Books & ideas

A historical cruise through Paris' rivers

Pauline Guéna — 2026-03-17T11:00:00Z

Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, as the monarchy established its authority across French territory, the rivers of the Paris Basin continued to be managed by various actors through negotiations aimed at coordination.

Towards a consumer society

Danièle Fraboulet — 2023-10-17T07:00:00Z

Rising salaries and greater recourse to selling on credit, along with the First World War, transformed working-class consumption habits between 1880 and 1920. While covering topics ranging from deprivation to appropriation, a new book proposes to trace the “social lives of objects.”

Notre-Dame: Heritage Emotions

Nicolas Delalande — 2019-05-02T06:00:00Z

Flames, disbelief, dread. A cathedral burns and tears flow. But why does our architectural heritage and its disappearance move us so greatly? The sociologist Nathalie Heinich offers some answers.

Homosexuality on Trial

Danièle Voldman — 2018-02-19T08:00:00Z

Paris, 1933. Oscar Dufrenne, a music hall mogul and notorious homosexual, was found murdered in his office. Even though a suspect was arrested, the investigation led nowhere. The case paints a portrait of interwar France in its desire to restore order, its political violence, and the slow evolution of social mores.

Paris for Sale

Loïc Bonneval — 2017-10-26T07:00:00Z

Which actors are responsible for creating housing markets? A recent book looks at how Parisian real estate changed in the late nineteenth century, revealing how the property boom radically altered relationships to the city.

Walter Benjamin, under the Sign of Saturn

Benjamin Balint — 2014-03-20T09:00:00Z

In a new biography, Howard Eiland and Michael W. Jennings recount the decisive moments of Walter Benjamin's life – his work on tragic drama and allegory, his friendship with Gershom Scholem and Bertolt Brecht, his flight from Germany in 1933 and subsequent years in Paris –, focusing on his fascination with the messianic meaning of the everyday.

Rhythms of Construction

Cristelle Terroni — 2013-05-23T07:30:00Z

Almost twenty years ago, Christian de Portzamparc was the first French architect to receive the Pritzker Prize. Today his Atelier, located in Paris, is more dynamic than ever, with ambitious projects like the Cidade das Artes in Rio, or the participation in the Grand Paris project. The following interview shows an architect urbanist whose work is geared towards the city and music.