● I went to fetch my baguette the other day in Paris, walking past the vomit in the street and the place where the heavily-tattooed man had just hawked his phlegm to demonstrate he was a real man (it could have been England), when I noticed an advertisement posted by the city council.
“CHILDREN’S LEISURE ACTIVITIES,” it said, “HAVE NO PRICE.” Now this is simply not true. They have a price, and it may be one that is worth paying; but that is not the same as saying that they have no price.
Of course, the leisure activities indicated were those promoted and supervised by the council. In other words, that council, under the much and justly reviled Ann Hidalgo, was praising itself and its own activities, such as the provision…
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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, November 2023