An invitation to Jim

Interior of the new Russian Orthodox Church and cultural center at the Quai
Branly and the Avenue Rapp

July 14, 2017 – Yesterday’s Washington Post had a story with this lead: 

“As President Trump prepared to travel to the City of Light this week, this question came up: What does Jim think?

Some background: On the campaign trail, Trump would occasionally mention his friend Jim, who used to go to Paris every summer with his wife and family but stopped because ‘Paris is no longer Paris,’ a problem that Trump seemed to blame on crime in the city and an influx of immigrants.

After Trump mentioned Jim at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February — calling him a ‘very, very substantial guy’ — the New Yorker set out to try to find him and questioned all of the numerous Jims in Trump's life. Jim was not located, and an article about the hunt ended: ‘Jim, if you’re out there, levez-vous, s’il vous plaît.’ ”

Numerous journalists have tried to find this Jim in order to interview him; now it is not clear whether Jim exists.  However, this anonymous journalist did find Tom, someone the President of the United States has never met.

The new Russian Orthodox Church and Cultural Center as seen from the
Pont de l'Alma

Tom goes to Paris every summer with his wife and he refuses to stop, because Paris is still Paris.  Nothing seems to keep Tom away.  Even when forces conspired against him last summer, Tom still managed to take his wife to Paris for a month.  Normally, the couple spends two months or more anually in the City of Light.  They’ve been summering in Paris for twenty years.

What about all the immigrants, you ask?  Tom would tell you that they are an integral part of what makes Paris Paris.  For example, one of Tom’s favorite Parisian restaurants is Le Tipaza, on the rue St. Charles.  Le Tipaza is a beautiful North African restaurant, run by immigrants and people whose parents were immigrants.  Tom often takes his wife to Le Tipaza on the French national holiday, Bastille Day (called “Quatorze Juillet” in France) because it is a special place and it is open on that holiday, which happens to be today.  The food there is terrific; try the tagines.

Immigrants have been making Paris Paris for a long time.  Many Parisians have Spanish, Italian, Irish, or African surnames.  This summer, Tom’s wife, Barbara, has been fascinated by stories about Russian immigrants who came to Paris a hundred years ago, and who made valuable contributions to the city, which had been deeply wounded by World War I.

An exhibition of the works of artist Alexandre Serebriakoff was featured in the
Russian Orthodox Church and Cultural Center.  This illustration by Serebriakoff shows the
intersection of the Boulevards Raspail and Montparnasse.

Tom knows that France has a colonial history, and so it is obligated to accept immigrants.  And Tom knows that this immigration is a very good thing.  He loves the cultural diversity that a city like Paris provides.  Most of the year, Tom and Barbara live on an island that is beautiful, but lacks cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity.  Paris in the summertime gives them the exposure to diversity that they crave.

Tom has no idea who or where Jim might be.  But if Jim and his wife would like to come to Paris again, Tom and Barbara would love to show them the Paris that they know so well.  It is still Paris, after all.

Painting by Alexandre Serebriakoff

There was a time when France wasn’t so great, but you have to go back many, many centuries to find that time.  For example, take the experience of Anne of Kiev, one of Barbara’s ancestors.  Anne immigrated from the Ukraine to France in order to marry Henry I in 1051.  After the wedding, she was crowned at Reims.

Anne was not impressed by France.  She wrote to her father in 1051:  “What a barbarous country you sent me to – the dwellings are somber, the churches horrendous and the morals – terrible.”  Another translation states that she wrote that France was  “a barbarous country where the houses are gloomy, the churches ugly and the customs revolting.”  She thought the people were uneducated and unwashed.   When she saw that her wedding banquet had only three dishes, she was appalled.

She complained bitterly about almost everything in France, including the food.  Fine French cuisine had not yet been developed.  In those days, the Ukraine had a more refined culture than France did – by far.  In fact, Anne’s father, Yaroslav the Wise, was known as the “initiator of the golden age of Rus.” 

Anne was well-educated in the fields of Latin, Greek, and medicine.  She signed her name beautifully on documents, whereas her husband, Henry I, signed with an “x”.  He was probably illiterate.

The cover of this week's Charlie Hebdo, a satirical publication.

When Henry I died in 1060, Anne became regent and ruled France for several years.  She was recognized by Pope Nicholas II as a skilled politician.  Even before she became regent, she had actively assisted her husband in ruling France.  The king had great respect for her.

She established an abbey and a nunnery. Her accomplishments are a significant part of French heritage. 

Most importantly, all subsequent kings of France descended from Anne of Kiev, an immigrant from Russia.