Géographie humaine

The Gare du Nord in Paris is Europe’s most heavily frequented station, a hub where trains from the banlieue, the provinces and outside the country all arrive. Yet life’s journeys also lead here. Claire Simon and her friend Simon Mérabet, a sociologist with Algerian roots, speak to the people that they meet there: travelers and passers-by, homeless people, and those who work on site: a security guard, who was a political consultant in Congo, a chocolate-seller from Cuba, an Iranian man from a high-class family who runs a shoe shop, and a Vietnamese man who helps out in a snack bar, studied international politics and owns an art gallery. Many of the people aren’t going anywhere or arriving, they just spend their time at the station and make it into a global market square. (bik)