“Paris is not a European city any more. Migrant mobs wander about there, the blacks are more than the whites and the whites who have stayed there are all homosexuals”: I oftentimes hear such overviews from people who have not been in Paris ever, but watch Russian TV channels and believe in Putin propaganda.
Let me inform you that all that is a lie. I have been in Paris first time in 1992-93 and the second time – the current year, and I cannot keep me from telling that a lot of things have changed in 25 years. Yes, the armed police officers are more today, yes, there are beggars from the Middle East, but there are also French beggars (by the way, one can see there vagabonds more often than in Yerevan), however, Louvre, Orsay Museums, Montmartre, Latin Quarter, “Moulin Rouge” and others are in their place, Paris continues to remain the capital of France and French people and one can feel the style, humor, true state symbols of centuries, I would say even the charm characteristic of that nation on every step.
One of the biggest lies spread about Europe and, particularly, about France is the lie about the erosion of family institute. Usually they take any extraordinary case and make further conclusions. But I have seen ordinary families with male and female parents and children, among whom the relations are not less warm than among Armenian family members by my eyes. We saw a lot of young couples in Paris during 1 week who had 4-5 children.
Another overview on this topic: on contrary to all conversations as if in European families the children leave their home since teenage years and cut off their ties with parents, we saw a lot of elderly parents from France and other European countries who were passing their leisure time with adult sons or daughters. It seems to me, Europeans have not gone far from traditional values, thus, the ones who think that we should not “stay behind” of Europe in the issue of family “liberalization” are wrong.
And finally, one more thing which evoked envy indeed. The abundance of Paris book stores and diversity. On the underground of that city not only people who watch Facebook news feed, but also those who read books and newspapers.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
