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As Paris exits lockdown, the city has transformed into one giant café terrace
After four months of lockdown, café culture is back in a big way in Paris. As of June 2, the French capital’s bars and restaurants have been allowed to reopen their outdoor space. And thanks to the relaxation of city rules – set to last until at least September – many are now spilling out on to the surrounding pavements and streets. All over town, parking spaces are now home to makeshift raw-wood shelters. Some bars have cobbled together ingenious structures out of old delivery pallets, like Chez Val in the 18th. Others have blown budgets on ambitious new terraces that could last for years, like Chez Michel in the 10th. The motto of Paris is ‘Fluctuat nec mergitur’: ‘She is rocked by the waves, but does not sink’. So, to the sound of clinking glasses, we headed out to meet some Parisians enjoying a night on the town last Friday, in a city changed but far from beaten. First stop: the 19th arrondissement’s Quai de la Loire, thronging with drinkers like in any normal summer. ‘I come here at least once a week,’ says Marion, an illustrator, standing outside a socially-distanced Bar Ourcq. ‘I gave up alcohol about a year ago, but their soft drink menu is amazing. The ginger juice is, like, €3, and I think it might be the city’s best?’ Further along the water, we say hello to Paul, a waiter at Les Bancs Publics, overlooking the Canal de l’Ourcq. ‘As of June 2 we’ve now got two terraces, with the road in the middle,’ he says. ‘As a waiter, when you’re always doing a million things