iPhone Photo Chronicles ~ Black or White: Wrong or Right? ~ |
The tableau would be amusing if it weren't darkened by sinister undertones. About 15 guys, quite clearly African and all clutching some form of supposedly tourist-tempting tack, tout their wares between the legs of the France's most famous structure.
The cheap Eiffel Tower key rings and accordion postcards i can understand, and are actually rather good value for money, at three for a euro and 10 for 2 respectively. The flapping paper birds and other assorted UFOs which threaten to take your eye out as you look lasciviously up Lady Eiffel's skirts are less interesting.
In any case, if you wait long enough you'll see a strange ritual taking place. These guys are edgy enough as it is, constantly twitching their heads from side to side like oversized pigeons on coke. But when the inevitable boys and girls in blue show up; boy, you should see those birdies scatter.
It's comical because it's like watching a life-size chess game being acted out before your eyes. Those sneaky bicycled shining knights suddenly appear out of nowhere, causing general pandemonium and a scattering of the threatened pieces to safer squares; but as soon as the uniformed riders move on back come the others to hassle the tourist pawns again. Whose side are you on?
(A Paris iPhone street photograph by Sab Will for the 'Paris and I' photo blog)
2 comments:
I noticed the game when I first walked underneath the tower. What seemed interesting to me was that the cops didn't seem to want to catch the kids, just chase them off.
They need to let them know they're there and kind of care, otherwise it really would be a total free for all I guess. Hell, you might even get weird but original photographers trying to sell a few postcards of there own there, and that would never do.
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