The Big A specter is haunting Paris - the specter of automotive culture war.
Okay, okay - my adapting the opening line of the Communist Manifesto may be a tad hyperbolic, but the battle being waged in the streets of Paris is rather interesting nevertheless.
Driving in Paris is not for the faint of heart. The streets are small, confusing, and jammed with thousands of motorists - all in a very big hurry. But driving is nothing compared to the challenge of parking.
People will park anywhere there is a space in Paris. In-fact, the city has taken to placing cement barriers on many sidewalks to insure they remain walks versus parks. And while the most common adaptation to this dilemma for many Parisians has been to simply choose a motor-scooter, the car driving population has gone in two opposing directions; big versus small.
The big usually means something American or German; the small something Italian or French. Mercedes versus Renault. Cadillac versus Fiat. But the overwhelming majority of cars in Paris remain small.
Indeed, seeing a big Mercedes or Cadillac still kinda' jolts me when I'm walking down a Parisian street. It's kind of like seeing a big oil tanker in the pond at your neighborhood park. But incredibly, they're there. And usually circling around looking for a parking place.
Okay, okay - my adapting the opening line of the Communist Manifesto may be a tad hyperbolic, but the battle being waged in the streets of Paris is rather interesting nevertheless.
Driving in Paris is not for the faint of heart. The streets are small, confusing, and jammed with thousands of motorists - all in a very big hurry. But driving is nothing compared to the challenge of parking.
People will park anywhere there is a space in Paris. In-fact, the city has taken to placing cement barriers on many sidewalks to insure they remain walks versus parks. And while the most common adaptation to this dilemma for many Parisians has been to simply choose a motor-scooter, the car driving population has gone in two opposing directions; big versus small.
The big usually means something American or German; the small something Italian or French. Mercedes versus Renault. Cadillac versus Fiat. But the overwhelming majority of cars in Paris remain small.
Indeed, seeing a big Mercedes or Cadillac still kinda' jolts me when I'm walking down a Parisian street. It's kind of like seeing a big oil tanker in the pond at your neighborhood park. But incredibly, they're there. And usually circling around looking for a parking place.
The small I don't envy either of them - but in my very unscientific poll, I noticed many more parked Fiats and a fleet of circling Mercedes.
I think I know who's winning the war.
I think I know who's winning the war.
The Winner
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