Journalists and photographers outside the gates of the Palais Bourbon (seat of the French National Assembly), late 1939-early 1940.

Source:
Paris en Images, copyright LAPI / Roger-Viollet (LAP-473):
Click here to view source.

Gaito Gazdanov's Paris / 14

The journalist

At that moment I felt a hand on my shoulder. A stranger asked if I were the driver of the taxi parked outside the cafe.

"Good night, old friend, I said to Platon. We�ll return to this subject later if you don�t mind." Platon shook hands with me and my fare and I went out.

He was a journalist with a mocking expression and lively little eyes who was going to the Boulevarde Barb�s. He got in beside me, gave me the address, and then turned to me as the car pulled away.

"Pardon my curiosity, but may I ask what you were about to discuss with your companion?"

"Nietzsche."

"Are you angry with your family?"

"Me? No, not at all."

"Then why do you drive a taxi?"

"I�d prefer to drive a Rolls-Royce but I haven�t had the opportunity."

"OK, OK, I won�t press you."

But when we arrived, before he got out, he suddenly asked:

"Perhaps you�re a foreigner?"

"No, I was born in rue de Belleville, number 42; my father had a butcher�s shop there. Maybe you knew it?"

"No."

He went off shaking his head. [146-147]