‘Fluctuat nec mergitur’, Paris’s Latin motto, meaning ‘buffeted but not sunk’, was widely disseminated after the Paris attacks in 2015 to express city-wide solidarity and resilence. Fast forward a few months, and the saying’s been adopted by a bar on the Place de la République, which reopened in April 2016 after a devastating fire completely destroyed the previous bar in 2015. If the owners themselves hadn’t experienced such bad fortune, reappropriating a phrase so closely entwined with Parisians’ collective grief, in a place so closely entwined with Parisians’ collective grief, may have seemed a little insensitive. But despite our own qualms, this hasn’t really ruffled the general public, who are already coming here in droves.
The bar doesn’t inhabit the most attractive of structures, but it’s a handy meeting spot in a happening location, attracting tourists, students and couples from breakfast time until the wee hours (the bar’s open from 7am-2am every day). Drinks prices vary, with some beers and wines seeming particularly expensive, others not (generally speaking, you can get a decent ham and cheese sandwich and a basic half pint for €5.50). There’s also an eclectic range of Parisian craft beers (a half pint of IPA Gallia is €4.80) and a pretty standard cocktail selection (€8.40), while the charcuterie and cheese platter (€13.90) is generously proportioned and packed with interesting produce.
Sure, it isn’t the most exciting bar in Paris, but the terrace is certainly a pleasant place to sit, contemplate and watch the world go by.
TRANSLATION: FLORA HUDSON