La Fête de la Musique

I’m beginning to think that I should have named my blog French Fête, as we are celebrating yet again in France. Sunday marked both the Fête des Pères (Father’s Day) and the Fête de la Musique.

Father’s Day needs no explanation. But, the Fête de la Musique is a popular and lively celebration of the summer solstice, with musical performances in bars, cafés and the streets. On this day, you can hear every variety of music by simply strolling through the neighborhoods or you can look on-line for scheduled performances.

Yesterday, I stumbled onto a classical music concert at Place Colette just in front of the Comédie-Française Theater. A crowd gathered and enjoyed several pieces by composers such as Mozart, Vivaldi and Handel. As the day progressed, the city became more and more populated. Streets were blocked, crowds gathered, and pedestrians disobeyed traffic signals. At 5 PM, I took a taxi to meet a friend. Along the route, the driver became increasingly frustrated then announced, “That’s it. After you, I’m going home!”

I don’t blame him. The metro is free and open all night for the Fête de la Musique and it’s the only way to travel on this day.