A Postcard to Paris: love letters to a city in mourning

For centuries, Paris has been the beating heart of European creativity. From the artists and expats that flocked to Montparnasse, to the intellectuals spilling out of the École Normale Supérieure, the teenage revolutionaries rioting on the Rive Gauche and the petites mains stitching and spinning couture from their sewing machines nestled deep in the heart of historic ateliers, it’s a city with culture, beauty and art written in its streets.

But on Friday November 13, the values that underpin not only Paris but the entire country of France and indeed of humanity were attacked, as terrorists mercilessly killed 129 people, wounding many many more in an act intended to incite fear, hatred and division. In light of the atrocities, we reached out to those who have a connection to the city, and asked them to write a simple note to Paris and its people. You can read the messages from those who responded above, from outpourings of love for the city that raised them to valiant assertions that Paris will overcome all that has happened. For proof of this, you need only look so far as the city’s own motto – Fluctuat nec mergitur, or “Tossed but not sunk”. As legendary make-up artist François Nars writes, “Nobody will destroy our soul.”

We will be updating this piece with more notes as we receive them