|
A Dog's Life...
In a search for cleaner sidewalks an expat looks at pampered
Parisian pooches
|
 |
what's
happening
and what
we think
about it |
understanding those
serious issues |
cool stuff to do |
music, art, food, etc. |
Now
you can listen to ParisTempo's new musical selections online
right here...
|
|
Want to know more
about Paris Tempo?
Read this message from the Paris
Tempo Team
|
|
|
|
|
World Music in the Streets
by JoMarie Fecci
|
|
|
|
The music of the Paris Streets
is the music of the world.
The haunting sounds
of the past drift down from a second floor window in the middle
of the chaos around Les Halles. And the old man on the balcony smiles
as he continues playing traditional French songs on his accordion.
He and his music are part of the city.
The old man isn't alone.
On the streets and in the Metro music is free. Free for the people
who listen to it. Free for the musicians who play what they want
to play. Of course nothing is really free, so there is always the
little matter of a collection. Afterall, musicians have to live
somehow.
|
|
Nobody knows
exactly how many musicians use the street as their stage, playing
the music they love for a few francs dropped in a tattered case
by passersby. But the traditon is an old one. And it has brought
the world the likes of the great Edith Piaf, who got her start singing
for change on the Paris streets.
|
|
|
While not
many sidewalk songsters will ever compare to Piaf, some will go
on to bigger and better things. Most will, however, remain on the
streets...
PARIS-BRASIL
A group of musicians from Brazil
finished their performance in front of the Beaubourg. While the
audience dissipated in anticipation of the collection to follow,
a small crowd applauded and those who obligingly remained threw
coins into the hat as it was passed by. João, the leader
of the group explained that they had come from Brazil less than
a year ago. They hoped to record in Paris as the first step to a
lucrative career on the "World Music" scene.
Increasingly,
Paris street performers have, like these Brazilians, traveled long
and far to play here. They don't imagine that they will be playing
on the sidewalks for spare change, but that is often the way things
turn out.
Soon after their arrival here, João
and his friends found themselves living with friends while trying
to get enough money to record a demo and eat at the same time. The
street beckoned.
And they answered with drums and
voices lifted in song.
|
| Why Its Getting
Harder to Hear Music in the Streets |
While music has always been
a feature of the Paris street-scape, in recent years it has
become rarer -- even around the Centre Georges Pompidou, where
the music of Paris was often the music of the world.
Ewen Macintosh, a Scot playing
the bagpipes on the sidewalk near Les Halles, was quickly
chased by the police one evening. It was a little after 6pm,
and he'd only been playing for five minutes when the patrol
told him to move on. The next night he played a little longer,
but again he was gone within the hour.
Some say its the Mairie de Paris
that's to blame.
An "authority" at the Commissariat
Central of the First Arrondissement emphatically points out
that music in public spaces is completely prohibited. There's
no new law or regulation. The police are just more rigorously
enforcing an existing arrêté préfectoral
(89-10266 of 3 April 1989) concerning "the prohibition of
noisy demonstrations in public spaces," that says: "The use
of musical instruments is forbidden in public walkways, private
spaces accessible to the public and public spaces. Permission
can be granted in special cases particularly for commercial
demonstrations, fêtes, and public spectacles."
Though it had been on the books
since 1989, this arrêté is only periodically
enforced. Tania Tijardovic, a spokesperson for the Préfecture
de Police, explained that now the police frequently make identity
checks on musicians to see that their papers are in order.
Pointing out how such routine
checks can spiral out of control Tijardovic gives an example:
"Some people were playing the tam tam and the neighbors complained
about the noise, so we sent a police patrol and they proceeded
to verify the identities of the musicians to make sure they
were legal. One of the musicians refused and the police demanded
that he come to the post. The audience took the side of the
musicians and a 'little riot' followed."
After the "little riot" that
came complete with CRS and injured bystanders, the street
musicians were seen with much less frequency in the area.
|
|
|
Another crowd slowly assembled and
four pairs of hands began to beat out a new rhythm on the drums.
The staccato drumming blended with deep voiced chanting in a Creole
Portuguese that had its origins far away in the north of Brazil.
The music spoke to those assembled in a language we all could understand.
PARIS-FRANCE
Not far from the same place on a
different day a scraggly group of French boys played a mix of rock
and roll and French traditional music with an electric guitar, a
contra bass, an accordion and a harmonica.
|
|
|
Musicians playing on the
streets of Paris where you can hear everything from traditional
french music, to African rythyms.
© JoMarie Fecci |
|
In the evenings they play venues
around Paris and the suburbs for a 50 Franc cover. During the day
they rehearse in the streets for change. Christophe, a tall boy
with long hair and tattoos jokes that it's better than paying for
rehearsal studio time. But what they really love is the audience--real
people--not only club kids but all kinds of people.
They begin to play their rap version
of a French traditional song and follow it with some straight rock
and roll.The audience grows
and two clochards begin to dance, raising their bottles in a sign
of approval.
This pleases Christophe who goes
into a harmonica solo that turns his face a bright red. Meanwhile
two young tourists start dancing with the clochards and the band
segues into their next song without stopping.
|
|
When its over Christophe points to
the two clochards who have returned to their bottles and explains
that he sometimes prefers the street audience. He says the people
who pause in the street to listen to them are really enjoying the
music. He looks again at the clochards and says that his music actually
brightened the bleakness of their day.
While most of those who gather around to listen to the musicians
would agree, there are those who do not appreciate the street music,
or the noisy crowds that gather to hear it [see Why
It's Harder to Hear Music in the Streets].
|
|
|
As Paris is increasingly gentrified,
some residents consider the musicians a nuisance, and they do not
hesitate to call the police. Christophe and his friends regularly
find their impromptu performances stopped by patrols -- though the
police will usually only chase street musicians in response to specific
complaints from residents. Of course, the situation can be different
for foreign musicians who may not always have their papers in order.
PARIS-MARRAKECH
A group
of Moroccan boys were sitting on the ground with their drums and
guitars. The thin-faced one with deep black eyes began a simple
rhythm. His improvisation was quickly taken up by some of the others.
The
"song" was a haunting melange of traditional north African
melodies half-remembered from the radio, played with the styling
that comes from having grown up in Paris. Other members of the group
joined in the song then left it. One walked away, then returned
to pick up the rhythm again.
The
musicians continued playing this one piece for about fifteen minutes
oblivious or unconcerned about the audience that had quickly swelled
in front of them.
The
rhythm seemed their sole care--for fifteen intense minutes the rhythm
was all that existed. The world was just a faint grayed backdrop
while their guitars created the vibrant sunlit colors of life in
Marrakech or was it Casablanca....
|
|
Street music, or any other performance in
a public space, is regulated by a confusing series of arrêtés
préfectoraux. Arrêtés are the administrative
acts of ministers, prefects, or mayors, who the government
empowers to take all measures necessary for the maintenance
of public order, health and security. Using arrêtés
these government representatives can make laws that are not
really "laws." Arrêtés are not debated and voted
on, they are simple administrative decrees, but they have
the same force as a law.
Finding out which arrêtés apply
and what they say is not simple. While just about everyone
at the Préfecture de Police and the Commissariat can
tell you that music is forbidden in the streets of Paris,
the Préfecture, where these decrees originate, generally
doesn't provide the text of arrêtés to the public.
The documents, themselves can be researched at the Bibliothèque
Administrative de Paris. Of course, once you actually read
the arrêtés you may end up more confused than
before--they are frequently in contradiction with each other
and often remain vague. Judge for yourself.
Arrêté No. 81-10425 of 4 July
1981 stipulates in article 3 "that in order to conform with
the sanitary regulations in public areas and pedestrian zones,
excepting certain places and certain times determined by arrêté
with special authorization, musical activities and attractions
of any nature are forbidden." It's clear, playing music in
a public place is forbidden.
Nevertheless, arrêté No. 82-10634
of 9 September 1982 authorizes in article 1: "musical activities
and attractions from 10:00am to 20:00pm in public spaces and
areas designated for pedestrians as follows: Parvis du Centre
Georges Pompidou, Place des Verrières du Forum des
Halles, Dalle supérieure du Forum des Halles, Place
St Germain des Près."
Another regulation, specifically for the
Centre Georges Pompidou, arrêté No. 84-10422
of 26 April 1984 forbids "noisy performances and notably those
that use percussion instruments and also amplified equipment."
Finally, arrêté No. 89-10266
of 3 April 1989 confirms the prohibition in public spaces
of singing of any kind and the use of musical instruments.
However, this arrêté doesn't annul the preceding
ones and particularly the arrêté No. 82-10634
authorizing music --theoretically, this one should still be
in effect.
Nevermind, everyone we contacted in the Commissariats
de Police and the Préfecture de Police agreed that
playing music in public spaces is prohibited everywhere, and
this is without exception. -- Laurence Auzanneau
|
|
|
The
core of the ensemble were two brothers and a cousin. The others
were just friends who played together from time to time. The "group"
was very informal. Only the thin-faced one considered himself a
serious musician. The others played for fun. And for something to
do on a dull Monday afternoon.
That was fine with the people who
had gathered around to listen. The joyful music was a welcome diversion
for everyone -- including, perhaps, the passing police patrol who
generously allowed the music continue...
|
Music that's mostly forbidden, but
frequently heard all the same Music has always been forbidden
in the Metro, except for musicians with special permits. According
to Pascal Halko, a spokesperson for RATP, getting permission
requires a written request plus a cassette and a curriculum
vitae to prove the requestor's professional status. There
are about 100 places throughout the Metro network where music
is authorized. Approved musicians don't have the right to
ask for money.
Unauthorized musicians--which includes
anyone who asks for, or accepts, money--have no right to play
in the tunnels, on the platforms or on the trains. Halko asserts
that unauthorized musicians generally can't pass a day without
encountering RATP controllers or security officers. When the
inevitable happens, the musician is simply escorted out of
the Metro station, and as long as he offers no resistance,
that is the end of it. If the RATP agents come across the
same musician again, he will be found in violation of one
of a multitude of laws -- for not having a valid ticket, smoking,
putting their feet on a seat, or if nothing else, begging
-- and fined on the spot.
According to an accordionist on the
Porte d'Orléans - Porte de Clignancourt line, there
are more musicians in the Metro since the economic crisis
began. He says he hasn't noticed any change in the way RATP
enforces its prohibition on music underground. And he's not
worried. He says there's little RATP's controllers can do
-- they can't confiscate his accordion, the worst they can
do is fine him, but he'll be back in the Metro the minute
the controllers are gone. Afterall, he has four kids and a
wife to support. -- Terry Dunn
|
|
|
|
