Paris : Les Lieux Interdits

Paris comme vous ne l’avez jamais vue.
Derrière ses monuments mythiques et ses boulevards animés, la capitale cache un autre visage : celui de ses lieux interdits, de ses toits vertigineux, de ses catacombes mystérieuses et de ses stations de métro fantômes. Ce documentaire exceptionnel vous emmène à la découverte des secrets les mieux gardés de la Ville Lumière : explorateurs urbains défiant le vide, chevaux de la Garde républicaine, ventes aux enchères insolites, artistes de rue, et même… un tricératops géant vendu à Paris !

De la Seine à Bastille, des toits du Louvre aux profondeurs des carrières, partez pour un voyage unique au cœur du Paris insolite, caché et fascinant.

Paris is the most beautiful city in the world. The whole world dreams of strolling there, to be inspired by it, to discover its history and its immoderate taste for beautiful things. The capital is simply the world’s number one tourist destination. But who can boast of knowing the city like the back of their hand? While shooting this documentary, We never imagined what would follow. Unusual places, often inaccessible and forbidden. Like this building transformed into an air vent. We’re going to get closer to really see if we can see anything at the bottom. Personalities with unsuspected activities. Paris is another planet. So hold on tight, for our first walk, we climb onto the rooftops of Paris. And even if you don’t have vertigo, Our urban explorers will give you a few cold sweats. Do you trust yourself? Yeah, How’s it going. Underground, Ghost subway stations don’t exist? If, and there we were. In Paris, There are triceratops. You didn’t know that, neither do we. If, it’s seen. There are also fish that eat pigeons. On the Bastille side, enormous privilege. The Republican Guard exceptionally opened the doors of their village to us. 4 hectares that Parisians don’t even suspect. Its gigantic stables, its heated marshes and its fanfare. And then, There are artists whose poetry is displayed in the streets of the capital and who can be worth real fortunes. It costs 300,000 to 400,000 euros. And by the way, Did you know that 6 million Parisians are buried under the Place d’Enfer Rocheron? But before descending into the catacombs for an exclusive visit, let’s take a step back. Let’s climb onto the rooftops of Paris. There, at the very top, where no one ever goes, 30 meters above the ground. Hang in there, This is Paris as you’ve never seen it before. Before descending into the catacombs 20 meters underground, Let’s take a little trip up high and take a little tour of the rooftops of Paris. There, at the very top, where no one ever goes, 30 meters above the ground. For this first trip to forbidden and secret Paris, We were given the craziest meeting imaginable with urban explorers. Obviously, we will not give any address. We have no right to be here and what you are about to see should not inspire you in any way. But here, apparently, Our date is coming up. It’s not bad with the Invalides behind. Atina leads the way and behind, Vintage. Both are top athletes. They train several times a week on specialized courses. Obviously, you need to be in top physical condition and mentally strong to undertake these high-risk walks on the rooftops of Paris. We will tell you everything, but for now, Vintage is keen to warm up and show us a glimpse of his practices. Well, I’m going to take a little leap, there are about six floors so I can’t mess it up but it’ll be fine and quiet, I’ve done this many times. So. A two-meter jump, like that, with a big smile. Needless to say, on our side, with Romain, the cameraman, we’re not feeling very good. To tell the truth, even if the view is breathtaking, He’s really going to have to explain to us the why and how. We are really like children here, there is no limit. It’s really 2D climbing, 3D, we go where we want. It’s still crazy. Of course we don’t steal, but we make jumps, etc. We can go almost anywhere we want. It’s really this space of freedom that I love. The roofs of Paris are designed so that you can cross entire neighborhoods by going from one building to another. 80% covered of Zing, the capital is an immense, sublime blue sea. It was Baron Haussmann who transformed Paris into a modern city during the 19th century. At the time, Zing is inexpensive and above all Zing is the symbol of modernity. As far as the eye can see, the rooftops of Paris inspire. It’s impossible to get tired of it. When you discover Paris from the rooftops for the first time, It’s breathtaking. When you see this expanse of zinc, of blue, which stretches as far as the eye can see, to the horizon, It’s beautiful. And it’s precisely when you climb onto the first roof that you realize there’s so much to discover. It really is a limitless playground. Every day, we discover new ones and it’s great! Short crossing of the construction site. For the common man, all this is not possible. Here we go! While for Vintage, it would be enough to overcome one’s fears. The mind, It’s an attitude that makes you say that what you are capable of on the ground, you are capable at 10 meters or 100 meters high. I learned to control my vertigo. My fear of emptiness that I had before, I constantly pushed myself to surpass her, and that’s what I’m doing with this situation as well. Look at this view, friends, look at this view. Isn’t that beautiful? It’s so beautiful. It was during one of these urban explorations that Vintage discovered a building that the most Parisian of Parisians would not even suspect. A real hallucination. I’ll see above if we can squeeze through a trapdoor to reach the roofs. Equipped with its professional cameras, you understood on this one, we will not follow, We’re not crazy. Vintage has spotted a building facade that looks like all building facades, except that… It’s not a normal roof either. It’s more of an air vent. SO, We’re going to get closer to really see if we can see anything at the bottom and try to access it. Why not on the facade? That, That could be fun. Don’t try what I do. The mouth of Astion leads to this ladder. We’ll go down and see what’s there. But what justifies all this risk-taking? Can I come down? Too much stuff down there. There I think that if I pull this door there, there is a momentum that will be triggered. I need to know what’s behind it. I must complete my exploration. That’s it. Otherwise, if I go home, I’m sure I’ll regret it. Okay. What the fuck? Oh yeah, okay. There are no apartments behind me. Actually, Vintage discovered a fake building. An empty shell. This address is a ventilation duct probably used to ventilate underground transport networks. And they are real windows. Ooh! Huge ! Look at this. Yes! So, I’m talking to you about the fake Parisian building. Mission accomplished nonetheless! Isn’t that beautiful? But everyone has their own motivations. Vintage is an urban explorer who constantly pushes his limits. Atina is, She, photographer. Can you move over a bit? There ? Yeah, like that you just go beyond. You wait, I don’t know if we’ll do it again. No, go ahead. A breathtaking setting. Plus unusual characters. Here we go ! Atina has plenty to do. My tour on the roof of Paris, It’s something that I find very inspiring, particularly in my photographic practice. Because precisely, there are very varied structures, there are very varied landscapes, we see a lot of things. If, There might be a little something we can play there. Yes ! There, you have a very beautiful sky. Okay. Great. Me, I’m doing well. It’s absolutely. And surprisingly, We also come across quite a few people on the roofs. Whether it’s other photographers, whether they are athletes who do the course, whether it is roofers, people who work on construction sites or directly on roofs. And that’s the same, to be in contact with these different people, It’s very inspiring. It seems unthinkable, but there are real people on the roofs. Between the photographers, the blunderers, the roofers, those who come to sunbathe and those who meet for an aperitif. But hey, There’s still a bit of everything for the aperitif. A hidden world. in the midst of hidden beauty. A few years ago, We had the opportunity to go up to the roof of the Louvre and it was actually very impressive because when you are on the ground and you look up to the height of the Louvre, we don’t realize the amount of detail that has been… It was thought of by the architects at the time, that is to say that on all the chimneys there are bas-reliefs, It’s engraved and in fact we have a completely different perception of space. And there we actually have access to a part of history that is not given to everyone. I am passionate about history and being able to go to these places is quite exceptional. Before such a spectacle, we would even dream that the Louvre would organize tours of its roofs, ultra secure of course. The sun sets over Paris. The most beautiful city in the world will calm down for a few hours. Tomorrow, she will start to amaze us again, to seduce us, to scare us too, and make us laugh. But this night again, she will continue to make us dream. Paris is showing off, night and day. Paris struts, Paris, city of light. But Parisians should be wary of her, because the city that the whole world envies us is built on nothing. Wind. Yes, the subsoil of Paris is like Gruyère cheese. The city is on the verge of collapse at any moment. Just imagine. Under the Parisian asphalt, 250 km of metro and RER, 2000 km of sewer, 3000 km of water pipe, meshes of power lines in all directions, gas pipes under every street. But how can all this hold up? But above all, and worst of all, The town is built on old quarries. The stones of the churches, buildings, monuments, simply come from the basement. Paris is a Gruyère cheese full of old galleries exploited for centuries. The consequences are terrible. In 1961, in Clamart, at the gates of the capital, an old quarry collapses. She takes with her an entire district of the city. 20 dead. Paris is in shock. It was not an earthquake that created this landscape of horror. The collapse of some caverns or underground galleries, vestiges of the quarries from which the stones of Paris came, suddenly cracked the earth’s crust, which sank 5 to 6 meters. Dead people, we will count 20, we are left speechless in the face of such an unexpected disaster, so unimaginable. These careers, like so many holes in the Parisian ground, you know some of it. His name alone makes the catacombs shudder. The catacombs or the largest buried cemetery in the world. Heading south of the capital, Hell’s Place Rocheron. On the surface, traffic is in full swing. Car, bus, bike, scooter, everyone tries to make their way. A very busy place, therefore, but do the thousands of users who use it every day know that under their feet, at a depth of 20 meters, 6 million Parisians are buried there. It’s hardly believable, and yet it is the exact truth. A little before the French Revolution, Part of the Paris quarries were requisitioned to house 6 million skeletons. That is to say all the people who have died in the capital since… UTES. Don’t be afraid, but it’s true that the catacombs are one of the most unusual places in Paris, with 6 million deceased people resting here in the depths, in the bowels of the Earth. For the purposes of this shoot, We privatized this immense Parisian ossuary. Also, You will see the catacombs as you have never seen them before. Extraordinary rooms, some of which are completely off-limits to the public. And this is Helen, for whom the two kilometers of gallery hold almost no secrets, which takes us there. Attention, guaranteed thrills. Stop, This is the Empire of Death. You are here at the entrance to the ossuary. Most of these Parisians died in Paris before the French Revolution. Because yes. Until the French Revolution, when you die in Paris. We are buried on the spot, in mass graves, around churches. But Parisians can no longer stand the terrible smells and diseases caused by decomposing bodies. At a time when it was believed that there was a problem with cemeteries in Paris, We are currently consolidating the capital’s underground quarries. And so someone had the idea of transferring these bones to the quarries. So we empty the cemeteries of Paris to fill these underground cavities. Then a macabre ballet begins. So as not to frighten the inhabitants, at night, carts will silently transport the skeletons to their final resting place, the catacombs. To empty the Cemetery of the Innocents, for example, located on the current Place des Innocents near the Forum des Halles, It will take more than a year of back and forth. A titanic undertaking. Imagine, the waters arrive in carts, then thrown in bulk into two wells leading directly into the stone quarries. Everything actually arrives completely mixed up in bulk, here at the career level, the waters still fell 20 meters. And when it comes to organizing the place, well we have… You can select the long bones to put them here in front because it is stable and it forms a wall that holds everything else behind. And so behind you have the embankment which is made up of small bones, all the rest of the skeleton. A kind of giant Tetris unthinkable today. For the wall to hold, We usually alternate 9 rows of femurs and tibias with a layer of skull and start again. In the stack, the bones must be roughly identical and roughly stable. And of course, among these millions of skulls, there are some historical celebrities. But no one can say exactly where they are, mixed with the remains of millions of anonymous Parisians. Madame de Pompadour, Robespierre, is somewhere here in the catacombs. Mirabeau! Or almost all the members of the revolutionary tribunal that sent so many people to the guillotine. And so we have this image of a place that puts everyone on an equal footing. Death levels everything. How can you avoid getting lost in this gigantic labyrinth that runs beneath the capital? And imagine when we traveled there by candlelight. How many men got lost there and never came back up? One of them has even become a true urban legend with its own stele. Philibert Asper, the guardian who had ventured too far, found eleven years later and identified using only his set of keys. In the midst of all these macabre alleys, the quarries, the workers responsible for extracting the stone blocks, don’t lose their sense of humor. And it is here, in this sublime well of turquoise water, that men came to have fun. Here you have a well with rising water, resurgence of the water table, so very clear water that has been filtered by the rock. And the water is so clear that you can’t see where it ends up. Actually, she arrives here. And the visitors, in general, descended too low, got their feet wet and the quarrymen laughed. This is a joke. Good. You have the most fun you can when you spend your days surrounded by millions of skulls. Besides, another worker had found a job after 16 hours of work, engraved in the rock of the landscapes of Spain. A certain Mr. Décur will spend 5 years creating this strange sculpture in 3 panels. The day comes when the artist decides it is finally time to show his masterpiece to the world. When he decides… to open the place to visitors to show its sculptures, very unfortunately and very ironically, the quarry collapses on him and he dies there, with his work. Oh that, It’s just bad luck. But rest assured, Today the ossuaries of the catacombs are perfectly secure. Two hectares are open to visitors, don’t hesitate. And perhaps you will find a distant ancestor there. The last skeleton brought down, It was in 1861. Do the math, you never know? What is fabulous, is to ask oneself, seeing a skull, but when did he or she… 500 years ago, 1000 years ago, 100 years ago, and the only thing we know, it’s that he’s a Parisian or a Parisian woman. Come on, return to the surface. We take a deep breath of fresh air in a sublime place, the Place des Vosges, the oldest square in Paris. And probably also the most beautiful, in the heart of the Marais. At the beginning of this afternoon, everyone is enjoying a beautiful ray of sunshine in this little corner of paradise. When an unusual noise reaches us. Amazing ! The Parisian can’t believe it, horses in Paris. It’s like watching a flying saucer land, a close encounter of the third kind. After the amazement, the moment of seduction arrives. I can stroke the tip of his nose. Everyone wants to be Dolmen’s friend, 10 years, and Best, 8 years old. Two gentle and attentive males, who patiently lend themselves to selfie games and meetings with the little ones. Good morning ! This unusual encounter in Paris, we owe it to the Republican Guard, a branch of the national gendarmerie. Among their many missions, patrol the capital on horseback. A vehicle like any other. We are considered a vehicle, it’s atypical, but it is a vehicle. Therefore, respecting the highway code is essential. We do not take prohibited gasoline. By what miracle, Dolmen and Best, even ridden by expert riders Anaïs and Géraldine, Aren’t they afraid of navigating Parisian traffic? I don’t know what she’s doing, whether she wants to overtake us or not. In the capital, There are 350 horses working in the Republican Guard, carefully selected for their peaceful character. They like to be petted. You could even say Zen. Not just any horse will agree to be brushed against by a bus or by careless bikes. So, they are experienced, they are in their thing. Besides, the time is the time, and to Dolmen & Best, we don’t do it to them. We’ll be home soon, It’s snack time. A well-deserved snack, because you will see that to stay perfectly zen, between the garbage trucks and the fire sirens, Dolmen & Best undergo intensive training every day. So, passes the portico. In a few minutes, we will show you how in the heart of Paris, Bastille district, 350 horses of the National Guard prepare for the most astonishing Parisian situations. Yeah, pass over it, come on! And amazing things, even the most Parisian of Parisians haven’t seen the last of it. Under a big blue summer sky, meeting is arranged at the Porte Saint-Martin, on the side of the main boulevards. This man tells us to have keys. Yes, but what keys? To open which doors? Welcome to a ghost station in the heart of the capital. A place strictly forbidden to the public. Song is not the owner of a ghost station, but RATP guide. The underground network holds no mysteries for him. Just above us, there is the large arch which is the Porte Saint-Martin and the beginning of the grand boulevards. Few people know that there are stations that are no longer in use and so many travelers pass by without even paying attention. Besides, during our filming, No one in the passing trains notices our presence for a moment. There are four of them. Four ghost stations that do not appear on any map. and of which only a handful of Parisians know the existence. Ghost stations existed at one time, and they no longer exist because most of them were closed in 1939, on the eve of the Second World War. Actually, several stations have even closed their doors, since we were on the eve of a world conflict, and the personnel were mobilized for the war effort, and it was also necessary to reduce traffic, So we started to close some stations during the conflict period. At the liberation, The Paris metro network is gradually reopening. And that’s when we realize that the Saint-Martin station is no longer profitable. And for good reason, It is only 150 meters from Strasbourg-Saint-Denis and hardly more from Place de la République. The Parisian network is one of the densest in the world, there are 303 stations, there are only 4 who are ghosts, and in fact, Paris is still well served, however, as no street in the capital is more than 500 meters from a metro station. This is why for more than 80 years, the station is asleep. Traces of remains, superb earthenware advertisements from the 1940s, as they were made at the time, designed to last. Here in Saint-Martin, we go back in time. Time really stood still when the station was closed, because we find old advertisements in the corridors, in ceramics in particular, designed for exhibition, and which are there and which have crossed time until today. A ghost station that allows you to go back in time, Not bad ! And it’s not over yet. Song, our guide, will show us another strange thing in a few minutes. A metro station closed to the public, reserved only for film shoots, provided you can follow it. Paris is strange, and sometimes difficult to grasp. The city never stops. Sunday, It’s 7 o’clock in the morning. A strange meeting was arranged for us at Drouot, the capital’s main and legendary auction house. The most prestigious and crazy sales take place here. And we are promised an exceptional auction, as can only happen in Paris every 10 years. So obviously, there is enough to pique our curiosity. In the busy world that brings us down to the parking lot, a team of Russian reporters, Germans, Italians, to believe that the whole world is there. And all this for what? A box. A simple wooden crate. But what could possibly be in it? Inside, the unthinkable. A giant Triceratops, 65 million years old. And there, It’s just the skull. 2.60 m long by 2 m wide. It is simply the largest Triceratops skull ever found to date. Even in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, we hadn’t dared to think so big. Of course, in front of such a specimen, Everyone expects the auction to explode. The head, she’s going to go that way. Discovered in 2014 in South Dakota in the United States, Big John, that’s his official nickname, will be presented to the world for the first time, and it’s happening in Paris. The animal is so gigantic that the door to the room where the auction will take place will have to be attacked with a crowbar. A giant puzzle then begins. An 8-meter puzzle containing 349 pieces, which must be fully reassembled before tomorrow’s sale. Starting price, a million. And the auctions can go up in seconds. Because giant dinosaur skeletons have become the favorite toys of Hollywood stars. As if by chance since the first Jurassic Park. This is what auctioneers call the Spielberg effect. Leonardo DiCaprio owns one, like Brad Pitt, Russell Crowe or Nicolas Cage. D-Day, This time we’re there. Only 50 people were allowed to attend the sale. And a forest of cameras. A leak tells us that 11 people are likely to buy Big John. Spread around the world, they are either on the phone with their assistants here, either on the Internet, and maybe even in the room. The buyers wish to remain anonymous. The sums involved are colossal. Are you ready? And we start the auction directly at 1 million euros. Every time someone raises their hand, that’s 100,000 euros more. Here, in the room. Up to you. 3 million. 4 million. Is that you? 4,500,000. No longer there. Here, to 4,500,000. On the phone. 600. 4,600,000, it’s here at 4,800,000. 5 million here on the phone. Aurelia, more by us, 5,200 000. And we, 5,300,000. 500,000, There. More by us. I award at 5,500,000. Here it is seen. 5,500,000 with fees. Count on 6,600,000 euros. Awarded to this gentleman who raised his hand on behalf of an American individual. Maybe Leonardo, Brad or Russell for that matter. I have no right to give you his name, but it is an American collector who has just acquired Big John. He is absolutely delighted and the triceratope will go into his personal museum. The most unusual sale of the year is also an absolute world record for a triceratops. And it’s happening in Paris. Why did you choose Paris to sell Big John? Because Paris, It is the center of the world. France is the only country that regulates public sales and provides great security for all buyers. In other words, You can go crazy because you’re sure there won’t be any mistakes in the merchandise. The capital will never cease to make us dream. Paris is an unusual city, Of course, unusual and fascinating. Me, I discover something fascinating in Paris every five minutes and it’s not over. Paris has just welcomed a triceratops, It doesn’t stop there. As in all major cities around the world, The capital has its legends and mysteries. Crocodiles in the sewers, passing through the foxes of Père Lachaise, Is there really wildlife in the heart of the capital? When fiction surpasses reality. Helene Gâteau, veterinarian in Paris, has selected 7 unusual species from among the 1,660 that inhabit the capital. And we start with a superb young lady discovered in 1984, Eleanor, which did indeed exist. There is a crocodile from an island that was found by sewer workers. They then called the fire brigade to come and help them. And this crocodile was then recovered by an animal park in Vannes. The park took advantage of this incredible story to decorate Eleonore’s lodge as a Paris sewer. The crocodile died at the age of 30 in 2021. Good, in the Seine, there is something, we have to tell you about it, it’s not very pretty, catfish. Fish bigger than dolphins. Imagine that in 2020, there is a catfish 2.43 meters and 90 kilos which was still… fishing here in the Seine. This fish is so huge that it attacks pigeons. Okay, There’s only one video but it’s there anyway. They eat each other too, there is catfish cannibalism, it also helps regulate the population, It’s not that bad after all. While we’re at it, in the scary category, we have that too. So in 2013 for example, The body of a python was found. and even a piranha. All this, once again, is strictly true. This is the kind of discovery that the river brigade can make. Fortunately, in Paris, there are much less aggressive animals, even frankly fearful. There are approximately 50 to 60 foxes, mainly in cemeteries. And besides, during confinement, A litter of fox cubs was spotted at the Père Lachaise cemetery. So really, as soon as there are no more humans, wild animals are regaining their rights a little and the ducks are even leaving the banks of the Seine to venture into the Palais Royal for example. Completely crazy. We even heard them screaming in Parc Monceau. Are there wolves in Paris? There was one, A day. It’s also dated, It was 1972. A wolf was spotted in Monceau Park. Actually, It belonged to an artist who performed in cabarets and who had a wolf who, A day, escaped him. Wolves have not colonized the capital. On the other hand, There is an unlikely species that has no business being there and is very happy there. The ring-necked parakeet, which is a kind of small green parrot with a red and black beak. In the 70s, It’s a container that was intended for a pet store that opened in Orly. And since then, there are approximately 8,000 of them in Paris and the Paris region. Ring-necked parakeets, that’s very kind, but there is more spectacular. Hawks over the capital. Good, they are cressel falcons, they are very small, but still. If we wash our eyes, You can also see a rather unlikely species of bird in Paris. This is the crestrel falcon, which is recognizable by its very thin wings, pointed, boomerang-shaped. There are around thirty couples living in Paris. Paris, and where do they nest? Well, they nest, For example, within the Eiffel Tower. There were even kestrels living there, and who still live on Notre-Dame Cathedral. And when it caught fire, well, they got out of it, they went to nest elsewhere for a while, and they then recolonized Notre-Dame de Paris. And here is the most surprising species of general life. The cricket, that we found this time. in metro stations line 3 and line 9 and this cricket was feeding on cigarette butts left by Parisians, so since smoking has been banned in stations, this population has drastically decreased. Castellan, The Paris Metro Cricket Protection League was founded in 1992. This is not a joke! Paris officially has 20 arrondissements. But Parisians like to say that there is one 21st, the most beautiful, the Seine. The freest district, the craziest, the most exotic too. At the slightest ray of sunshine, we come to strut there, kiss there. The Seine crosses Paris for 13 kilometers. There are 37 bridges. And between the right bank and the left bank, 10 hectares of quays have been developed. Enough to give pride of place to the 240 second-hand booksellers, to the fishermen, Today there are around thirty different species of fish, to the runners, to cyclists, to strollers and other musicians. The Quays of the Seine, a huge space of freedom for Parisians who meet there to play pétanque and dance. Opposite the island of Saint-Louis, There is something magical about Tino Rossi’s gardens. On Wednesday, it’s rock’n’roll, evenings organized by enthusiasts, free. We meet there among beginners, experts and curious. A few meters away, we dance salsa there, the tango, the waltz. Long live the return of the balls! To fully enjoy all this life on the banks, the best, It’s a cruise with friends. It’s really Paris for Parisians. And there, to see Paris like this, fall in love again every day. Guarantee 100% impossible to get tired of such a landscape. And here we are at our destination. This strange floating object that Karine is going to show us is the one and only hotel on the Seine. And look, in the middle, There is even a swimming pool. We’ll show you. Perfectly integrated into its Parisian landscape, hold, here comes a fisherman again. There are even some dancers who are a bit nostalgic. This unique and unusual hotel, It is above all a technical feat. Here, it’s really, it’s not welcome here, It’s welcome aboard. We go up, we went through a footbridge, so there is really this feeling of travel. We’re going somewhere, we have our suitcase, but we’re going on a trip on the Seine. A motionless journey since the boat is not sailing. But in a few seconds, Now we start to see the capital differently. We are elsewhere, but at the same time we always have little Parisian reminders, especially the metro that you see, which is a bridge built by Eiffel. So we are immersed in Paris. An unusual project that saw the light of day in 2016 thanks to a technical feat. Two floats were assembled in Rouen. The hotel’s 54 rooms and 4 suites were delivered and assembled there. Then each float was floated up the Seine separately. The explanation is technical. The whole boat is too wide to pass under the bridges of the capital. And hop, arrived in Paris, We reassemble everything on the banks between Sterlitz station and the amazing Museum of Fashion and Design. So here, a float. In front, a second float. And in the middle, I was going to say, in the middle flows the Seine. But that’s it, actually. The Seine flows below the pool. So. That, It’s on the restaurant and bar side. Hotel side, It’s incredibly romantic. Who wouldn’t dream of a romantic night on the banks of the Seine? A farmers’ weekend, around 200 euros per night, feet in the water. And guess who might come and greet you when you wake up? Here, there is a magical and fairy-like side. We are immersed in nature, but in fact, We also have our little animals. We have two signs, a couple who come there. So in the morning, you can wake up with the two signs passing in front of your room. It’s totally magical. Waiting for, It will soon be aperitif time. The City of Lights will once again amaze us and it’s time for us to be more discreet. Ah the scene, so romantic, It works every time. And we would be wrong to deprive ourselves of it. From the dream, there are some everywhere. Like this metro station that only thinks about cinema. I am the lilac puncher. Serge Gainsbourg sang about the lilac puncher. Well, Here is the station in question which dates from 1921. 10,000 travelers use this access every day, without suspecting for a moment what they are plotting a little further down. This is Karine. Behind a back door, she takes us to a platform that we have all already seen on the big screen, but which no one has borrowed since 1939. A real film studio at the heart of the metropolitan network. So I’m taking you to a station called the Porte d’Eila cinema station. A station closed to the public, but very popular with directors. Because yes, when we watch a movie or an advertisement that takes place on a subway platform, to avoid interrupting traffic, we come to shoot here. For several months, For example, A superb advertisement is playing on a loop for a very French luxury perfume. Actress Rune Marat wanders the Paris metro in search of a forbidden evening. If you remember in the sequence, She enters a station in Paris outside and finds herself on the Porte d’Eila platform. And besides, the director did not want to rename the station with another station name and left Eila Gate. This station is dedicated solely to film shoots. We never meet the public there, since the trains run parallel. A few meters from here, you have a real life, with real customers who use the metro every day, without knowing that perhaps a few meters away from them, a celebrity is present at the station, a very famous actor, internationally known. They don’t know it. Here, we are completely isolated, This is what we call a film studio. And indeed, a few meters away, Parisians cannot suspect anything. Let’s take the fabulous Destin d’Amélie Poulain for example. The film takes place in Montmartre. And the Abbesse station plays a key role in this. Well, everything was filmed at the Porte des Lilas cinema station. As all metro stations look the same, You just have to change the name of the station and no one will notice anything. Hop, hop, hop, the Abès panels. The magic of cinema means that the assassination at the Dehila gate can be called Abès today, Segur, depending on the movie actually. So it’s a bit of a chameleon station that will adapt depending on the desired scenarios and sequences. Because yes, on condition of paying 17,000 euros per day, you can change everything. But then really everything. To shoot a period film, at this price, we provide you with a 1940s subway train, and even the driver that goes with it. You will be able to change the neon lights if the light does not suit you, rename the station, cover all advertising formats, the 4 by 3, with the advertising that matches your film, and there you master, you do what you want. Practical ! The green screens are already in place for the little special effects. You can even have car chases in the tunnels. We have about a kilometer of tunnel and so this kilometer will allow the train to back up far enough to the very bottom and to make train arrivals at the request of the staging. A clever system that allows you to shoot as many takes as necessary to ensure you have a cult scene. Here, The unforgettable Jean-Paul Belmondo performed his own stunts in Fear Over the City in 1975. Fortunately, everything is secure. Because since time, we would have already lost half of the global cast from Adjani in Subway to DiCaprio in Inception. For all the stunt sequences where you have to control the train and cut the power, in fact we are going to put equipment on the tracks, here. And that, This ensures that there is no flow of electricity. All right ? So the power is off and that will actually allow the staging, for the actors to be able to walk around in the tunnel for the purposes of the staging. Like the Eiffel Tower, The Paris metro perfectly symbolizes the capital. So everyone wants to shoot their scene there. Here we had Meryl Streep, Kevin Costner, Gilles Lelouch, Sophie Marceau, Danny Boone. Around sixty films are shot every year across the entire metropolitan network. The best of the best, it’s line 6, the air line which passes through Passy crossing the Seine. All Parisians will tell you. Besides, our baby L. National, him again, only needed a crazy 4-minute chase down the stretch to scare the city into posterity. If the look of Parisians has changed a lot since 1975, It is still not necessary to travel to the roof to enjoy the panorama. Paris is open to everyone, So why deprive yourself of it? For your information, the last metro is at 1:15. Let’s leave Jean-Paul Belmondo to his stunts and go to bed. Because tomorrow, from 6 a.m., we find our new friends. You know, Dolmen and Best, the handsome guys from Place des Vosges. On the other hand, We don’t really understand what we’re doing here. Boulevard Henri IV, a few steps from the Bastille, but in the middle of nowhere. No stable in sight, no national guard either. When suddenly, a few notes wake up the neighborhood. The sound of the bugle. Devil ! Here we are in the Célestins district. The Célestins district, It’s 4 hectares right next to the Bastille, a sort of Gallic village. 150 horsepower, 150 people for the cavalry regiment, plus the fanfare, the heart of the French army and their family. Count 500 people drowned on site, a real village. Marie is a young 29-year-old rider and like all riders she has to take care of the horses every morning from 6:30 a.m. Every morning we have the physical slippers with the fork. Being housed on site means we just have to… go down the stairs and finally we are in direct contact with the horses. From our windows we can hear the horses walking more than the traffic, so it’s still a great advantage that we have in our profession in Paris itself. When I pass through the gates of the barracks, so Célestin’s neighborhoods, It’s true that we really feel like we’re entering another dimension. It’s quite peculiar, We would never imagine that there is such a large and unusual neighborhood in the heart of the 4th arrondissement of Paris. Once the horses are prepared, heading to the merry-go-round. And you will see that if these horses say nothing when they are honked at in the streets of Paris, It’s thanks to their character of course, but also to the patience of their rider and Jean-Phi. So that’s a daily job in fact. Exceptional training lieutenant. By the way, admire this superb metal structure designed by Gustave Eiffel. Yes, the same engineer to whom we owe the Eiffel Tower. So here, we work the horses, so that then, in our daily missions in the city, that they are, as if in his element, in the midst of the traffic blues. Exercises that we call pitfalls. They help desensitize horses. Attention, It’s not about making them stupid, but to allow them to manage their fear. The bottle bin, It’s a pretty comprehensive exercise actually. When the horse walks on the bottles… He crushes things, he feels that the ground is not like sand. This is the first thing we are working on. The second thing we work with is, That’s the noise it makes. The horse will crush his bottles, This will generate a noise that is completely unnatural. And this obstacle will allow us to gain the horse’s confidence on any type of surface. Hours and days, unusual and uncomfortable months for the horse, to finally create a bond with the rider. On this snare, Driss’s curtain is deployed on both sides. The horse cannot see well what is behind it. And that, the horse doesn’t like it. He doesn’t like not knowing where he’s going. So, there we… We realize right away that it’s not simple. The horse there, This is the first time he has overcome this obstacle. It’s not easy, It’s not natural at all. The second difficulty is that at the time of passage, he is touched all over his body by the editor. The horse, It is a particularly sensitive animal on its skin. He can smell a fly, we see, There are tactile muscles all over the body. On patrol, there are people who approach without saying anything, but not necessarily… There, and which come to touch the horse. Good, the horse must not react. We must therefore imagine all the risky situations, including the most unexpected ones. Come on, here we go. The most difficult exercise is undoubtedly the trial by fire. It’s good, in front. This is where you absolutely must not let the horse falter. If you feel your horse is a little floaty, go back to the trunk. It doesn’t bother me. So we recognize a horse worried about the pitfalls. He will straighten up, he will raise his head, he will move his ears a lot to try to listen to everything that is happening, to understand what is happening under his feet. Go through the portico, when you reach the portico, I look where I’m going. Your look. It doesn’t matter, we’ll come right away. We could spend days there, to watch his crews at work. But we have so much to show you here, to the Republican Guard, in the heart of the capital. Even if we agree, we are a bit on another planet. This is what the residents of the neighborhood must say to themselves every morning. No, better and better. A Marshal Ferrand in Paris, we will have seen everything. This is Maxime. Of course, this is painful for the horse. Even stronger, there are several of them. Here are Aurélien and his assistants. I am here. Not content with being the one and only farriers in Paris, They are also the last in France to master these gestures from another age. If I do this, It’s to keep French traditions. It’s still done a little bit in market gardening competitions, etc. But after, Normally, No, There aren’t many people who do it anymore. With three hammers, there are no longer any who do it. Today, the machine has replaced man. And we lost the little music of the hammers on the anvil. This is called ringing the bell. If I type faster, they will go faster. If I hit harder, They’re going to hit harder. It depends on what I need and the speed I need. And as soon as I put that hammer aside, That means they have to stop. Good, There are 190 horses in the Republican Guard at Bastille. At the rate of 4 shoes per horse, That means we have 760 irons to change every 6 months. And what’s more, you have to take the neighborhoods into account. SO, We have these shoes for horses that are less than… Because Montmartre, it’s quite steep and it’s cobblestones, so it slips a lot, especially in wet weather, etc. But there, These are really irons where there is rubber and suddenly, It limits slipping. Anyway, for horses, it’s like… custom-made because each time we make a size but this iron will be reheated to adapt to the horse’s foot. Come on, let’s take a left. And it is Maxime who has the heavy responsibility of putting on the irons. A goldsmith’s work. You have to take the right angle too. The most delicate moment because if I made a mistake adjusting the iron, I can get into the living tissues of the foot and therefore make it limp. We have approximately 1 or 2 mm of margin of valance to be able to put the nails. The horse walks on its toe and no matter how active it is, whether it is leisure or work, he remains an athlete. If we miss the plumb line, he might be lame. And that’s it for him. Okay, here we go, we’re going to look at the protected horse, see if everything is okay. We will check that the horse is moving correctly, if his locomotion is good, so that he can immediately go back on patrol. Come on, here we go! Come on, too much! So there, we see that there is no lameness, the horse is fine, there is no rocking movement of the head that will tell us that he has one foot more than the other. It’s perfect. Okay, THANKS ! Let’s take a few moments to find our Gallic village and its full fanfare. It’s going to be great, we love them! And let’s go film these artists who beautify the streets of Paris. Paris dresses and undresses. In the space of 40 years, Paris has become a must-see with street art. Understand, urban art. Whether it’s official with the artist Christo wrapping the Arc de Triomphe, J.R., the French star, was a master in the art of trompe-l’oeil, playing with the perspectives of the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower. I have a little surprise for you. We just finished installing, it looks like this, and you are all welcome to come and walk on it. In a few years, Some street artists have reached pharaonic codes. The mysterious Banksy, the most famous of all, about which we know almost nothing, saw his painting, the Parliament of Monkeys, soar to 11 million at auction in London in less than 13 minutes. Paris today is an open-air museum. Also, to discover who these passionate artists are, We followed Fred Le Chevalier. His technique, the collage. All Parisians know these superb and incredible characters from all corners of the capital. Nicolas Logéraud, him, is an exhibition curator specializing in urban art, collector and essential in this new art market. The works that cover the walls of the capital have, they, a price. We’ll see about that. Head to Montmartre for a collage session. I like to discover a city by walking and collage goes well with this idea of discovery, to search for the wall that will match. A brush, glue, pre-cut designs of any size, Fred the Knight distills poetry according to his inspirations in a few seconds. What’s the point of sticking it on? Gluing is useless, It is rather a pleasant activity for the one who does it, it can lead to… to stop, to slow down, look up. If there is a person or people who stop, who tell each other a story, who react and that it takes them out of the hectic Parisian pace, Well, it’s successful. If it’s no use, then a mosaic of Invader, there are some everywhere in the capital and he is one of the most famous street artists, It’s no use either. And yet, Rumor has it that an Invader work is worth a lot of money. Invader, he is truly a legend, He is one of the pioneers of the movement. What we don’t know, is that he is an artist who graduated from the Beaux-Arts in Paris. And in fact, It’s an artist who makes the character from the Atari video game from the 80s escape, Space Invader, and he comes to free him in the city. Today, an original Invader of this size, It costs 300,000 to 400,000 euros. 300 or 400,000 euros. Invader, He is one of the most important artists in the world, along with Banksy. one of the most highly rated. But the walls of Paris are worth a fortune then. And the works of Fred Lechevalier, which has the same visibility as Invader, and who has at least the same talent, must have the same rating then. Parisians only have to cut out walls to be rich. This room, if I tear it off, they are vulgar tiles, it’s worthless. We always come back, These are market pieces with a certificate of authenticity. So above all, let’s not tear the coins off the street, they have no value. So there is street work. It’s a gift for children, for the kids, the rich, the poor, young people, the old ones. That, It’s fabulous. That’s it, street art. But at the same time, these artists, they must live from their practice. And so, They have a workshop job. This workshop work, it will be on the market, he’s going to be in galleries. And that, this market, It has exploded over the past fifteen years, especially in recent years. Whether we are in a gallery or not, all these works enhance the capital. This is probably why the police and the town hall are particularly tolerant of artists. We can come across encouraging police officers, It happened to me. I was driving at night until I came across a police officer reversing his car, I expected it to be complicated, and who tells me “no, I really like what you do, continue, nothing about monuments to the public, but well done, “It’s cool.” So here it is, There are reactions that we don’t expect. It’s Zom! They make the city of Paris more beautiful. Besides, the town hall tolerates these works, they are never torn off. They are even protected from the clever people who tried to kidnap them a few years ago. The town hall has taken action, The town hall took action against the people who came to damage the work. So these works are part of Parisian heritage. That’s cool, what recognition for the artist. Paris is a playground where each artist has their own approach. That’s what’s magical. There is a very childish side to collage, It’s like when you’re little and you build a cabin in the woods or climb a low wall to see what’s behind it. In sticking, you start climbing over trash cans again, to have a slightly different view of the environment. And it doesn’t matter whether this or that work is worth money or not. Anyway, in the street, They are just made for attentive passions. You have to learn to look up, we must learn to look at Paris differently. That’s what I’m asking you. To look up and see the artwork in the city. And we will discover a whole world that will open up to us. Back to the Bastille, in the Célestins district. You know, this unsuspected 4-hectare village in the heart of Paris. In the unusual activity category, I request the band of the Republican Guard. You know, the band, we see her at work every July 14, the most anticipated unit on the Champs-Élysées. That’s a little bit of staging, so we are also a little bit of a director. This is Lieutenant Garnier, trumpet major, conductor, director and of course rider. The most complicated thing is making music on horseback, at different paces, to steps and holes. It remains that these 40 musicians, from trumpeters to timpanist, all have an excellent musical level. To be part of the marching band, You have to be a musician first. This is the longest thing, learning music. And then, when you join the cavalry regiment, we were recruited as musicians, we are trained on horseback, at the Saint-Germain-en-Laye cavalry training center. Well now, Ansel for an exercise in the main courtyard of the Célestins district. here, in full 4th arrondissement of Paris. All that remains is for us to introduce you to the real star of the fanfare, the sublime Baccarat. I present to you Baccarat who is the lead horse of the regiment, so the major trumpet horse. He has the heavy task of ensuring that everything goes smoothly every time, of each parade. He is really aware of his position, because it is not so little that we double it, generally in exercise. He tends to lower his ears and not let himself be pushed around. And then as soon as he is in his post at the head of the regiment, he really takes a very rounded position, very imposing. He is completely in his role and I think he is aware of that. He is proud, he is very very proud. It looks like he’s posing for the camera. Yes, he’s a bit of a star. And look with what elegance and assurance Baccarat imposes silence. Come on, for the band, attention! Heading to the main courtyard. Part 3 and 2. Forward at a walking pace. Walk ! But how does it work? How does Lieutenant Garnier lead the band with his back turned to it? So I raise the trumpet to say attention, something is going to happen. And there, I make the gesture of mouthing. And all the musicians sing, are ready to play. All right ? Trunk number 1. Trunk number 1. To make the departure, I break down a measure into barred C. 1, 2, And… And to stop, the same. So. In just a few minutes, we are everywhere, except in Paris. And yet. We are happy in Paris, to see this universe a little bit of countryside, we would be far from suspecting that we are in the heart of the 4th arrondissement of Paris. Good, well if we are in the heart of Paris, with 26 trumpeters and 2 timpanists, There is a very simple way to check this. Are there any neighbors complaining? No, No, on the contrary, the neighbors are very happy. Besides, They accompany us on all outings with their encouragement and applause. We are truly aware of our incredible luck. We are the only ones in France to do this job, this magnificent profession of trumpet in the Republican Guard. In the most beautiful capital in the world. We’re moving forward! How right Lieutenant Garnier is, trumpet major. Paris is the most beautiful capital in the world. And so much the worse if we are chauvinistic and sometimes in bad faith. It’s not a big deal. Paris, we love it. His excesses, his eccentricities, his follies. But Paris.