event, which was originally conceived as an experiment? According to urban sociologist Benjamin Pradel, as interviewed by Radio RFI, Paris-Plage has over the years become a unique culture that is very different from the daily life of Parisians.
– The city hall began organizing Paris-Plage after initial attempts to close the highway along the Seine for the summer period in 1999 and 2000. Those attempts were not successful. One could even speak of their failure, as no one took advantage of the opportunity to stroll along the riverbank closed to cars. Then the mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, together with Jean-Christophe Choblet, who is now the chief scriptwriter of Paris-Plage, decided to make the riverbank more attractive. Thus the idea of a beach in the city center was born.
Today it is 2015, and most large cities are temporarily closing some streets to cars – for weekends or during summer vacations. The main goal is to push cars and the accompanying air pollution out of the city center, but at the same time it revitalizes the city, opens it up to people, and finds a balance between pedestrians and transport. In Paris, this is accompanied by a rediscovery of the Seine for Parisians, a kind of return of Paris to its roots. This trend exists in other French cities as well – in Nantes, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Lyon.
– Today many say that visiting Paris-Plage is like becoming a tourist in your own city.
– If we talk about the original idea of tourism, the concept of Paris-Plage completely turns it upside down. Previously, a tourist was considered someone who traveled at least 30 kilometers from their city and spent the night away from home. Even tourism statistics are based on that definition. Today, tourism encompasses the entire industry of festivities, so to speak – and I'm not only referring to Paris-Plage, but also, for example, Christmas markets. It's a way to create a new image of a familiar place, and to do so according to a specific script. For instance, constructing completely atypical landscapes in the very center of the city. Thus the idea of "tourism for locals" was born – it consists of the possibility for city dwellers to escape their everyday lives and try to live differently in their own city.
There is something theatrical in this: Parisians know that it's not a real beach, because you can't swim in the Seine; they know that this beach is artificial, but they engage in the collective game, in someone else's staging. It is neither city nor beach, it is something in between, and as a result, completely new styles of behavior emerge. People in swimsuits lying side by side on deck chairs in the historic center of Paris – you have to admit that's something completely atypical. Gradually, entirely new rules of behavior for city dwellers are established, new habits of communication, habits of displaying one's body, habits of almost physical contact with beach neighbors, completely unlike what happens daily in the Paris metro.
– But does everyone engage in this collective game, or has Paris-Plage developed its own specific audience over its 13 years of existence?
– Well, first of all, it should be noted that Paris-Plage is located in two different areas: in the city center on the Georges Pompidou expressway and in the north along the Canal de l'Ourcq. Of course, there are people who never go to Paris-Plage and never will. Going there is a whole event, with its own rules of behavior that not everyone accepts. But on the other hand, Paris-Plage already has its loyal audience. In the city center, it is mainly young people. Beyond its primary purpose, this beach serves the aim of "showing off," socializing, hanging out, and showing off. The beach along the Canal de l'Ourcq is mainly visited by families. It is also more of a working-class beach, while the city center gathers more bourgeois layers of the population. But in both cases, there are people who come to the gates of the beach early in the morning and wait for it to open. These are loyal customers, not only Parisians but also suburban residents.
– Many note that Paris-Plage has become a place for flirting and meeting people. Perhaps this is the key to its popularity?
– Since the end of the 1970s, and throughout the year, parts of the Seine riverbanks have been places for flirting, meeting people, and "showing off." There are not many places in the city where people come specifically to show off. Moreover, this applies not only to women but also to men and people with non-traditional orientations. For example, everyone knows that on some sections of the Seine riverbanks there are meeting places for gays. As for Paris-Plage, here you can quite openly see women and men in swimsuits, calmly lying on the sand, in full view of passersby. They do this quite deliberately, knowing that several hundred, if not thousands, of people will walk past them during the day. There is a kind of game of glances between those lying on the sand and those walking by.
Talking about flirting might be an exaggeration, but a certain game of seduction undoubtedly takes place. This concerns primarily Parisians under the age of 25. Such behavior is typical of young people on any beach. But now, in some seaside towns, city halls prohibit strolling along the beach in a swimsuit. And on the city center riverbanks, sunbathing is completely forbidden. Here, everything was specifically created so that people behave as if on vacation at the seaside – primarily to relax and sunbathe, but also to show off, to display oneself, right in the city center. This is precisely the success of Paris-Plage.
– In any case, over its 13 years of existence, Paris-Plage has completely changed Parisians' perception of their city.
– This, above all, changes the perception of Parisians themselves. It changes their habits of communication and behavior in public places. During the time of Paris-Plage, a style of behavior emerges that is not found anywhere else. If not everyone is ready to undress and sunbathe in the very center of the city, the habit of seeing others makes Parisians much more open. This is a new way of communicating with each other. For example, if someone comes to Paris-Plage and sits on the sand in boots, socks, and fully dressed, just to gawk at others, an empty space quickly forms around him. On the contrary, the neighbors on the beach will pay more attention to him, because the regular beachgoers have already formed their own manners of behavior to feel comfortable here.
– Strange as it may seem, Benjamin Pradel sees in this new form of urban recreation a connection with an older tradition, with the very Middle Ages.
– For me, Paris-Plage is a modern form of urbanism that has absorbed old traditions of city festivals. Such as, for example, medieval fairs, or the World's Fair in Paris in the 19th century. It is a form of modern celebration. Back then, people also went out to show themselves, to flirt, to socialize. The form is different, but the atmosphere is the same. This is a modern form of festive collective recreation.
Holidays are necessary in life. And in summer, one wants them even more. But if you don't have the opportunity to get out of town during the warm season, then Paris-Plage will indeed be a good escape from everyday life.
And if you ignore the grumbling of some haughty provincials who come to Paris for the weekend, saying 'they've lost all shame, undressing right on the street,' then sitting on the hot sand opposite Notre-Dame can bring a lot of pleasure.