‘See Paris and Live’- By Tunde Rahman, who recently visited Paris, France

It wasn’t my first trip to Paris, France’s capital city. I have visited the city a couple of times, the last being February 2024 for a day on my way to Barcelona, Spain for the Mobile World Congress. The yearly MWC in Barcelona is the world most influential exhibition for the connectivity industry.
I had connected Spain through Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, and opted to spend a night in the French capital.

However, the recent trip, as part of President Bola Tinubu’s delegation for the three-day official visit to France (November 27-29), offered me a unique opportunity to encounter Paris again.
During the visit, this writer again came in contact with the country’s welcoming people, the rich architecture and the ever-bubbling nightlife. The visit presented the chance to really glimpse Paris and savour its beauty, glamour, and the beautiful structural designs.

There are many interesting stories to tell about Paris.
France, particularly capital city Paris, appears to be old-fashioned in the sense that it parades ancient architecture, with a tinge of modernity. Wherever you turn, you are greeted by the unique architecture, very traditional but well designed. French architecture has a rich history. According to Wikipedia, it consists of architectural styles that either originated in France or elsewhere, or developed within the territories of France. The sheer beauty and allure of the architectural designs is unmistakable.

The streets of Paris are well paved, well laid. This is quite expected. Some roads are constructed with cement, others bitumen.
Like most European capitals, Paris is quite tight. There is no enough space. Houses are crammed. Even big hotels that are by every standard 5-star lack the requisite space. This is evident enough at the Hotel de Crillon, a Rosewood hotel and one of the very best in the city, and many other choice hotels in the city. There is hardly any parking space.

Like Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital and one of the biggest cities in Africa, traffic is crazy. From the Hotel de Crillon to the historic Les Invalides Memorial complex where President Tinubu was received, a distance of around five minutes from Hotel de Crillon, took well over 40 minutes even with the police escorts. From Charles de Gaulle Airport to the hotel took well over two hours. 
Arriving Paris in the morning on a working day, from around 7 am upwards, as I did, is an error. It is a wrong decision to patronise an airline that will hit town at that godly hour on a workday. I learnt that fact the hard way. 

As pointed out earlier, the French people seem warm and friendly. Encountered either on the streets or at pubs, they would fraternise and mingle with you. This hospitable nature can also be gleaned from the way and manner President Macron received President Tinubu. President Macron rolled out the drums and brought out the red carpet for the Nigerian leader. President Tinubu was treated to a parade by the elite Republican Guard on arrival on Wednesday November 27 at Orly Airport, Paris and the next day at the historic Les Invalides Memorial Complex.
Both Brigitte Macron, President Macron’s wife and Senator Oluremi Tinubu, President Tinubu’s wife, attended the event. 

Les Invalides is where wounded soldiers were treated and kept during the World Wars. An extensive complex of 17th-century structures and courtyards, Les Invalides, according to history books, was designed for the care and housing of disabled veterans and as a place of worship. Parts of Les Invalides were later converted into museums and tombs for Napoleon I, and other historic figures in France.

There is also the Élysée Palace, where Presidents Tinubu and Macron held bilateral discussions and where their two families exchanged gifts. The Élysée Palace is the official residence of the President of the French Republic in Paris. It is on record that the palace was used as the office of the French President for the first time in 1848.
The distance between the Invalides and Élysée Palace is around 680 metres, a working distance of about 4 minutes.

Talking about the weather, Metropolitan France has a temperate climate. It’s neither too hot nor too cold. The weather, however, changes with the season. With temperature often times at minus level, this late November that we visited Paris is not a good time to visit, particularly for those who detest cold like yours sincerely.
It was pretty tough for me. Paris was really cold around the time of the visit.

Importantly, it’s a no brainer to surmise that the Charles de Gaulle Airport is an extremely busy airport. This is easily discernible. CDG airport is a major aviation hub. Investors, tourists, researchers, foreign students and others flock to France on a daily basis. Some visit to explore the investment opportunities and glimpse the tourist attractions. Some to enjoy the freeness and openness Paris offers. Others just to glimpse the beauty and splendour of the French capital.

The popular catchphrase is “See Paris and die.” This speaks to the magnificence of Paris and her openness. It’s the Soviet Union’s version of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s famous idiom “Vedi Napoli e poi muori,” meaning that seeing Paris is “the ultimate fulfilment of life’s aspirations, with nothing else to experience.” The Soviet Union was a closed society until Stalin’s death in 1953. Then, in the mid-1950s, a torrent of Western novels, films, and paintings invaded Soviet streets and homes, with enduring emotional significance. “To see Paris and die” is a history of this momentous opening to the West. I have glimpsed Paris; I have witnessed its beauty. I don’t want to die, but live to tell the beautiful story!

*Rahman is Senior Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Media Matters.