Who wouldn't want to be in Paris if being home wasn't possible?

August 26, 2016 -- Ann Hildago, the mayor of Paris, got her start in politics here in the 15^th arrondissement.  She’s a liberal, and the 15^th arrondissement is generally more conservative than she is.  Nevertheless, she has proven to be a good administrator, and so she was elected to replace longtime mayor, Bertrand Delanoe, when he retired in 2014.

Shoppers in the rue de Furstemberg.

She is an immigrant, born in Andalusia, Spain, in 1959.  Now as mayor, she is determined to build two refugee camps in Paris.  She says it is not possible to “sit idly by while the Mediterranean becomes a graveyard for refugees.”  The number of refugees in France is expected to grow to 30,000 in 2017.

I have seen coverage of this new refugee camp story in British news media outlets, but I haven’t seen any in American publications so far.  So I share this with you.

Construction of the camps has started, but the exact locations have not been disclosed because the City wants to avoid violent protests.

One of the camps will be somewhere in the densely populated northeast part of the city – where many refugees are already camping.  The other camp will be south of the city – perhaps not far from the 15^th arrondissement.  One camp is for single men; the other is for women and children. These camps will have modular shelters for up to 1,000 people, and will conform to United Nations standards.  They are scheduled to open sometime in September.

Rilletes of trout with toast, a mis en bouche at Stephane Martin

Meanwhile, there is a large makeshift camp in the Jardin d’Eole, north of the Gare du Nord and Gare de l’Est train stations, on the edge of the 18^th and 19^th arrondissements.

French police have broken up makeshift camps in the capital more than two dozen times this year.  They take the campers to local shelters, but these shelters are only for short-term stays.  Soon, the refugees are back out on the streets, looking for a place to camp for the night.

Most of the refugees here in Paris are from Sudan, Eritrea, and Afghanistan.  Paris and Calais are the main destinations for migrants in France.  In Calais, they seek a way to cross the channel and enter Great Britain.

Charities and individuals in France are also being encouraged to take in refugees.  Many are doing so.

Back in the spring, Mayor Hildago angered wealthy residents of the 16^th arrondissement by announcing a plan for an “emergency accommodation center” for homeless and migrants in that arrondissement’s Bois de Boulogne (a huge park).

Also in the Spring, ten restaurants in Paris opened their kitchens to refugee chefs from Syria and other countries.  They cooked from June 17 to 21, for what was called the Refugee Food Festival.

Yesterday evening, we took shelter from the extreme heat at the Restaurant Stephane Martin – an honestly and truly air conditioned place on the rue des Entrepreneurs.  We thoroughly appreciated an elegant dinner of bass filet and eggplant for me, and veal and mushrooms for Tom.  Tom also had a lovely apple tart for dessert, and I had a rich little fondant of dark chocolate imported from Tanzania.

Bass filet with thin slices of grilled eggplant

We were surprised when we entered the place to be greeted by Steven, the server who used to run the dining room at l’Alchimie until three years ago.  We had a lively conversation with him – especially because we were the only diners in the restaurant!  The heat must be causing people to stay home.

I took my long walk in the early morning again today, to avoid the heat.  This time, my route included the avenues de Suffren and de la Bourdonnais.  Seeing the brasseries set up their rows of little round tables and chairs in the morning is fun.  I also enjoy seeing the delivery trucks supplying wonderful ingredients for the days’ meals in various eating establishments along these commercial ways.

Roasted veal and button mushooms cooked in butter

I generally take very few photographs when I’m out walking alone in the morning.  For security reasons, it is better to look like a Parisian who knows where she’s going rather than a vulnerable tourist pausing to photograph the wonderful sights.  I’m just being extra cautious; the streets of the 7^th arrondissement, where I walk in the mornings, seem to be extremely safe, as are most streets of the 15^th.  (Actually, a violent crime rate map that I recently saw indicates that the 15^th is even safer than the 7^th.)  

One commentator on TripAdvisor states that, “The violent crime rate in Paris is a fraction of the rate of any US city.”

Apple tart at the Restaurant Stephane Martin

According to this interesting U.S. State Department report, pickpocketing is the only main concern, and that is particularly around tourist attractions – and, I would add, on line 4 of the metro.  Read that State Department report if you want to know more.

Toward the end of my walk, I sat in the Place du Commerce to cool off and admire the flower beds before going home to water the flowers on the balcony.  I remembered that yesterday evening, as we walked home from Stephane Martin, we saw a sign at one end of the park, announcing a regular boules tournament there -- the Boulodrome!  

Moelleux au chocolat made with dark chocolate from Tanzania

To accommodate enthusiastic boules players, a high temporary wire fence has been constructed on either side of that far end of the park.  This is to prevent them from hitting passersby in the head with their boules.

That would be an ignominious way to go:  "Tourist killed by errant boule in Paris park."

For those of you who are not familiar with this game, according to Wikipedia,  "Boules (French pronunciation: ​[bul]) is a collective name for a wide range of games in which the objective is to throw or roll heavy balls (called boules in France, and bocce in Italy) as close as possible to a small target ball."

Even though the evening air was stifling hot, dedicated players were out in the park, throwing and rolling their boules.

Laissez les bon temps rouler . . . .