Letter From Paris

By Harriet Welty-Rochefort

Paris Kiosque - June 1996 - Volume 3, Number 6
Copyright (c) 1996 Harriet Welty-Rochefort - Used with permission.

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Blue smoke hangs in the air. People gather around tables sipping coffee, others stand close to the door and still others find themselves outside on the pavement. What is going on here? Who's the guy with the microphone? What are all these people waiting for?

It's a Sunday morning and the scene takes place in one of the numerous philosophy cafes that have sprung up in Paris and other French cities. The people here are interested in discussing life, death, the existence of God -- all those weighty matters one thought about at age 15 and never again had time to deal with -- with a resident philosopher. In some of the cafes, the philosopher fields the questions deftly; in others, it's clear that the person is more comfortable with books.

Be that as it may, since the first one started four years ago, these cafes have become increasingly popular. Of course it's no surprise-from Sartre to the Byronesque-looking Bernard-Henri Levy, philosophers are respected figures in France, the only nation in the world to require philosophy as a high school subject students are tested on in the "Bac" (school-leaving exam).

In addition to philosophy cafes one French philospher, Marc Sautet, has opened a "philosophy office" where for the sum of 300FF (60 dollars) he will discuss whatever subject you wish to discourse on. Other philosophers criticize his move as a quick way to make money but one thing can be said in its favor: it's cheaper than a psychiatrist and you don't have to sign up until you're solved all your problems.

I first learned about the philosophy cafes from a student of mine who had chosen "The Role of Philosophers Today" for a paper she was writing. The day she presented her oral report on the subject Adam Gopnik, the Paris correspondent of The New Yorker, was visiting the class. His question to her: isn't this just a fashion and couldn't it even be something "made for the media"?

A valid question indeed. But in a world which often seems to be standing on its head and where, when you look at the evening news, you basically see only "bad" and/or "evil", even if the current philosophy craze is just so much hot air, a philosophy cafe is as good a place as any to try to explain why the world is the way it is.

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Harriet Welty Rochefort, a bona fide Midwesterner from Iowa, visited Paris for the first time while in college. She became so completely enamored of France that she stayed - and has been there ever since. Married to a Frenchman and the mother of two Franco-American boys, Harriet Welty-Rochefort writes on business, lifestyle and travel for major U.S. publications. Her forthcoming book - French Toast - is a lighthearted look at French manners and mores. She can be contacted at 101676.467@compuserve.com.