Empty chairs

They are everywhere but you don’t see them. Or rather you don’t notice them. They are sometimes a privileged place for chitchat where the world is put to rights, sometimes reserved for a moment of peaceful thought or prayer and often chosen to grab a bite during lunchtime or a ray of sunshine.

Some people use them as a reading room, others as a telephone box, yet others as a stopover on their pedestrian itinerary.

Georges Brassens sang of the public benches as a privileged place for romantic amateurs of deep kisses. It is heartwarming to see Paris' chairs and benches being brought back to life after two months of quarantine... and have you noticed how many of their occupants are lovebirds?!? Now more than ever before has Paris earned its reputation as city of love.