Paris Journal 2014 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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Fresh flowers, in shades of blue, white, and red, had been laid at the base of the monument to those lost in WWI, the Indochina war, and WWII. The monument is in one corner of the gracious Place Hubert Monmarché, in front of the city hall for the 15th arrondissement.
On the street sign for the Place, we noticed the astoundingly long time that Hubert Monmarché served as mayor of the 15th arrondissement: twenty-nine years! Surely there must be an interesting story there, about a man whom the people of the 15th trusted as their leader for nearly three decades, I thought. His time as mayor started immediately after WWII, and continued until his death in 1975, it seems. But I have searched and searched, and found nothing, not even an obituary (notice nécrologique). I have searched not only on the internet, but in Google books, and in the books of the 10,000-volume library that coexists with us in this apartment. Those 10,000 volumes include several books on the history of the 15th arrondissement. However, in all this searching, all that I did find was a little notice about Hubert Monmarché’s wife’s death in October 2010. But I found nothing about the life of the mayor himself. That’s odd. So I sent a Facebook message to Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, asking if she or anyone on her staff could point me to some information about Monsieur Monmarché. Anne did begin her public service career in the 15th arrondissement, after all. I doubt I will hear from her staff; surely they are very busy these days, with the economic situation and the shake-up in the national government administration. But you never know, maybe months from now, someone will write to me about Mayor Monmarché. On va voir. Much significant change happened in the 15th during Monmarché’s tenure as mayor. This was the era when the Montparnasse tower, the Front de Seine high-rises, and the first Beaugrenelle commercial center forever changed the skyline of the 15th, and of Paris. The heyday of Citroën automobile manufacturing in the 15th was during Monmarché’s administration as well. Ironically, that factory closed in the 70s, and Mayor Monmarché passed away in 1975. The passing of an era . . . We had started our walk with the short stroll down to the Parc Saint Lambert, where we sat for several minutes on one of the deep blue wooden park benches under the mature plane trees, admiring the view over the well-loved park that was once an ugly gas works. After we strolled passed the two cafés that face the Place, we decided to turn right for a change, and visit the church of Saint Lambert de Vaugirard. We’d not been there for a few years, it seemed. This church, of the former village of Vaugirard, is about 25 years younger than the former Grenelle village church, Saint John the Baptist of Grenelle. I like the simplicity of the Vaugirard church’s interior. I feel calm and at peace when I sit in the sanctuary there. The first church for the little village of Vaugirard was erected on the site of what is now the Place Henri Rollet in 1342. But then the Nicolas Groult d’Arcy generously donated some land on which the current church of Saint Lambert was built in the mid-19th century. The church’s setting is gracious, due to very tall, mature trees along one side and in a square behind the church. It is not surrounded by so much commercial enterprise as the Grenelle church. From Saint Lambert, it was a short jaunt up to the rue de Vaugirard. At number 306, a little boutique for costume jewelry caught our eyes. We stepped inside, and soon Tom insisted on buying a pair of earrings that we both liked. In spite of this burst of enthusiasm, Tom wasn’t feeling great. He had a digestive problem. So we stopped at a little pharmacy on the rue de la Convention. We both admire the pharmacies in France. They are ubiquitous; every neighborhood has several. Once you walk through the door, the pharmacists are readily available; even in a little pharmacy like this one, two pharmacists were on duty. You are supposed to ask them questions, and they do not hesitate to dispense advice. So, after a pleasant and informative discussion with the pharmacist, we left with a purchase that was soon to make Tom feel much better. When we were almost home, we stopped on the rue du Commerce at the best neighborhood Chinese takeout and bought a simple dinner. There are at least five Chinese takeout places within fairly close proximity to the apartment. Life is so easy here.
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Wednesday, August 27, 2014
The sanctuary of the Eglise Saint Lambert de Vaugirard.
A lovely Art Nouveau
façade preserved on rue de la Convention.
This women’s clothing boutique was closed for vacation or
renovation, but it has another location in the 17th
arrondissement.
One of a pair, from La Boutique
Pour, 306 rue de Vaugirard.
Rustic part of the little park at the foot of the Eiffel
Tower. |
