Topic: Bois De Boulogne (The Boulogne Forest in Paris, France)
The Paradox of Paris City
Ladies and Gentlemen, I welcome to Paris, the city of love and lights. The city is abound with plenty effervescence of romance accompanied with beautiful shades of lights. The ultimate destination for this kind of magic is the Bois De Boulogne, or if you like, the Boulogne Forest in Paris. This is the one place that holds the true meaning as to why Paris is famed to be so airy, so open, so green! There is no doubt that Paris is the greenest city in the whole wide Europe. This is thanks to the numerous sightseeing parks and forests, the former covers almost one full quarter of the city’s land (Czerniak 25).
Lets then have a mention of these parks and gardens that makes Paris city to stand out from the rest. The Paris jardins and parcs (Paris gardens and parks) are found in relatively plenty across the city. Jardin Du Luxembourg, the most popular park in Paris, is a 55 acre park in the heart of the city. I term it the most popular for a good reason – it is the precise place of choice for any one looking to spend an afternoon reading a favorite novel or just watching the beautiful people of Paris! Kids can enjoy sailing boats in the fountain, playing in the huge playground, or riding the ponies. The park is also home to the famous Palais du Luxembourg as well as the charming small museum, Musee du Luxembourg – my two most favourite spots of the city.
Another elegant Paris garden is the Place Dauphine – an oasis of calm in the middle of the buzz of activity of the city – situated at the western edge of Isle de la Cite. Then there is the oldest yet prettiest square, the Place Des Vosges. Furthermore there is the park endowed with real nature – a lake, a waterfall, and a suspension bridge. Call it the Parv Des Buttes Chaumont. Parc De La Villette, the largest park in Paris, cannot escape this mention. And ofcorse there is the untamed, modern and breathtaking Parc De Belleville. Last but not least, it would be my pleasure to inform you of the Parc Montsouris, a park with paths that wonder through beautiful foliage. However, the one that I regard the mother of them all is all woody Bois de Boulogne!!
Speaking of Bois de Boulogne, It is strategically located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, adjacent to the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. It is 863 hectare forest park, some 2.5 times larger the size of Central Park in New York and equivalent to the Richmond Park in London (Czerniak 12). Indeed I regard the Bois de Boulogne as second to none because of its vast variety of trees and vegetation!
History of of the forest itself
The Bois Boulogne is a remnant of the ancient oak forest of Rouvray that once surrounds the city of Paris and its neighbors. Its management was shifted to the city of Paris in 1852 from the state. The fact that forest is with several points of interests where important things are held, doubles my likings of it. Particularly, I like the Hippodrome de Longchamp (the Longchamp Racecourse) at the banks of the Seine River. I find real pleasure watching the horse races on the various interlaced tracks and hills. Similarly, I cherish the Jardin d’Acclamation children’s amusement park for its varied attraction sites. Today the forest of Boulogne is most popular in Europe thanks to its sustained cultivation of cherry and oak. I must say that things in the Forest of Boulogne comes at night. By this I am in reference to the infamous night dating business that the place is popularly known for. In case you have not followed what am alluding to yet, I mean the Prostitution menace! It is within my knowledge that the forest ranks amongst the most popular destinations for beautiful night and transsexuals, men and women (Konijnendijk 45).
History of Prostitution in France
This is not to say that the prostitution vice in France begun the other day in the Forest of Boulogne; the trade goes way back to the days of the Napoleon. Then is when maisons or brothels where prostitution took place first appeared in France (Mroue 36). I gather that during those days, prostitutes were not marginalized but instead integrated into society with open arms. I reckon prostitutes had varied roles to play including being complicit with other women in avenging men. Prostitutes roamed streets of Paris city with ease and did not have to wear any distinctive clothing, just an expensive license.
Away from the salacious past of prostitution in France, I would like to take you back to the present situation of prostitution in the Forest of Boulogne. In my opening I termed Paris as the city of love and lights. Well, I meant every word of that especially the latter (Mroue 63). There is no doubt that the Forest of Boulogne is one of the most prominent red-light districts of Paris when darkness checks in. I will define a red-light district for you so that you do not float. Basically, a red-light district is an area of an urban area where there is a concentration of prostitution and sex-associated businesses. At nightfall, the Forest of Boulogne represents Paris well in this capacity (Ditmore 26). The place is abound with sex joints where each of the transsexuals, men and women has her or his own spot. And do not get wrong, the sex workers are not ashamed one bit about their business. This is evidenced by what one of them told me recently during an interview with her: “I am a prostitute, whore, hooker or whatever anyone would want to call it. All of the transvesities in Paris are prostitutes. No matter what. It is for this reason that I was drawn to come here. Basically, business is very good here!”
Lights in the Forest of Boulogne Prostitute waiting for client in Boulogne Forest
What I found interesting is the apparent reason why these prostitutes favor the Forest of Boulogne as opposed to other places. First, it is for the very reason that there is guaranteed privacy in the dense woods of the forest. Besides, every sex worker has the privilege on having their own sex points, territories that are hardly encroached by others (Ditmore 32). Furthermore, I believe is to the fact that the forest is a known sex-light district of Paris thus plenty of clients for the prostitutes is an almost guarantee.
I reckon that prostitution in the forest has been a headache to successive governments in Frances. This is because of safety issues in the sense that many sex workers are often found killed in the forest by clients and criminals (Rodder 44). I know of president Sarkozy’s failed attempts to end the business on a couple of occasions. It would also be interesting if I informed that the prostitution trade in the forest is a sort of cartel. This is because many of the prostitutes are under some known mafias though others have their own pimps. With this I rest my case of the famous Forest of Boulogne in Paris, France.
References:
Czerniak, Julia, Hargreaves, George, & Beardsley, John. Large parks. New York, Princeton Architectural Press, 2007.
Ditmore, Hope, Melissa. Encyclopedia of prostitution and sex work, Volume 1. Connecticut, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006.
Konijnendijk, C. Cecil. The forest and the city: the cultural landscape of urban woodland. New Mexico, Springer, 2008.
Mroue, Haas. Frommer’s Paris from $95 a Day. New York, John Wiley & Sons, 2006.
Rodder, Rite. The Forest Of Boulogne In Western Paris. Retrieved on March 24, 2012 from: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Forest-Of-Boulogne-In-Western-Paris&id=6330348
