1 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:09,520 T̨HE WORLD'S BIGGEST MUSEUM 2 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:33,320 Hello everyone. 3 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:39,440 Saint-Germain-des-Prés literary cafes are not quite like other cafes. \N \N 4 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:43,960 They have more soul and that's what's made them world famous. \N \N 5 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:48,880 We'll use three examples to show you the historic reasons for this. 6 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:51,600 The oldest of these cafes, Le Procope, of course, 7 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:54,880 and two legendary cafes: Les Deux Magots and Le Café de Flore. 8 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:56,040 Off we go. 9 00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:58,640 PHILOSOPHERS AND WRITERS 10 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:06,960 FOUNDED IN 1686 11 00:02:12,640 --> 00:02:17,440 I have the immense pleasure to be meeting Philippe Tisson. 12 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,600 It's very nice of you to come here to this legendary place. 13 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:24,240 Before we talk about it, I have a crucial question: 14 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:27,480 What is a literary cafe? 15 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:32,080 Basically, it's a cafe where people discuss literature. 16 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:35,640 They have become part of history. 17 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:40,080 They are cafes where writers, artists, bohemians, students 18 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:42,760 and intellectuals usually meet up. 19 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:44,960 They renew the concept of the salon, 20 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:50,360 the aristocratic salons that only a number of insiders had access to. 21 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,360 Anyone can come here and try to put the world to rights. 22 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,760 Yes, literary cafes belong to the people. 23 00:02:56,920 --> 00:03:02,000 They are different to what literary salons are to the aristocracy. 24 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:07,000 They're not places for small talk, but for exchanging intellectual curiosity. \N \N 25 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:08,680 Where ideas progress. \N \N 26 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:11,320 That being said, we need to put it into perspective. \N \N 27 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:13,840 They weren't local bistros. \N \N 28 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:16,000 Is it true that this was the first? \N \N 29 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:19,080 Yes, it was the first big literary cafe. \N \N 30 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:25,040 It was owned by a very clever Italian, a very sophisticated Sicilian. 31 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:29,320 He was called Procopio and he came over from Italy and thought: 32 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:33,080 "I'm going to combine the cafe and literature 33 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:36,040 "to create a large literary cafe 34 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:40,440 "in a neighborhood with a lot of artists, intellectuals and students." 35 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:43,640 Procopio had an incredible stroke of luck, 36 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:49,000 because he'd barely finished renovating this place, 37 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:53,200 when the most famous troupe in France moved in opposite. 38 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:55,480 The guy thought: "It's a miracle." 39 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:59,160 So, immediately, the Comédie theater opens 40 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:05,200 and all the actors and writers we know, like Racine and La Fontaine, 41 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:07,960 attract people and the Gazette talks about the place, 42 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:09,760 and it's an instant success. 43 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:24,520 There's a second stroke of luck or miracle. 44 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:28,200 It's the beginning of the 18th century 45 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:32,720 and there's a fabulous intellectual movement called "Encyclopedism." 46 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:35,200 What do the encyclopedists do? They come here. 47 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:40,240 Diderot, d'Alembert and Voltaire, who adored this place. 48 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,320 He adored it here and referred to it as his "den." 49 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:45,640 They all lived within walking distance. 50 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:48,240 It was an intellectual neighborhood. 51 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:53,720 I imagine that these literary cafes were prolific places during the Revolution. 52 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:56,600 Robespierre and Danton came here. 53 00:04:56,760 --> 00:05:00,080 Marat's print works were just next door. 54 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,040 From the 1830s, the romantics started coming here, 55 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:07,600 as did Victor Hugo and George Sand, who lived in the neighborhood. 56 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:12,760 Time goes by, and the great trend of literary cafes 57 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:17,920 in the narrowest sense, and Le Procope, is over. 58 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:37,320 Marc, I'd like you to go up to the Salon Marat 59 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:40,120 and prepare the table for the Friends of Rimbaud group. 60 00:05:40,280 --> 00:05:41,760 OK. - Go ahead. 61 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:44,440 Are you Gilles? - Yes, hello. 62 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:47,160 Thanks for welcoming us into this historic house. 63 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:52,920 In this third millennium, is any of the literary spirit left 64 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:56,200 in this house where poets and intellectuals spent time? 65 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:58,080 Is it still relevant? 66 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,320 We still organize annual literary awards. 67 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:04,800 For ten years, the Express Bestsellers have been held at Le Procope. 68 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:06,880 SEE YOU SOON FOR THE MILLENNIUM PARTY 69 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:11,840 The far left Jean Zay awards are held here every year, \N \N 70 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:15,120 as are the Black Comedy awards and many others. 71 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:19,720 We are obliged to, as the house is so connected to literature 72 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:23,280 that we can't not organize literary awards here. 73 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:25,720 Thanks, Gilles. - My pleasure. 74 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:31,800 Where can I find the Salon Rousseau? - It's this way. 75 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:34,640 Go ahead. Have a good day, bye. 76 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:48,560 Hello, Claude Sarraute. - Hello, dear. 77 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:51,480 How are you? - I'm delighted to bump into you. 78 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:55,240 I kind of knew that you were here. It's not just by chance. 79 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:57,040 You have a bit of a routine here. 80 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:00,000 It's a very convenient restaurant for me, 81 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:03,880 because I'm always at the Odéon cinema. You can see any film you want there. 82 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:09,160 I go to a 5 or 6 o'clock showing, 83 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:13,880 and I automatically come and have dinner here at my table, number 31. 84 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:17,320 I ignore everything, even the Voltaire table. \N \N \N 85 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,920 Here's something that struck me historically. \N \N 86 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:24,560 When you arrive here after the cinema, you always need to go to the loo. 87 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:28,560 On the men's loo it says "male citizen" and on the ladies', "female citizen." 88 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:31,720 It's just a charade, because who cared about that in 1685? 89 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,040 I still like it, though. 90 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:39,080 Were you a literary cafe customer back in the day? 91 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:40,520 No, never. 92 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:44,600 You didn't even want to sit on the terrace of the place to be seen? 93 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:48,520 You're forgetting that I'm Nathalie Sarraute's daughter. 94 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:54,520 Nathalie Sarraute was very close friends with Sartre. 95 00:07:54,680 --> 00:08:00,000 Even to the extent that he wrote the preface to her second book. 96 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:02,800 She published the first one just before the War, 97 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:06,320 and he wrote the preface of her second, Portrait of a Man Unknown. 98 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:10,920 And she was fired by the horrible Simone de Beauvoir. 99 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:14,080 Shall I tell you what happened when I interviewed Sartre? 100 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:17,680 I turn up with my pen and notepad. 101 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:21,120 He's sat there and I'm opposite. 102 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:25,040 I'm noting down what he says and hiding my gaze like this. 103 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:31,080 He was so ugly with big bulging eyes that turned inwards and rolled around. 104 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:35,400 And she's standing behind her chair like a magistrate 105 00:08:35,560 --> 00:08:38,040 throughout the whole course of the interview. 106 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:41,120 I must point out that I was very pretty. 107 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:04,000 Here comes Gérard Bonal, 108 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:07,640 writer and Saint-Germain-des-Prés expert. 109 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:10,680 How cute is it meeting at Saint-Germain-des-Prés Metro! 110 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:15,480 Every time I come here, I'm moved when I think of all that's happened here. 111 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:20,560 Let's look at the 20th century and the first years of the 1900s. 112 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:25,480 Is Saint-Germain the place to be? Is it a hip place? \N \N 113 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:27,920 Maybe not the place to be, \N \N 114 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:31,800 but something is starting to happen there. \N \N 115 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:34,680 For example, here, on the first floor of the Café de Flore, 116 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:38,120 this is where Charles Maurras will establish Action Française, 117 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:42,600 which, during the first half of the 20th century, 118 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:45,960 will spread right-wing ideas throughout France. 119 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:48,040 In 1903? - That's right. 120 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:51,640 Gradually, throughout the 20th century, \N \N 121 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:55,680 we'll see different categories of writers gathering, \N \N 122 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:59,160 like the surrealists, who went to Les Deux Magots in the 1930s. 123 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:02,840 I'm very surprised, because I was sure that, in the 1920s and 1930s, 124 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:05,520 it was all happening 500 meters away in Montparnasse. 125 00:10:05,680 --> 00:10:09,080 The phenomenon that started in Montparnasse after World War I, 126 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:12,720 will gradually work its way along Rue de Rennes, 127 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:15,960 finally arriving at Saint-Germain-des-Prés. 128 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:18,120 Jacques Prévert, with the October Group, 129 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:21,280 his working theater company, will move into the Café de Flore, 130 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:25,280 and gradually, actors and directors will join them. 131 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:29,720 And that's how, around 1937, everything is in place 132 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:35,160 for Saint-Germain-des-Prés to become trendy in terms of literature and art. 133 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:39,320 When 1940 arrives, the Germans are very worried 134 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:42,080 about making friends with French intelligentsia, 135 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:44,080 with Otto Abetz, etc. 136 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:46,400 Will they take Saint-Germain by storm? 137 00:10:46,560 --> 00:10:49,280 Will it be a place of intellectual collaboration? 138 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:54,360 No. At the Flore, you don't see a single German throughout the Occupation. 139 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:57,920 One day, as Simone de Beauvoir tells it, a German enters. 140 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:01,920 A terrible silence falls over the cafe and, after a few minutes, 141 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:06,400 the poor guy, if I dare call him that, leaves again. 142 00:11:06,560 --> 00:11:10,000 All the witnesses from back then, including Mouloudji, say 143 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:13,440 that there weren't any Germans here in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. 144 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:16,840 There were some, of course, but it wasn't like at Le Dôme. 145 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:19,960 That's one of the reasons why Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir 146 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:22,400 will leave Le Dôme at the start of the Occupation. 147 00:11:22,560 --> 00:11:24,920 Le Dôme in Vavin? - In Vavin, Montparnasse. 148 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:28,800 Le Dôme is chock full of Germans, or "gray mice" and it's unbearable. 149 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:30,120 So they quit. 150 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:35,040 People come to Saint-Germain-des-Prés to avoid the feldgrau uniforms. 151 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:36,080 Exactly! 152 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:40,320 Are there any differences between these two world-famous cafes? 153 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:43,200 Do their patrons speak to one another? 154 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:45,920 It's often the same patrons, so they do speak. 155 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:49,640 There are some very strange things. There are particular traditions. 156 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:53,560 Simone de Beauvoir used to say that the Flore had its traditions. 157 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:57,280 For example, at the Flore, when you enter, you don't greet anybody. 158 00:11:57,440 --> 00:11:59,880 Everybody knows each other, there are no hellos, 159 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:02,400 you just sit down at a table and so it goes on. 160 00:12:02,560 --> 00:12:07,000 On the other hand, if a Flore regular comes to Les Deux Magots 161 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:10,760 and meets another Flore regular there, they greet one another and chat. 162 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:16,000 Jean-Paul Sartre said that it's like when French people meet abroad. 163 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:19,040 Why are the existentialists there every day? 164 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:23,760 They must have homes to go to. They could work in an attic or anywhere. 165 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:26,840 It's not that simple. They're all staying in local hotels, 166 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:29,480 notably the Louisiane on Rue de Seine, 167 00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:33,920 the main meeting point of all the Saint-Germain-des-Prés folk. 168 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:39,440 Sartre, de Beauvoir, Gréco, Vian and Mouloudji all end up staying there. 169 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:43,000 They're not at home as France is under Occupation. 170 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:46,480 They have no heating and are shivering at home 171 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:50,360 and so they also come to the Café de Flore to keep warm. 172 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:56,240 The owner of the Flore, Paul Boubal, has a bright idea. 173 00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:59,200 Just before the War, he had a big wood-burner installed. 174 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:04,040 It will provide heat for all these people who have nothing, 175 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,720 because people are freezing cold during the winters of the Occupation. 176 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:11,960 In Saint-Germain-des-Prés, people will spend entire afternoons at the Flore 177 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:15,920 with a coffee, a cup of Oxo or a substitute tea in front of them, 178 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:17,240 but they're warm. 179 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:21,920 "I endeavored to arrive at opening time to get the best place 180 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:25,440 "next to the wood-burner's pipes where it was warmest." 181 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:26,720 THE PRIME OF LIFE 182 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:31,080 It's on the Flore and Les Deux Magots pedestal tables 183 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:34,360 where Jean-Paul Sartre will write Being and Nothingness and No Exit. 184 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:37,400 This is where Simone de Beauvoir will write Pyrrhus and Cineas. 185 00:13:37,560 --> 00:13:41,480 So many things happen here. It's a real intellectual hive. 186 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:46,160 There are no more tomorrows 187 00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:49,840 in Saint-Germain-des-Prés 188 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:53,960 No more days after tomorrow No more afternoons 189 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:56,440 There's only today... 190 00:13:59,480 --> 00:14:01,600 Hello, Philippe. - Hello. 191 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:04,480 It's Philippe Vandel under that helmet. - Hello. 192 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:08,920 One day you said that this little cafe is your second home. 193 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:13,440 Is the brash literary cafe spirit still alive? 194 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:15,480 Or is it now just like any other cafe? 195 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:18,440 No, it's not an old ladies' cafe, it's a real literary cafe. 196 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:22,120 The Flore prize has been around for 15 years 197 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:24,200 and does a lot to keep the spirit alive. 198 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:26,840 Lots of writers are here for that. 199 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:31,600 The prize was founded by jury member Beigbeder 15 years ago 200 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:36,680 to reward authors who nearly all represent modern day literature. 201 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:40,480 Houellebecq, people like Nicolas Rey and Virginie Despentes, \N \N 202 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:43,080 who almost won the prize one year earlier, \N \N 203 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:45,360 but her book was called Rape Me 204 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:50,240 and Miroslav didn't want "Rape Me" plastered all over the windows. 205 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:54,320 She didn't win, but she did a year later with Les Chiennes savantes. 206 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:58,680 What you're telling me is the opposite of what many people say. 207 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:02,520 They say that this brash Saint-Germain-des-Prés spirit has gone. 208 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:06,600 Not at all! It's still the same. Some places stand firm and are full of it. 209 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:09,360 There are places where people ponder and exchange ideas. 210 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:12,880 The criticism that some friends have about literature 211 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:16,320 is that the Saint-Germain-des-Prés spirit is not brash anymore 212 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:19,760 and people are just Saint-Germain-des-Prés literary bigwigs. 213 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:23,720 I don't agree. If there's still one place where they break the rules 214 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:26,360 and accept sentences without verbs, it's at the Flore. 215 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:30,880 What kind of people hang out in a place like this? 216 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:34,400 Rich, poor, young, old. People from all walks of life. 217 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:37,120 That's what I like. There are tourists who are lost, 218 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:41,040 regulars, people meeting up, people who hate each other. 219 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:46,040 Lots of things are left unsaid or implied. 220 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,640 Isabelle Adjani might be here but people never bother her. 221 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:53,360 That's why she comes here. Even famous people don't chat together 222 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:57,080 unless they're authorized by a third party. 223 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:01,560 Anywhere else in Paris, if you're alone at a table, people take pity on you. 224 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:04,800 Here, it's the done thing. - Totally. 225 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:07,600 Thanks a lot, Philippe. - Thanks. I'll be on my way. 226 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:11,480 Now let's go meet the owner, Miroslav. 227 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:31,680 Here's the boss. Hello, Miroslav. 228 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:33,640 How are you? - Very well. 229 00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:38,200 This is one of the rare places where the owners are just as famous 230 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:40,480 as the visitors. 231 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:45,120 There was one called Boubal. - What an extraordinary character. 232 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:50,440 Why is the magic here and not elsewhere? There must be some jealousy. \N \N 233 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:56,120 I don't want anything to change. We do a great a facelift. 234 00:16:56,280 --> 00:17:00,360 When we repaired the broken mosaics, 235 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:02,760 we closed for a week 236 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:05,600 and when we reopened, 237 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:09,000 people said: "Why did you close? You haven't done anything." 238 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:10,320 CAFE OWNER \N \N 239 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:12,680 That's the best compliment. \N \N 240 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:17,880 The former owner, Paul Boubal, \N \N 241 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:22,640 always told me: "Don't change a thing." 242 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:29,520 Are there still people who come here and ask you: "Where was Jean-Paul Sartre?" 243 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:32,440 Or Simone de Beauvoir. - Does that happen? 244 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:35,800 Oh yes, all the time. So, what does the waiter do? 245 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:39,560 He shows them an empty table! 246 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:42,880 Who are the best people you've met here? 247 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:46,280 Meeting a beautiful woman like Sharon Stone made an impact on me. 248 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:51,720 A journalist friend was with her 249 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:56,800 and she introduced us: "Miroslav, this is Sharon Stone." 250 00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:01,080 I kissed my friend 251 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:04,000 and Sharon Stone said: "Don't I get a kiss?" 252 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:08,640 I was quite taken aback. 253 00:18:09,360 --> 00:18:13,120 Thanks a lot, Miroslav. - See you soon, my friend. 254 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:27,040 Time to meet Philippe. 255 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:30,120 Hello there, in the rain. - Hello, Eric. 256 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:35,480 We're in Rue Visconti, quite an important local street. 257 00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:37,640 Near the literary cafes and Le Procope. 258 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:40,880 It's normal that the literary cafes opened in this neighborhood 259 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:46,600 because lots of writers lived here, the most famous being Racine, 260 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:49,160 who lived here for seven years, until his death. 261 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:51,720 He died here on Rue Visconti. 262 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:55,240 It was either at number 21 or number 24. 263 00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:58,800 Were there no numbers on buildings then? - No, not at all. 264 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:00,640 RACINE DIED HERE APRIL 21ST 1699 265 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:04,280 Others lived here. Mérimée lived here in the 19th century. 266 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:09,000 And then there was Balzac's famous print works, 267 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:12,160 that went on to become Delacroix's workshop, which is here. 268 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:14,160 It was Balzac's printing workshop. 269 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:18,000 He wanted to be in business but never succeeded in his ambition, 270 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:23,320 and he set up a kind of print works where he made advertising leaflets. \N \N 271 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:24,960 Where the plaque is? - Yes. 272 00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:26,960 LOCATION OF BALZAC'S PRINTING WORKS 273 00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:31,400 This is where he set up his print works between 1826 and 1828. 274 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,240 Balzac was no Bill Gates. 275 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:38,720 He wasn't exactly Richard Branson or Alan Sugar. 276 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:41,320 It was cobbled together, but nice. 277 00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:45,200 Here we are at 31 Rue de Seine. 278 00:19:45,360 --> 00:19:48,520 It's all written above the door: George Sand. 279 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:51,160 George Sand was a real nomad. 280 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:54,960 She changed apartments every six months. 281 00:19:55,120 --> 00:19:58,520 HOME OF GEORGE SAND AND WHERE RAYMOND DUNCAN CREATED THE ACADEMY 282 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:03,800 She adapted her furnishings to suit her love life and sexual preferences. 283 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:05,120 Let's continue. 284 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:11,480 We're 50 meters away from Beaux-Arts and Rue Bonaparte. 285 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:16,160 That's another legendary place. - Yes, legendary and tragic. 286 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:21,760 This is the hotel where Oscar Wilde wound up. 287 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:24,720 He'd been released from prison three years earlier. 288 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:28,120 He'd shown up in France in a terrible psychological state. 289 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:30,480 OSCAR WILDE, POET AND PLAYWRIGHT, DIED HERE 290 00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:32,240 He died here in November 1900. 291 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:37,640 You can imagine the decline of this tremendous writer. 292 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:39,560 When I walk past, I'm always moved. 293 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:45,560 Many writers lived in this neighborhood, in almost every building. 294 00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:51,520 Duras lived here at 5 Rue Saint-Benoît for almost 50 years. 295 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:56,400 Opposite there was a hotel, whose name I've forgotten, 296 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:59,840 where Jacques Prévert lived during the War. 297 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:04,520 Every house holds a literary memory. 298 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:09,120 You follow the streets and you always arrive in a central location 299 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:13,800 which is the literary cafe where all these people from each era met up 300 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:17,480 to chat, drink and exchange ideas. It's wonderful. 301 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:19,600 What's great is, it still goes on today. 302 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:47,440 How are you, Raymond? - I'm fine. Same as ever. 303 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:50,040 I'm delighted to be here in this legendary place. 304 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:53,280 You've been here a while, haven't you? - Around 30 years. 305 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:56,320 Do I detect an Aveyron accent? - Exactly! 306 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,000 This lobby belongs to the people of Aveyron. 307 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:03,040 They corner the lemonade market in Paris. - Indeed. 308 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:06,440 You must have had some fabulous customers and experiences here. 309 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:11,440 Yes, but I can't tell you everything. - Just one or two stories. 310 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:14,080 A customer came here one New Year's Eve. 311 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:19,000 He was waiting for a woman and they were going to spend the evening together. 312 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:22,600 At 1:30 AM, after he'd been here since 8 PM... 313 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:25,160 She didn't show. - No, she didn't. 314 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:29,600 He asked me if I was married and I said: "Yes." 315 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:31,360 He says: "Wait five minutes." 316 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:34,400 He goes to his car and comes back with a fur coat. 317 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:37,480 It was meant for the love of his life who didn't show? 318 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:38,880 Exactly! 319 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:39,840 WAITER \N \N 320 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:43,640 I was a little surprised and I didn't really know what to do. \N \N 321 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:48,280 I spoke to the manager and he said: "If he's offering it to you, take it." 322 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:50,000 So, I took it. 323 00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:54,600 Thanks a lot, Raymond with the French moustache. 324 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:58,560 Forever a custodian of French tradition. - Absolutely! 325 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:01,160 Thanks, Eric. - Goodbye. 326 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:15,760 Hello, Catherine Mathivat. - Hello. 327 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:17,960 You're the general manager of this cafe. 328 00:23:18,120 --> 00:23:22,440 You're the fourth generation of your family to run this place. 329 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:26,400 That's right. I'm lucky to have a great-grandfather 330 00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:29,320 who bought Les Deux Magots in 1914. 331 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:31,600 He used to be a waiter near Gare de l'Est, 332 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:33,920 in another neighborhood entirely. 333 00:23:34,080 --> 00:23:37,800 He crossed the Seine and had the chance to buy this place in 1914. 334 00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:41,960 Is it a literary cafe or just an ordinary Parisian bistro? 335 00:23:42,120 --> 00:23:46,760 Quite a lot of writers and artists met here: Verlaine, Rimbaud... 336 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:50,760 Your great-grandfather... - Got to know them. 337 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:54,920 He was just a simple waiter in a cafe near Gare de l'Est. 338 00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:59,320 When he buys this place, he's not just buying any old bistro. 339 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:02,720 He's buying a place that's already in the Paris equation. 340 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:08,360 Yes, a place that is part of Parisian cultural history. 341 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:10,680 CAFE MANAGER \N \N 342 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:14,680 They gradually try to perpetuate this literary tradition. \N \N 343 00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:19,680 The years go by, and in 1933, 344 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:24,480 a group of journalists and writers meet up here regularly 345 00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:28,840 and, on the same day that Malraux wins the Goncourt prize, 346 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:32,200 they decide to have their own literary prize. 347 00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:34,920 Without hesitation, they send out the message 348 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:38,720 with their decision that Raymond Queneau will win 349 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:42,280 the first ever Deux Magots prize in 1933 for Le Chiendent 350 00:24:42,440 --> 00:24:45,240 When it's announced by the press the following morning, 351 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:48,840 my great-grandfather says: "From now on, Les Deux Magots 352 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:52,680 "will sponsor this literary prize." 353 00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:57,080 You're great-grandfather was smart. 354 00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:02,280 So, since 1933, the prize is awarded to a writer every year. 355 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:04,800 We have a well-known list of prize winners. 356 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:07,840 Some books also end up being turned into movies. 357 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:12,560 Like Touchez pas au grisbi, One Deadly Summer or The Story of O. 358 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:16,800 So, Touchez pas au grisbi... - It won the Deux Magots prize in 1953. \N \N 359 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:20,080 So, the location, the service \N \N 360 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:25,200 and the literary soul are attached to the place. 361 00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:27,800 Thanks, Catherine. - Thanks a lot. 362 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:47,960 The 70th Deux Magots prize is awarded to Bernard Chapuis 363 00:25:48,120 --> 00:25:51,440 for his book, Le rêve entouré d'eau. 364 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:06,800 Of course, some of the intellectuals who rule Saint-Germain-des-Prés, 365 00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:08,840 who are nostalgic for bygone times, 366 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:12,040 have decided that Saint-Germain-des-Prés is over 367 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:14,040 and that now, it's all about clothes. 368 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:15,920 They're not completely wrong. 369 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:19,400 Although, we can also consider that today, 370 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:24,080 even if Maurras, Breton, Sartre and de Beauvoir are no longer with us, 371 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:26,920 it's full of new writers here. 372 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:31,440 Nicolas Rey, Beigbeder and Bernard-Henri Lévy hang out here. 373 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:33,200 There's a new generation. 374 00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:35,800 Thanks for watching the show. 375 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:41,480 If you want to see it again, visit www.france3.fr \N \N 376 00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:42,760 Bye. \N \N 377 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:03,960 Subtitles: Babel Subtitling - babelSUB.be