“We are not there to do politics or repair the city, but to give value to proximity.” How Paris reconnected with the power of saying “bonjour”

From the Hyper Voisins Facebook page

Brilliant in-depth piece from the Guardian on how Parisians have rediscovered the power of conviviality, in tough and demanding times, through street meals and explicit friendliness - the politics of saying “bonjour”.

République des Hyper Voisins, or Republic of Super Neighbours is stretch of the 14th arrondissement on the Left Bank, encompassing roughly 50 streets and 15,000 residents. Over the last five years, the republic – a “laboratory for social experimentation” – has attempted to address the shortcomings of modern city living, which can be transactional, fast-paced, and lonely.

The experiment encourages people not just to salute each other more in the street but to interact daily through mutual aid schemes, voluntary skills-sharing and organised meet ups.

“The stereotype of a Parisian is brusque and unfriendly,” says Patrick Bernard, the former journalist and local resident who launched the project. “But city living doesn’t have to be unpleasant and anonymous. We want to create the atmosphere of a village in an urban space.”

“Conviviality is not just a good feeling,” adds Bernard. “It can become a powerful asset, an essential economic and social agent in the construction of tomorrow’s cities.”

Nearly 2,000 people now attend weekly brunches and apéritifs in local restaurants, cultural outings, memory exchanges, children’s activities and more. During the pandemic, residents mobilised to make masks, deliver shopping to vulnerable neighbours and bake cakes to support a local charity. Crucial, too, is the digital aspect: dozens of WhatsApp groups include those dedicated to repairing broken devices, selling second-hand goods, and sharing healthcare resources.

Anna Morosova, 31, originally from Russia, believes the project has given her life invaluable stability since divorcing. “I live alone, but if I need help there is always someone,” says Morosova, an architect who is now planning to set up tango classes. “There’s an energy this place gives me.”

Mireille Roberdeau, an 86-year-old widow who moved to the area in 2000, says the scheme has given her a reason to get up in the morning. “I was quite timid before,” she adds. “I wouldn’t speak to anyone. I would scowl at people. But now I look forward to going out. It’s good because my doctor says I need to get out.”

Roberdeau, now a keen user of the WhatsApp groups was hospitalised in March but says neighbours delivered her groceries when she got home. “There’s an ambiance to this place,” she says. “It has changed me.”

Beyond the “eating, drinking and celebrating as social engineering”, in the words of Bernard, that defined the initial stages of Hyper Voisins, the long-term targets – aimed at transforming the very nature and functioning of an urban neighbourhood – come under four pillars: environment, healthcare, public spaces and mobility.

It has, for example, collaborated with non-profit Les Alchimistes to install organic waste disposal points in former parking spaces and to turn the matter into compost. Perhaps more radically at a time of strained healthcare provision in France, it is launching a health clinic geared towards local needs.

With €500,000 of funding from Paris city hall, it will have a staff of 10 and offer extended opening hours, consultations without appointment and home visits. Crucially, “user citizens” will support caregivers and be closely involved so that they are more informed players in their own health.

“Someone might be in hospital and can’t return home because they need support,” explains Bernard. “But what if we put in place a scheme for local children to do shopping for patients, so they could come home a week early. It would be better for patients and create big savings for public services.”

To reduce local car use by residents and traders, Hyper Voisins plans to buy electric bikes with trailers and install a communal electric bike charger. It is also in talks with the mayor to potentially levy a local tax on unwanted businesses such as estate agents, banks and delivery hubs and give residents a vote on whether they can even move in.

“We want to promote stores that improve our daily life,” adds Bernard. “If not, like a polluter, they should pay.”

More from the feature here. There’s a great line from Bernard in this Le Journal du Dimanche article (digitally translated): "We are not there to do politics or repair the city but to give value to proximity.”