Paris - Beneath the Towers

Paris, a Saturday in October, among the towers. Three hours of late afternoon amid glass and concrete, where the sculptures are bigger than the passers-by, until sunset under the Grande Arche and the descent into the RER.

César’s giant Thumb seen from below against the blue sky, Paris — Paris

The Thumb and the shadows.

It all starts with a twelve-metre bronze thumb by César, pointing at the sky. All around, the October light cuts sharp shadows: a silhouette on the cobbles, a lone passenger on the escalators, a woman beneath the round overhang of a tower.

The colour-striped Moretti chimney seen from below, Paris — Paris

The chimney of colours.

Further on, a ventilation chimney disappears under hundreds of coloured tubes: the work of Raymond Moretti. I circled it from every side, in full sun, in the shade, between the towers, with a tiny passer-by at its foot to give the scale.

A footbridge covered with glass arches stretching into the distance, Paris — Paris

On the esplanade.

On the vast pedestrian esplanade, a cyclist speeds towards the Grande Arche, a steel sculpture folds into a zigzag, fountains spring up in front of the glass facades and a colourful mosaic pool reflects the sky. A footbridge covered with glass arches stretches away like a tunnel, and on a bench, two hooded young people talk quietly.

Facades gilded by the setting sun, Paris — Paris

Low light.

Late in the afternoon, the sun sinks between the towers and lights them up one by one: gilded facades, two twin round towers squeezed between black walls, an empty footbridge, and on an outdoor bar, a shirtless athlete going through his exercises.

The Grande Arche at sunset, the crowd on the esplanade, Paris — Paris

Evening under the Arche.

Then the sky turns pink. The Grande Arche stands out against the sunset, the crowd crosses the esplanade against the light, a dome becomes a mere silhouette. On an escalator, a woman blows out her smoke in the golden light.

Long escalators under a wavy white ceiling, Paris — Paris

Underground.

The day ends underground, in a recent RER station: long escalators under a wavy white ceiling, concrete pillars on a wooden floor, and along the platform, a wall of reflections that makes the light dance.