Paris is no longer considered, at least by Parisians, to be “the most beautiful city in the world.”

Much has been written, not only on the dirtiness, but the disfigurement of this city, a collective disgruntlement that started a year or two after Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, took charge. Paris today does not resemble the Paris I knew when I arrived in the 1990s. It’s less safe, that’s for sure, and the noise and air pollution is intolerable.

The metallic whine of scooters, the klaxon of police cars, people sitting in their cars and talking loudly on amplified speakers; dog owners still allowing their dogs to poop on the sidewalks without cleaning up after them, and electric disposable scooters, abandoned, that litter public spaces. Bicycle lanes have been added to city roads, which is a good thing, albeit dangerous, and now when you cross the street you have to look both ways, several times, not only for oncoming cars and buses that might mow you down, but bicycles.

As for me, I continue to live here for one reason only: I have a good job. But the day I retire, I’ll be out of here quick, heading south to live in Spain. Better quality of life, better weather, friendlier people, fabulous fresh food and wine; just as much arts and culture as France, not to mention clean high-speed trains – all with a significantly lower cost of living.

What was once the beautiful avenue de l’Opéra is now an uglified version. No one understands why these ugly roadblocks are placed all over the city.

#SaccageParis: the hashtag that denounces the dirt and the “ugliness” of the city
depicts the French capital as “dirty”, “fouled”, which has become a “disfigured city”, “ugly” and “trashed”. Thousands of photos have been published, mixing the indignation of residents and certain political figures. Choosing to remain anonymous, the creator of the hashtag explains that everything “started out of a fit of anger”. Himself a Parisian “for twenty years”, he claims to have “seen the city deteriorating since the arrival of Anne Hidalgo at the head of the Hôtel de Ville”. Noting the extent of the phenomenon on Twitter, the capital’s town hall regretted a “distortion of reality”, while admitting a problem, and has since called for “more sanctions” against the perpetrators of incivility.

But it’s the mayor’s office who is the perpetrator of the incivility! I won’t even mention the refugee and migrant tents, not to mention homeless people, who camp out under bridges. And Anne Hidalgo claims to be a Socialist?

https://www.parisupdate.com/paris-street-furniture-breakdown

Oh, do us all a favor and resign, Bojo. Put the U.K. out of its misery.

Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour opposition party, berates him as do other members of the cabinet, Conservative and Labour alike. They howl and snarl like jackals. While Bojo’s government issued strict directives to its populace to stay home, isolate, not go to work, etc. during the worst period of Covid, he and his party members were throwing “boozy parties” in the garden and offices of number 10 Downing Street.

The saddest image is that of the Queen of England standing all alone, masked and bereaved, at the funeral of her husband, Prince Philip. She was following the rules.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in St. George’s Chapel during the funeral of Prince Philip, the man who had been by her side for 73 years, at Windsor Castle, Windsor, England, Saturday April 17, 2021. Prince Philip died April 9 at the age of 99 after 73 years of marriage to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II. (Yui Mok/Pool via AP)

After he apologized, listen to the blowsy, blustering Bojo as he tries to wriggle out of his wrong-doings.

Here’s Jeanne buying beauty products from her local pharmacy (video below.) Jeanne is a French designer, model and founder of French fashion label, Rouje. She has gorgeous skin, and a Bardot pout.

It’s funny how some women are interested in watching other women put on and take off their makeup. Or am I being terribly naïve? Is Jeanne in actual fact an “influencer” getting paid for promoting the products she claims to use?

In any case, there are a few things in the video that made me chuckle:

Contrary to what she says, all the products she selected are full of alcohol, chemicals and parabens. (Clarins, Nuxe, Klorane, Bioderma). This gives me the idea to do a future blog post on all the wonderful natural and organic makeup products that I use. I no longer buy those big, glam names.

Living on the 5th floor without an elevator. Great exercise! When I lived in a 4th-floor apartment a long time ago in the 9th arrondissement, I had thighs like steel.

She does her morning makeup routine in the salon (living room) beside the refrigerator. Again, small Parisian apartments that we’ve all lived in. In most old apartments, there’s usually a large old mirror in the salon positioned over a closed-up fireplace with a nice marble mantlepiece. Also, the natural light is probably better in the salon than in the (tiny) bathroom. It’s also practical because the espresso machine will be close by. There are advantages to living in small spaces.

As for the application of lipstick, may I offer a suggestion to the lovely Jeanne? That instead of applying it with her finger then swabbing it with a Q-tip, that she buy herself a quality lipstick brush. Ideal for creating precise lines with a clean, mess-free finish, I can only apply my lipstick with a brush.

One question, however, towards the end of the video: is “really curly hair” a flaw?

It’s a brand new year, and we should be grateful we made it through the last two. I know I am.

I’m grateful to be able to listen to (and dance) to this song.

So crank up the volume, folks, and let Mavis take you there.

over 12 million hits.