VIII.6. THE CITY'S NEWEST FESTIVAL

THE 10-DAY CELEBRATION IS BECOMING KNOWN IN PARIS FOR CONVIVIALITY AND UNCONVENTIONAL ARTS

Begun in 2022

City Hall, 2024

Events that I attended

In 2023 and 2025

• A banquet under the aerial métro

• Ethnic dancing from the neighborhood

• The arts through new techniques 

• Early movies at night

• Ethnic dancers from the neighborhood

• Drumming, dancing, Brazilian music, British jugglers

• Grand finale

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A banquet under the aerial métro

8.6.1. A BANQUET UNDER THE AERIAL METRO

FAMILIES, STREET-FOOD STANDS AND MUSIC

City Hall

The Mayor walks down the aisle 

that stretches between two métro stops,

 embracing some, shaking hands with others,

 greeting all.

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Ethnic dancing from the neighborhood

MOVIES IN THE PARK

City Hall

The festival movies are short films

 from the early 1900's.

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Ethnic dancers from the neighborhood

THE ARTS THROUGH NEW TECHNIQUES

MUSIC WITH INSTRUMENTS AND A KIOSK THAT THE LEADER INVENTED 

(In 2023)

STORIES THAT EXCELLENT ACTORS READ THROUGH EARPHONES 

(In 2025)

The same (without pictures) for adults:

                                         Web site

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Early movies at night

VIII.6.5. ETHNIC DANCERS FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD

 IN 2023, NORTH AFRICAN

IN 2025, CREOLE

The mayor.

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Drums, dance, Brazilian music, British jugglers

 

ARTS THAT CITY HALL OFFICIALLY PROMOTES

 

EXAMPLES FROM ITS BULLETIN, APRIL-JUNE 2025

Croulebarbe (a neighborhood) fête: music, danse, children's workshops

Seniors' ball

The city evolves as seen by 15 photographers: greening, pedestrianization, bike lanes, street art, new building...

Disorienting dance from all directions

We fought to win rights human, political, social, work, body, equality, dignity: History of the conquest of rights in France 

Pillow Fight Championship / June 7 2025 at the mall 

 Music in the streets for Fête de la Musique

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Arts discovered by chance

START OF THE CITY'S MAY DAY PARADE IN FRONT OF CITY HALL

 

DRUMS HEARD HALF A MILE AWAY

Police vans line avenue de Choisy that leads to City Hall. (This is where the Dominican monks were massacred.)

Arrive a place d'Italie: crowd too great to proceed toward City Hall or to see the signs shown in televised reports (which themselves did not show those below).

Participant carries sign with anti-war messages on both sides.

 "In Palestine. In Ukraine. In the world.  PEACE!"

The flag represents indigenous people of the Andes

"Women in Struggle:" Part of the Andean demonstration

 

"May 1: LONG LIVE THE WORKERS' INTERNATIONAL STRUGGLE !"

Young men selling the newspaper of Lutte ouvrière, a working-class party

T-shirt sticker: "Capitalism is war. If you want peace, prepare the revolution!"

A  brawl led to two arrests lower down on this street, but here police and demonstrators chat amicably. 

# # #

After two hours of celebration

the demonstrators marched through the eastern city

gathering even more participants.

They arrived another huge open space

 built for massing troops,

place de la Nation.

Participants listening to speech by the leader of France insoumis ("France unbowed") / zoom

Police and union crowd size estimates differ as usual,

but media stated a crowd twice as large

 as in 2024.

End of this section.

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Next section,

VIII.6.

The city's newest festival