Entre Les Murs

Parc des Polices

We live very close to the Parc des Princes (the city's football stadium), which was a cause for concern when we moved in. When we first considered the apartment, we asked a waitress in the corner café what it was like on game days. She smiled and explained simply that the police don't let anything get out of hand.

We're just close enough that we can hear the roar when a goal is scored, as long as it's otherwise calm outside; but the woman was right, and on game nights we've never noticed anything below other than greatly increased foot and car traffic, and perhaps a few shouts.

There was a match on Sunday night. Running out to the corner store, I believe I learned the source of the waitress's ironic smile. Across the street from our apartment, the curb-side lane for the entire long block was, from beginning to end, nose-to-tail police buses and vans.

posted 17.1.06