In some ways, Paris is remarkably like New York at the moment. Rents are forcing middle-class residents to contemplate living beyond the Périphérique. Bikes are big, as is talk of pedestrianizing routes, such as along the Seine. And much as the past decade has seen the rise of the hipster in New York, Paris has cultivated its Gallic counterpart with the bobo (bourgeois-bohemian). Still, life flows more sedately here. “A restaurant opens every week in New York. Here it’s more like every month,” says private-tour guide Richard Nahem of blog eyepreferparis.com. And almost all of the big urban projects—like the redo of the reviled Les Halles mall—won’t bear fruit for a few years. Unlike Bloomberg, gay socialist Bertrand Delanoë, mayor for more than ten years, enjoys high approval ratings. President Nicolas Sarkozy: not so much. Some left-of-center Parisians are dismayed by his attempts to seduce voters, ahead of the 2012 election, with the new face-veil ban, though they’re even more dismayed by Marine Le Pen.
• Two In-Demand Neighborhoods
• Three Places Parisians Try to Get Into (And Where to Go Instead)
• The Hospitality Report
• Martin Parr’s Goutte d’Or Portraits
• An Illustrated Guide to Les Bobos
• People Parisians Are Talking About
• What They’re Wearing
• The New Slang
• Where to Find Pho and Romazava
• The Return of Fancy French Food
• The Best Gay Bars
• The Best Baguettes in Town
• Also: The Look Book Goes to Paris
Reported by Tim Murphy; Additional reporting by Adam Graham