I think the one place that characterizes Parisian culture the best is the Shoah Museum. Many know about the Vichy regime that ran the French government during the Nazi Occupation in WWII and its role in the persecution and deportation of thousands of French Jews, but many don’t realize that France has struggled with this reality for the many decades following the end of the war. The Shoah Museum is the perfect example of this. Opened in 2005, sixty years after the war, and located in the Marais, a historically Jewish neighborhood, the museum is a powerful memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Yet, the fact that it took some 60 years for this memorial, which isn’t funded by the French state, to be erected says something. In Les Invalides, there was only a small portion of the WWII exhibit dedicated to the Holocaust, and furthermore it was tucked away in a corner that was difficult to find. The reason I bring this up is because although one is dedicated entirely to the Holocaust and the other to the broader subject of modern French history, the latter seems to try its hardest to hide the topic of the former. It’s no secret that France struggled to recognize its role in Jewish deportations (the French state didn’t admit its role until 1995 when President Jacques Chirac formally apologized), but this small portion of their long history goes to show a certain aspect of French history that is central to French culture.
When we Americans perceive the French, especially the Parisians, as snooty and arrogant it’s because they are, but it’s not for the reasons we may think. The French are very proud of their history—their philosophers, scientist, poets, and politicians included—so when there is a blemish on their record, especially one as dark as the Vichy regime’s role in the deportation of Jews, they don’t want to acknowledge it. It doesn’t help that France has a long anti-Semitic history, but nevertheless it’s not surprising that they are ashamed of some of their more infamous history. For me, this seemed to play a large part in why the French, specifically the Parisians, could sometimes seem standoffish. Not necessarily because we’re loud, obnoxious Americans, but because we couldn’t possibly understand their country or be as proud of our history as they are of theirs.
But Paris shouldn’t be defined by one period of its long history. Known as the City of Light due in large part because of its role in the Enlightenment (and apparently also because it was one of the first European cities to adopt gas street lighting), it’s a place often associated with the arts, fine wines, delicious pastries and beautiful architecture. Hundreds of world famous authors, philosophers, politicians and a variety of other famous faces have called this beautiful city home—Sartre, Descartes, Victor Hugo, and Marie Curie to name a few. Consequently, Paris has a culture unlike any other. Made famous in contemporary society by some of the brightest minds the world has seen, to the outsider Paris can seem a very intimidating place. Besides the occasional, stereotypical rude inhabitant, Paris is one of those places that if you give it time and do your best to assimilate to the finer details of Parisian culture, one can get over the constant stares and general indifference towards you. One has to remember, being one of the largest and most famous cities on the planet, Paris and its inhabitants see millions of tourists a year, making everyday a struggle against the hordes of photo taking, non-French speaking visitors. Taking things like this into account, it’s no wonder some travelers seem put-off by the generally indifferent and standoffish locals. If one can understand and accept this, however, then Paris is your oyster.