The Sunday Times - UK (2022-04-10)

The Sunday Times April 10, 2022 3

Parisians

are taking

comfort in

the buttery

croissants

and sunlight

dancing on

the Seine

C

herry blossom fills the parks,

chocolate bunnies adorn shop

windows and locals pack the

café terraces. It’s spring and

Paris is back — and it almost

feels like pre-pandemic times. On March

14 we said adieu to the vaccine pass and

obligatory indoor mask-wearing (except

on public transport for masks and in

places such as hospitals for both),

and now restaurants and bars are

bursting with the sound of clinking

glasses and boisterous chatter

again. The relief is palpable.

A week or so ago I went to a

concert at the Maison de la Radio

in the 16th arrondissement —

my first big outing in two years.

Almost everybody in the packed-

out theatre was cou vide, the

French Covid pun for “mask-free” (it

translates as “neck empty”) — and they

were smiling. The scene would have

been unimaginable a year ago. But with

80 per cent of the French population

fully vaccinated, we’re all seeking a sense

of normality, learning to live with the

virus (despite about 140,000 new cases

a day nationally) and enjoying things

while we can. Because if Covid has taught

us one thing it’s that anything can

happen. And with a war on our doorstep

and a general election under way, seizing

the day has never felt more important.

The first round of voting starts today;

the final round is on April 24. And

although polls indicate that President

Macron will win again, the public mood

has taken a disturbing shift towards the

extreme right. For years the longstanding

far-righter Marine Le Pen, the leader of

the National Rally party, was decried by

many as racist and anti-Muslim. But this

year even her hardline rhetoric has been

surpassed by the dubious rabble-rousing

spiel of a new candidate, the TV pundit

Éric Zemmour.

As a result, Le Pen has succeeded

in glossing up her image, appearing

smoother and more affable to a wider

range of voters. She is running only six

percentage points behind Macron in the

polls, which is worrying. Because if she

wins, it’s not just her uncompromising

positions on Islam, immigration and

security that will create shock waves

within France and beyond, it’s also her

long-time alliance with President Putin.

In 2014 bank loans from Russia helped

to finance her election campaign; in the

lead-up to the 2017 elections she tried

to bolster her “strong leader” image

by meeting Putin; today, although she

condemns the war, she has said that

under certain circumstances Russia

could become an ally again,

especially “against Islamic

fundamentalism”. It’s hard

to overstate the geopolitical

upheaval that would follow the

emergence of a right-wing France

as a Russian collaborator in the

heart of the European Union.

And so, like many Parisians,

I find myself taking comfort in the

good stuff: the mask-free concerts;

the buttery croissants from our local

bakery; the moody spring clouds that

paint the sky in argumentative mauves

and greys as its casts glorious dancing

light onto the Seine.

Another positive I’m clinging to is

the return of tourism. In 2020 the Paris

region lost a whopping £13 billion, but

according to Jean-François Rial, the

president of Paris’s tourist office, the

number of tourists this year is predicted

to return to 2019 levels. This is wonderful

news for a city that largely survived on

government aid during the crisis.

And I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s

right. Last Sunday, while sipping creamy

hot chocolate in Carette, a quaint

tearoom under the arches of the pink-

bricked Place des Vosges in the Marais, I

watched a steady flow of tourists come in

for ice cream — more than I’ve seen since

lockdown ended. And at the Atelier des

Lumières, a vast, immersive digital-art

museum in a former iron foundry, I had

to queue for its Kandinsky and Cézanne

exhibitions — another novel experience.

In 2019 I would have moaned about

the wait; this time it felt like the return

of something sacred, like the

reappropriation of the cultural norms

— rather like les bises (the kisses on each

cheek), to which Covid put a stop and

which I have also noticed creeping back

into daily life. I’ll relish it while it lasts.

The Eiffel Tower and, top, pavement cafés can now be enjoyed free of Covid measures

archaeology — it’s got it all. And you
don’t have to endure Dover to get there.
Lady Amelia Snapdragon,
via thetimes.co.uk

I’d recommend Portsmouth to St Malo
with Brittany Ferries for a car-free break
to France — a civilised night crossing then
an easy walk to the old town. There are
miles of beaches, great restaurants, shops
and loads more to explore.
Laura Ford, via thetimes.co.uk

Although it was some time ago that I
went there, when I read Chris Haslam’s
comments on the Outer Hebrides I was
back there again. I was in a small group
taken to Castlebay on Barra by ferry from
Oban. After the ferry departed I stood
looking out from the jetty and felt this was
a place that hadn’t changed in hundreds
of years. Then we were taken to Mingulay,

Masks are off and kissing is back, but the rise of the far

right as elections begin is worrying, says Anna Brooke

COVER PHOTOGRAPH: IAGODINA/GETTY IMAGES

IAN CUIYI/GETTY IMAGES

PARIS

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where I stayed for a week under canvas

and fell in love with the island. Even now

I can feel the sun on my back from a day

on the bright white sandy beach there,

and can taste the cold sweetness of the

water from the island’s one stream.

Chris Kimber, Portsmouth

PLANES, TRAINS OR AUTOMOBILES?

Taking the train or plane may be cost

effective for one person, but add in a

partner and two children and the car is

a clear winner, even with present fuel

prices (“Will this be the year of the flying

staycation?”, last week). It also has the

advantage of no baggage limit at marginal

extra cost. You can break the journey

wherever you like and be more than 100

miles into it by the time any airline

passengers who left home at the same

time as you have boarded their flights.

Nicholas Maycock, via thetimes.co.uk