Staging Everyday Life

Belle Époque Paris turned quotidian activities into performances. The evening promenade on the Grands Boulevards let everyone display their status through clothing, companions, and chosen route. Different boulevards attracted different classes—Boulevard des Italiens for the wealthy, Boulevard Saint-Martin for the working class. But all participated in the same ritual of seeing and being seen.

Café terraces transformed sidewalks into theaters. The price of coffee bought a seat for hours of observation. Writers like Émile Zola conducted "research" from café chairs. Artists sketched passing scenes. Revolutionaries plotted at marble tables. The café democratized public space—anyone with the price of a drink could claim urban territory.

Even death became spectacle. The new suburban cemeteries—Père Lachaise, Montparnasse, Montmartre—functioned as sculpture gardens where families competed in memorial magnificence. Sunday visits to family tombs became social occasions. The annual Toussaint pilgrimage saw thousands decorating graves with chrysanthemums, creating temporary gardens of grief.

The morgue behind Notre-Dame opened to public viewing, justified as helping identify unknown corpses but serving as macabre entertainment. Crowds queued to view bodies displayed behind glass, especially after sensational crimes. When the morgue finally closed to casual visitors in 1907, guards reported regular "customers" who complained about losing their daily entertainment.