Sois clément - Paris
"In Paris, everyone wants to be an actor; no one is resigned to being a spectator."
-Jean Cocteau
It’s late August 2022. I’m in Paris to take photos for the first time since 2000. This time, no assignments, but rather a(re)discovery. I want to wander around with no preconceptions, remaining open to all possibilities. My hotel is in Saint-Ouen, so logically I begin by exploring this suburb, which I immediately take to for its cultural diversity, lively local markets, varied architecture - in short, its visual richness. On the way into Paris, I enter the Flea Market, the largest in the world. It's a trip back in time, with antiques from all eras, the France of yesteryear. Then I continue on to Paris intramuros, crossing the boulevard where hawkers peddle their wares.
I continue on foot to Montmartre, then take the bus to the Seine. En route, I photograph stores, cafés and street scenes, sometimes through the bus windows. I'm in my element. I smile at passers-by and strike up conversations. For three days I criss-cross the capital in this way, rarely taking the metro. It's too hot. After my stay, I return home and view the images I've stored on a big screen. I begin to notice a thread running through this new project and decide to return to Paris in the autumn.
Friday November 11, I arrive at the Gare de Lyon and walk to my hotel in Montparnasse, located near the maid's room where I lived as a student 35 years earlier. On the way, I pass in front of the Grand Mosque, where the faithful arrive in droves for prayer. A guard invites me in. I find myself kneeling in the great hall listening to the Imam's sermon. First in French, then in Arabic, he talks about how to treat others. "Be merciful," he intones.