Discover how neighborhood life has evolved through Philippe Durand's novel Les Puces m'ont raconté.
José and Agathe are ragpickers in the second half of the 19th century in northern Paris and in Saint-Ouen. Through resourcefulness, Roma friends, and struggles to keep their place in the urban space, the history of the Puces market comes into view. Over the generations, through the ties between the children and grandchildren of ragpickers and the world of salvage, this historical novel also tells the magic of transforming discarded items into objects of history. Philippe Durand has been active in local associations in the Porte Montmartre neighborhood (Paris 18e) since the mid-1990s. Passionate about the history of ragpicking and the Puces, he offers walks to discover the Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen through the association Le Petit Ney. Also passionate about neighborhood history, he has written documentary works on the Porte Montmartre and Moskowa neighborhoods (available at Le Petit Ney, 10 avenue de la Porte Montmartre 75018). Today, retired, he spends most of his time in the South. [Portrait by Sylvie Gourio] Portrait of Philippe Durand ; Credits: Editions Xerographes Les Puces m'ont raconté - cover ; Credits: Henry Veyrier
Source: paris.fr — photo: Bavart