This was posted in the London forum, and someone dared us to post it in the Paris forum, so I took the challenge, lol. I won%26#39;t publicly condone or reject the article, but it might raise a nice discussion, if the thread isn%26#39;t closed...
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Marc Levy, France%26#39;s bestselling novelist has caused a furore back home by lauding his adopted England over his native France:
timesonline.co.uk/article/…2092-2340078.html
(interesting read)
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Well I just read the article and to be honest I don%26#39;t think it%26#39;s very controversial. Just some French writer voicing his point of view. I haven%26#39;t been aware of any %26quot;furore%26quot; over this book in France, it%26#39;s not really the talk of the town.
I%26#39;ve been living in France for 2 years now and I haven%26#39;t been aware of any animosity towards London or England. Even when London was selected over Paris to host the Olympics, people were disappointed but 2 days later noone was talking about it anymore.
Most Parisians I know enjoy every once in while to pop over to London to do some sightseeing, shopping, fooding etc etc etc. Some of them will come back saying of how better London is than Paris, like many Londoners spending a weekend in Paris will say how great it is to be here. I know a few Parisians over in London who would never move back to France, but likewise, how many English people have I met in Paris who settled here and want to spend the rest of their lives in France.
I think in this day and age these comparisons are a bit silly. In both places you will find great and bad pastries, great and bad restaurants, clean and dirty hotel rooms, friendly and nasty people, honest and cheating waiters, I could go on for ever... Then it%26#39;s up to personal tastes.
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Yes, I read the article on the London Forum as I am considering visiting London. I love Paris and can%26#39;t imagine that I would love London as much. I think when I go to see London, I will also see Paris as I still have things to do there/ sights to see (and frankly, I just have to...can%26#39;t resist)! Alas, the cited article was an interesting read and I wonder what I will think once I have seen both cities! (again , both as a tourist which I am sure different than living there). As the earlier poster noted, I am sure it is a matter of taste and many will view it in different ways! I do wonder if London can project the romance and beauty that Paris does. One thing I do think is that I will always prefer the %26quot;walkability%26quot; of Paris of which I suspect London has less .
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Interesting piece: one of France%26#39;s worst ever novelists being lazily interviewed by Murdoch%26#39;s flagship title in Europe. Not bound for the Pulitzer if you ask me. Some things Lévy say can be approved, in a kind of drugstore philosophy way (typical of his %26quot;writing%26quot; too), but when he talks about the %26quot;race riots%26quot; in Paris and compares France%26#39;s alledgedly failed integration with Britain%26#39;s successful one (the former having produced car burners, the latter actual terrorists), one wonders what he has put in his cigarette...
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That%26#39;s funny, because I actually %26quot;met%26quot; Marc Levy last Monday at the Galeries Lafayette. I was shopping there when I saw him signing books. I chatted a little while with him.I read his book which is an %26quot;easy-to-read-on-the-beach%26quot; book and there had been no controversy at all in France about it. The book has been released here last July and, actually, nobody cared about what he said about France in many interviews...
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Just some facts that the article overlooks: Marc Levy lives in the French qtr. of London, sends his son to the French school, dates French women and moved to London for financial reasons.
I loved the paragraph in the article about %26quot;Ce n%26#39;est pas possible.%26quot;
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Cybee, please don%26#39;t go to London expecting it to be like Paris. London isn%26#39;t about romance and beauty and magic. It%26#39;s a very big city with a huge amount of history and a great vibrant population. I love both cities for what they are, but the first time I went to London (right after being in Paris, also for the first time), I was a little disappointed. The next time I went back, I appreciated it for what it was and loved it. Oh, and it%26#39;s a very walkable city with great public transportation!
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I think the %26#39;controversy%26#39; may be a little PR contrived - lol!
link to the London forum thread - you%26#39;re all very welcome!
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g186338-i17-k80113…
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Thanks , RedSavage, for the advice on the proper perspective with which to approach a trip to London. I had been rather struggling a bit with that, so I do appreciate your thoughts/ advice!
Yes, Phread, I also appreciated the %26quot;ce n%26#39;est pas possible%26quot; discussion in the article above cited especially in light of the recent avid discussion in the earlier , but sadly terminated thread regarding discrimination at the Ritz!
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cybee great advice from Red Savage- dont expect London to be like Paris because it isnt . Many people love them both for what they are. You will find London is very walkable and you cannot find a city with more History. You can love the romance of Monmatre and the buzz of Covent Garden without having to compare them.
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The author, Levy, must make alot of money to live in London. I find all of England to be extremely expensive. I always get sticker shock there.
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