About the Book
The Paris of popular imagination is lined with cobblestone streets and stylish cafés, a beacon for fashionistas and well-heeled tourists. But French American journalist Cole Stangler, celebrated for his reporting on Paris and French politics, argues that the beating heart of the City of Light lies elsewhere – in the striving, working-class districts, where residents are now being priced out.
Paris Isn’t Dead Yet explores the past, present and future of the city through the lens of class conflict, highlighting the outsized role of immigrants in shaping the city’s progressive, cosmopolitan and open-minded character – at a time when politics nationwide can feel like they’re shifting in the opposite direction. This is the Paris many tourists too often miss: immigrant-heavy districts such as the 18th arrondissement, where crowded street markets still define everyday life. Stangler brings this view of the city to life, combining gripping, street-level reportage, stories of today’s working-class Parisians, recent history and a sweeping analysis of the larger forces shaping the city.
An eye-opening portrait of one of the world’s most vital urban centres, Paris Isn’t Dead Yet is a moment of reckoning for how cities everywhere serve us today.
About the Author
Cole Stangler is a journalist based in Marseille, France. A contributor to The Nation, Jacobin and the international news network France 24, he has also published work in the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Guardian, Foreign Policy and other outlets.
Reviews
‘Read this book.’ Darren McGarvey, author of The Social Distance Between Us: How Remote Politics Wrecked Britain
‘A deeply researched, passionate account of how Paris is becoming a fortress for the rich. Stangler knows the Parisian past and present and he offers solutions as well as accusations. Essential for understanding the underlying dynamics of the “City of Love”.’ Simon Kuper, author of Chums: How a Tiny Caste of Oxford Tories Took Over the UK
‘A fascinating journey through Paris. This book is an original portrait and a beautiful take on a largely unknown and misunderstood city.’ Philippe Marlière, University College London
‘In this thoughtful, humane book Stangler finds a multicultural, modern city, drawing on its revolutionary past to fight against local property developers.’ Owen Hatherley, author of Modern Buildings in Britain
‘Stangler’s writings on the struggles of people in and around Paris combine a unique sense of place with sharp insight into unsustainable inequality.’ Sarah Jaffe, author of Work Won’t Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted and Alone
‘Paris Isn’t Dead Yet looks back to the historic roots of social conflict and is witness to the creative vitality of the oppressed.’ Edmund White, author of The Flaneur: A Stroll Thought the Paradoxes of Paris
‘Radically powerful … Stangler presents a Paris that bursts with life. The writing is vivid. The stories are joyous and wrenching. The politics, razor sharp … Stangler’s gift is leaving the reader not with doomsday scenarios of the future but something akin to hope. All have “the right to Paris” – and that rallying cry stays with you long after the last page.’ Dave Zirin, author of The Kaepernick Effect: Taking a Knee, Changing the World
‘A fascinating journey through Paris on the other side of the tracks. Stangler’s lively and informative work delves into the rich history of the forgotten side of Paris and asks important questions about whether, in this age of urban gentrification and late-stage capitalism, the beating heart of the city can survive.’ Catherine Norris Trent, Senior Correspondent, France24
‘Cole Stangler succeeds wonderfully in capturing the contradictions of the most visited city in the world. Paris is finally introduced as it is: the heart of the conflicting transformation of Europe’s identity, and the place of a fascinating reinvention inspired by its margins.’ Rokhaya Diallo author of Afro!
‘As the rapper Médine sang, the suburbs influence Paris, Paris influences the world ... Cole Stangler’s Paris Isn’t Dead Yet magnificently illustrates this sociological and aesthetic truth and reminds us how much working-class Paris is still a tangible reality and a political ideal to cherish.’ Abdourahman Waberi, author of The United States of Africa
