Thoughts on the destruction of Paris once my favorite city

Tweet

The world is watching the fall of the City of Lights as violent rioters loot, pillage, burn, destroy and deface Paris. Supposedly, rioters particularly want to storm the Louvre with the intention of burning the Mona Lisa as a symbol of western capitalization. Grim images. I was once something of a Francophile due to being passionate about the French cinema and actresses. My first trip outside the country was to Paris and I made six visits total over the years. The first time is always the most thrilling when you gaze upon the Eiffel Tower and other famous landmarks in person. Paris truly was the most beautiful city I’ve ever visited with its broad boulevards, amazing old structures and the Seine flowing through. New York was hicksville compared to what Paris offered. What struck me was how Parisians cared about their city. For a huge city, Paris was so clean. Old buildings in constant state of being cleaned. Early mornings saw swarms of city workers diligently cleaning streets and ridding garbage. Shopkeepers cleaning windows and hosing down sidewalks. That vibe changed during my final 2004 trip. Something wasn’t right. Since my previous 2000 visit, the sparkle had extinguished and suddenly Paris appeared worn and shabby. Not so clean. This state coincided with the recent European Union takeover. Prices had skyrocketed with the Euro replacing the franc. The moral of the story is never put off travel if that is your passion. I started young and worked crappy jobs to finance European trips. Thank goodness I didn’t put things off. Because travel was so important to me I’m now glad to have sacrificed and even been condemned as irresponsible to have done as much as I did. If I thought Paris had disintegrated in 2004, can you imagine its state even before the riots. This applies to other cities and places I have visited. The world has gone to rack and ruin and not very inviting to visit.