Sirens in the Seine LA PARISIENNE
Dear Croissant,
If mermaids were real—and through the lens of creativity, I believe they are—where would they live in Paris? If you ask a Parisian, nowhere. The ears of thousands of swimmers who beat the heat by bathing in the canal and the Seine must be burning from the criticism of many locals, who have always seen these waters as dirty, despite the massive effort made to clean them up for the 2024 Olympics.
A while ago—not a year, but several months now (I wish much more time had passed, to be honest—laughs)—I went out on a date with a guy who asked me if mermaids exist. I didn't find it cute; he was asking in earnest, and according to what he’d told me, he’s a doctor. Oh well. I told him they did exist, and there was no second date: you start by believing in mermaids and you end up believing that relationship is real. Keep my secret—I do believe in them, in unicorns, and in dragons. Understand me, I believe in them knowing they don’t exist, but I think it’s better to believe in beautiful, magical things than to accept that the world is cold and boring. You lose nothing and gain everything. I’m not alone in this; mermaids have been loved since time immemorial—they appear in Homer’s Odyssey and have been adapted and depicted over the centuries. Like an imaginary exhibition, we can discover their history in art in our AU GALERIE section.
Where would mermaids swim in Paris? I think in a very "bobo" (bourgeois-bohemian) pool like the Molitor Pool 13 av Porte Molitor, 75016 Paris, built in 1929, where Louis Réard presented the first bikini.
It could also be in any spa in the city, like the hammam at the Paris Mosque (39 Rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire, 2 Rue Daubenton, 75005 Paris).
The more popular mermaids would come to Pailleron (32 Rue Édouard-Pailleron, 75019 Paris)—my pool—which is Art Deco with a giant skylight on the ceiling, vintage wooden changing cabins, a garden, and a spa area. Or they'd go to any of the other numerous Art Deco or Art Nouveau pools scattered across the city.
Those with the largest treasures of pearls accumulated on some island, thanks to shipwrecking so many pirates and privateers, would surely go to the Hermès store at 17 rue de Sèvres, 75006 Paris—an old swimming pool converted into a luxury boutique. Built in 1935 by architect Lucien Béguet, it was one of the first in the world to produce artificial waves, an exclusive amenity for the Hotel Lutetia.
Could Josephine Baker herself have been a mermaid? We can't know for sure just yet, but we have clues, like the summer pool that bears her name. The Joséphine Baker Swimming Pool (Quai François Mauriac, 75013 Paris) floats on the Seine and features a solarium.
And if they want a bit more of the real Paris, at the Bassin de la Villette there is Paris Plages: three floating pools in the canal surrounded by trees, accessible in three-hour time slots.
If the mermaids miss the sea, they can go to Paris Plages on the Seine. It’s not the same, but at least the name has the word "beach" in it. Not long ago, I went there one morning by pure chance. I was looking for a free spot to write and draw where I could see the water. There are tables and lounge chairs right in front of the Seine with monumental views. I arrived at 8:30 in the morning and practically the whole beach was mine; I sat at a table facing the Conciergerie. Paris has that thing where even just sitting down somewhere for a bit becomes an experience of beauty and history. Just walking along the quay, observing Paris from the river's perspective, is quite an experience, and all along the docks you find different spots and activities, like a climbing wall.
Sometimes it’s better to just let go than to resist. It’s hot, and we’ve decided to go with the sirens' song and dive with them into the cool water. They know where to go, and they would surely want to watch the movie "Miss Mermaid": a girl with a complicated life discovers "mermaiding" and dreams of changing her life by becoming a professional mermaid. Discover this film with us in FLAPPERS AND PHILOSOPHERS.
Watching the movie felt like the perfect excuse to talk about mermaids and create a triptych alongside dragons and unicorns. Plus, speaking of synchronicities, the myth of the sirens begins in Ulysses' Odyssey, and this Wednesday the 15th, Christopher Nolan’s latest film, "The Odyssey," premieres. Even before its release, it already promises to be a classic—a 3-hour journey of highly fashionable, scenic, and iconic imagery.
I have my own world to live in, with my drawings, my characters, my universe, and sometimes I step into everyone else's world where I can't help but deal with day-to-day errands. I’m getting better and better at these round trips. I suppose it’s these strange times we live in, the things that happen to us... it’s only normal to look for corners and stories that make us dream with what we have, using our imagination. Without intending to, I’m creating a small series of fantastic beasts: last week the dragon, this week mermaids, and next week unicorns.
I read that we are using our imagination less and less due to screens and our disconnection from nature, and that makes us unable to imagine a good and beautiful future for ourselves. I think that’s a shame. Flying through the sky on a dragon is free—and you don’t even need a dragon, just to imagine it. Let’s not lose something as fun and accessible as imagining.
Have a happy weekend, croissant.
A fresh embrace, cool as a coffee frappé, accompanied, obviously, by a croissant!
Be happy and enjoy.
