France - Paris plages 2009
Bargain summer for urban beachset
by Amanda Morrow
Article published on the 2009-07-27 Latest update 2009-07-29 12:23 TU
Parisians and tourists alike soak up the Sunday sun on the Paris Plage.
Photo: RFI
While it’s best known for its monuments, Paris’s bold attempt at Mediterranean charm, the Paris plages, is hard to miss. The “beach” along the right bank of the Seine river was greeted with groans and titters when mayor Bertrand Delanoe dumped the first tonnes of sand back in 2002, but nobody’s laughing now. In its eighth run, Paris plages has emerged as an attraction in its own right, and is a good excuse for cash-strapped locals to spend the summer on a “staycation”.
It's such a hit that the notion of urban beach-going has rippled through Europe, albeit with varying success. Edinburgh, Cardiff, Birmingham, Budapest, Zurich and Rome – no town centre is safe. Each has mocked up beaches in the very image of Paris plages. The landlocked English city of Nottingham was last to roll out its version this year, converting its Old Market Square into the largest urban beach hub in Britain.
Admittedly, Paris plages is not the Copacabana. For starters, you can't swim in the murky and swirling waters of the Seine. But faced with the thirsty heat and glare of an August spent in the capital, it’s difficult to resist the playground of palm trees, deck chairs, music, board-walk refreshments and, of course, the sand that’s transplanted on the Seine-side expressway.
By night a series of free concerts liven up the strip, which stretches on the Quai Georges Pompidou, from the Pont Neuf bridge to the Pont de Sully bridge. There’s also a second venue further north, now in its third year, at the Bassin de la Villette. Over there, a swimming pool and water-sports centre hosts windsurfing, rowing boats and paddle boats.
But Paris plages isn’t just about bronzing in a chaise longue beneath the imported palms, or lapping up the free entertainment. Dancing, gym classes, massage, tai chi, literary groups and creative workshops have tarted up the strip to ensure visitors can stretch their minds as well as their legs. There are also play areas with water-games for children, ping-pong tables and pétanque courts.
As unemployment lingers at uncomfortable highs and the recession cuts into holiday budgets, a greater number of Parisians are expected at the Paris plages this year. City authorities say that only about 15 per cent of visitors are tourists, and indeed, a leisurely stroll confirms that it’s French voices cheering on the street performers and French children squealing as they frolic beneath the sprinklers.
Spotting a tourist was remarkably tough, but every so often one stood out from the waves of French.
Mike is a South African living in Australia. So what’s he doing spending his vacation stretched out on imported sand when he has the real thing in his own backyard? “It’s just a great atmosphere – and it’s largely free,” he says. “I am in it for the beer. I got stung for 16 dollars down the road and here it’s just a fiver.”
And it’s true: the event is targeted to low-income families. All activities, from fencing to table tennis and exercise bikes, are free, while ice creams cost less than two euros.
More than four million visitors will flow through the plage this year, with the bill picked up by taxpayers and event sponsors.
Paris plages is open daily, from 8am till midnight, until 20 August.
(Photos: Amanda Morrow/RFI)
