Working class neighborhoods in 1930s Paris : the French capital explored through photojournalism
During the 1930s, the magazine Regards, a pioneer in French photojournalism, dedicated several photoessays to the "little people" of Paris : the hobos of the Seine River, the "peasants" of the food market Les Halles, the residents of Belleville, and even the children of Montmartre and of Ménilmontant (known by locals as "Menil’muche").
One of the first magazines to publish long photo-essays, the left-leaning communist-inspired Regards often focused on the French capital, in particular its nooks and crannies which remained under the radar, located far away from tourist clichés. The magazine focused on photographing the everyday working-class Parisian for the first time in the history of the press in France.
On February 2, 1934, the Soviet journalist and writer Ilya Ehrenbourg gave an account of "his" Paris in Regards. He described the area around the Seine and its distinctive ambiance:
"Everything starts with the stairs; the poor and destitute sleep on them. They sleep on the stones as though they are duvets. They also sleep on the riverbank. What they like the most is to slip under the bridges. In summer, it’s cool there and they can find shelter from the rain. Shadows are busy in the dark; some like the pont d’Auteuil; others prefer the pont Alexandre III… Those who don’t have any more energy to pass from one bank to the other live under the bridges.
On the riverbanks are some fishermen. They are the most brazen lovers of the Seine… Those who haven’t yet attained wisdom are near the fishermen. A dog groomer shaves a poodle. A vagabond washes some ripped pants. Two busybodies came here to enjoy the freshness. They don’t waste any time: one makes a dress for the other. The fitting happens right here, on the riverbank, in the center of Paris.
The stairs lead to the Seine; there is not a definite number of them: they are dizziness and destiny. Misfortune makes you go downstairs, love as well."
Later on, he invited readers to visit the working-class neighborhood of Belleville:
"For a historian, the street names of Paris are important details; for the passerby, there’s humor in bad taste. Health Street is situated between two hospitals and one prison, while Golden King Street shakes with rag-and-bone men, and Chapel Boulevard is a favorite of brothel managers. The neighborhood of the penniless is called Belleville (beautiful town).
It looks like a bunch of tangled streets that neither a pedestrian nor a draftsman could figure out. These streets are bestowed with perfumed names: “Acacia Street”, “Almond Tree Street", “Dog Rose Street". They smell of humidity, sweat, trash."
The free-spirited journalist Pierre Châtelain-Tailhade wrote about the Parisian homeless in the May 11, 1934 edition:
"Two hobos had gone at it on a bench. They were found in the early morning; a cop no doubt, who had broken them up with his huge foot and stayed speechless in front of a heap of cladding and flesh solidified by the stiffening of filth and death.
They are picked up like that from time to time. They provide more meat for the amphitheater and two lines for minor news stories. They’re worth more than that, I assure you. And I know them well."
On March 21, 1935, through the writing of Pierre Bochot, Regards took an interest in the "feudal peasants" of Les Halles, who were busy working from well before dawn in the largest market of the capital – which was also often called "The Belly of Paris".
"Four o’clock. Night. Battle!
Crisis!
The “Belly of Paris” is so full – fish, vegetables, meat, fruit, poultry, flowers–what could pass for the eighth wonder of the world!
But in a capitalist regime–is it really necessary to open this parenthesis–wonder is a synonym of horror, abundance means: disaster!
Five o’clock. Battle!
Paupers, porters, employees, peddlers, policemen, greengrocers, the unemployed, restaurant owners, drivers, shopkeepers, finks, farmers, butchers, suppliers, strong men, agents, prostitutes, doormen acting like they’re damned, scream, insult each other, fight each other, in the setting formed by the most beautiful, delicious, and sweet-smelling products on Earth!"
In the January 28, 1937 issue, Claude Martial exclaimed: "You don’t know Paris !". Over the course of several issues and hopping from arrondissement to arrondissement, the magazine investigated the "hidden" Paris: the one of markets, passages, shop floors, the taverns of Montmartre, the tiny streets a stone’s throw from the wide boulevards. All of this was illustrated with magnificent black and white photos:
"Paris, we especially know her made-up face, her resemblance to a woman who pulls out the stops when receiving visitors. That’s not the Paris that we would like to acquaint you with.
But the City of Lights has its shadows. The capital has its stains of misery, of grime, its city blocks of sickness, of even leprosy, in which the neighborhoods die bit by bit. This is not the Paris that we would like to parade in front of your eyes, either.
The City is one, with its misery and its glory, and there’s no need to alter its map to paint a picture that’s too dark, or too light.
The City is one. It’s not unchangeable."
Regards, which was founded in 1932, was forced to suspend publications in 1939 then during World War II. After the Liberation of France, it was issued until 1960.
