Progressive Paris has many weapons to fight the far right, but the best? Spaces where you can simply hang out | Alexander Hurst

2026-03-27 - 05:29

Drop into any of the French capital’s ‘third places’ and you’ll find food, culture, community – and an antidote to the disaffection extremists feed on Paris’s success in removing cars from its streets has been more widely praised than its progress in opening up mixed-use spaces. But the city’s enthusiasm for bringing what urbanists call “third places” to life is exactly why I found myself, just hours after voting in the first round of Paris’s municipal elections, dancing in telecoms company Orange’s former offices in Ménilmontant, the “seventh-coolest neighbourhood in the world”.. The building currently housing Print, a new pop-up, offers a breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower, poised against the sunset – and, for now at least, it is an ephemeral temple to Millennial culture. It’s a five-storey space hosting photography exhibits, a coffee shop, sourdough pizza, two bars, a red-lit and mirror-adorned dance area and a sunset terrace. As well as pizza and fancy coffee, you can buy hoodies and art and design books – but most importantly, Print contains plenty of space where you can just be, without needing to spend a single euro. Alexander Hurst writes for Guardian Europe from Paris. His memoir Generation Desperation is out now Continue reading...