In the face of tranquillity – Paris is under permanent construction
The mythical image of Paris as a city of serene tranquility and timeless afternoons spent walking through the Tuilerie gardens is an obscured vision of the true reality. Admittedly, Paris’ exterior beauty intertwined with its extravagant Haussman urbanized organization renders the city – as once stated by Ernest Hemingway - “a movable feast.” The sheer elegance and romantic essence to this city cannot be denied.
However, crawl below its outer surface and Paris can often be described as a bubbling cauldron of hammer hitting builders, spanner wrenching plumbers and incompetent interior decorators. Not one of the three separate buildings in which I have lived whilst in Paris has escaped the phenomenon of regular water cuts and the monotonous drone of a single hammer hitting an unknown object on the other side of the wall.
The proximity of the surrounding residents means that a single hammer blow will reverberate through the entire building sending shivers done even the most rigid of spines. What’s more, it has become the eight wonder of the world as to what exactly these builders are hitting. The positing of the tool seems to stay fixed to the same spot for hours on end, leaving the red-faced resident bemused as to why the hammer hasn’t been seen to come directly into his living room.
In the past week, plumbers have come to my apartment to replace the piping which supplies the main source of water to all of the primary household appliances. “A job that will take three days,” said the plumber over a week ago. Furthermore, he had the cheek to arrive two weeks after the scheduled date.
So, this is why Paris seems to be under consistent construction. French artisans, who often work privately, choose when they want to work; taking days off whenever they feel like it. Meanwhile, I am stood standing in my shower surrounded by broken pieces of tiling and my surrounding neighbors grow progressively insane with each bang, crash and wallop of the hammer.
Such antics continue throughout the year, increasing slightly in the summer months.
Is there really that many properties in need of renovation in Paris?
