Cum subit illius tristissima noctis imago...

...  Qua mihi supremum tempus in Paris fuit;

Cum repeto noctem, qua tot mihi cara reliqui;

Labitur ex oculis nunc quoque gutta meis.

:o(

So, alea jacta est! 

My nest has been sold, I've got my terrace near the Vieux Port, in Marseilles and
the following images, taken one year ago, represent nothing but an empty shell.

Yep, last time G@tto definitely closed that door and left 
his Paris fief, I named Griset, that day has been kind of 
a civil death.

Exactly one year later, G@tto ain't still born to Marseille.

. . .

A White Wave arises in Paris...

... Stand up with the Syrian people today, 7pm in Paris, or wherever you are. 
Stop the massacres!

[Follow on Twitter]

____

Storm of a jewelery in Paris/Oberkampf

A motorcyclist rolling on the sidewalk almost bumped my neighbor Fifi, this morning. 

[The blue shop right hand - StreetView]

Fifi wanted to yell after him,  
but something in the look of 
the guy made ​​him change his 
mind.

Three other bikers arrived and
the four of them attacked the 
jewelery at 75, rue Oberkampf.
Fifi found the time lapse very 
long when he called the police 
from a nearby shop, while 
hearing gunshots.
When at last firefighters and 
police arrived, the four guys 
had already left, having robbed 
and injured the jeweler and his 
son.

PPG is not here, nor is it qualified, to relay this type of event, but Police and media are 
silent, to avoid tarnishing the Capital reputation... particularly in summer time, when hordes 
of tourists flock into the city​​.

Did I say 'summer time'? Now, this is hard to believe!
___ 


Le Parisien, [the next day], : 'Paris : Les braqueurs tirent sur les bijoutiers'.

Refurbishing the French Republic [I mean the square]...

Designed to provide a more pleasant living area and improve the overall quality of
of the environment, the renovation of the iconic place de la République just begun
with its completion expected in spring 2013.

So far the 60% of space was dedicated to car traffic - the future sharing of public space
will be more balanced and pedestrians will enjoy a central plaza with trees, a basin
surrounding the statue and two water mirrors.


But the square, its name and the statue itself have their own story. (check it HERE)

Representing the French motto 'Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité', the statue was inaugurated
on July 14, 1883, replacing the fountain built in 1811 and enlarged in 1865 as well as
the square, whose name was at that time Place du Chateau d'Eau.
(see the Haussmann urban planning).

Finally, in 1889, the Place du Chateau d'Eau was renamed and took its current name
and... reputation!

(Credit: Roswitha Guillemin & Yann Foreix).

(by bananiacool)
___
As for refurbishing the French Republic... the time is ripe for a change and major
operations are in progress!

An eyeblink to the Belleville Dragon

[asieaparis]
The Dragon parade starting from the main City Hall, then leading toward the 3rd district
Mayor's hall.

[G@ttoGiallo]
The Belleville community of the 11th district, welcomes the Year of the Dragon
on January 29/2012.

The Black Market of Belleville...

... Illegal, yet so real :

It is a pretty wild and mobile market, generally displaying between the Ménilmontant
and the Belleville subway stations but, sometimes, it can unexpectedly spread until
the Place du Colonel Fabien.





Several hundred residents - exasperated by the noise, and the dirt that devastate the
boulevard when hawkers leave the ground - marched on May 21, between the subway's
stations of Couronnes and Belleville, to denounce the illegal market that plagues the
neighborhood.



Every day, a large number of hawkers settle on the pavement, deploying an incredible
array of items - recoverd from the trash as well as stolen - like secondhand shoes and
clothes, old transistors, pots and broken appliances, cell phones and computers...
and so on.


The City Council and the police headquarters didn't seem, for now, to have found a
solution to put an end, once for all, to the illegal occupation of the public space.

Then, the urban cleansing services... well, they keep cleaning.
___

A Sunday like any other in Belleville...

I wanted to test a Sony H55, so I made a ride in Belleville...

[rue Dénoyez, aka 'Graffiti street']
For once during this rotten summer, there was the sun ... although it kept me from seeing
through the screen what I was shooting, never mind! The atmosphere of the neighborhood
is there and if I can make you feel it, my goal will be achieved.


[the 'Chinatown' area].



[Boulevard de Belleville].

[Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud - a curious look exchange]

The 'Cannibale Café', on my way back to Oberkampf.
___