THE PARIS NIGHT: A FLANEUR IN POST-REVOLUTIONARY PARIS

This annotated English translation of an article written by Eugene Briffault one year after the 1830 July Revolution presents a unique testimony of a city in a state of post-revolutionary transition. Drawn with the pen of a realist novelist and observed with the eye of a practised reporter, 'The Paris Night' takes the reader on a journey through the streets of a city seemingly under martial law, from the haunts of journalists, into the vice-dens of the Palais-Royal, past the hectic activity of Les Halles and into streets still bearing the scars of the recent Revolution. Along with the ubiquitous military patrols, the author encounters streetwalkers, ragpickers and other denizens of the night until he reaches the Chaillot Heights to contemplate a 'revolution escamotee', a popular revolt which had been 'smuggled away'. Along with a brief biography of Briffault, J. Weintraub's introduction places the essay in the context of its time.