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| Fresh vegetables from the Greek-French restaurant "Gallika" in Paris / Picture: Gallika |
Greeks in the French capital may not be easy to find. But a growing interest in their culture, following the crisis, might change that.
With the Greek crisis going on since 2008, it is hard to think about Greece in any other way. Yet, Greek culture has influenced, if not created, our Western way of life: and it continues up to now. The Greek diaspora abroad is quite a big phenomenon, all the more so now with the financial crisis. In Paris for instance, contemporary Greek culture might not readily meet the eye; but stopping by any local shop selling Greek food in Paris will prove that Greeks are here, and are fond of making us discover their Mediterranean ways.
Where are the Greeks?
Sebastian is the son of a Cypriot caterer in Paris, Marios Sofocleou. People pass by, sometimes just to chat, in their 'Apollo' food store in the 18th arrondissement. “The customers who come here are mainly French people from the neighborhood,” he admits. “They might have parents or grandparents who are from there, but they don't speak the language. They love Mediterranean food for sure, everything with olive oil, people always love that. But the real Greek customers are less than ten per day.”
His father migrated in the 1980s: “There were several reasons for his departure – the Turkish invasion of Cyprus of 1974, for starters, and economic reasons. My father lived in the mountain town of Kapilio. A lot of people left to find work in Europe at that time, and since his brother had left to study in France, he followed him.” After his military service at 21 years old, he came to France, dropped out of university early and started working. “Together, they had a good bunch of Greek friends with whom they would hang out all the time. Eventually, he married a French girl.” According to Sebastian, the Greek population was more visible at that time, compared to now.
Indeed the “grassroots” Greek community is not very prominent and its presence in the French capital is only felt if one really looks for it. Data released by the Greek Embassy in Paris in 2014 say there are only 15,000 Greek nationals living in the three French cities of Paris, Lyon and Lille combined. In comparison, 285,703 Algerians live in Paris’ larger metropolitan area alone, according to 2011 Insee data.
And for those who find themselves in Paris and seek to learn about the Greek way of life, Greek shops are really the way to go: forget about the Hellenic Cultural Center. As it turns out, while the center has a perfectly decent website, it does not actually have any physical center to welcome you: their only business offices are located in the same building as the Cyprus Consulate, in the 16th arrondissement. One should not try to e-mail them either: they will not respond. If one calls directly, they will tell you to e-mail them: error 404. "Greek style."
So one can go to the handful of Greek restaurants that survive in the neighborhoods of Saint Michel and Buttes-Chaumont. “I do have a couple of musician friends who play in restaurants here,” says Sebastian. “And my sister has been a part of the 'Parthenon' dance group - a dance academy for Greeks and Serbs - since she was a kid.” Although he was enrolled in a Hellenic school in Buttes-Chaumont for seven years during his childhood, he admits that he has not been keeping up with the cultural trends.
Buttes-Chaumont does seem to be a small Greek stronghold. One taverna restaurant in particular, 'Ouzeri', is known for the quality of its cuisine and its lively atmosphere. Coincidentally, the closest metro station is Botzaris, as in Markos Botzaris, one of the heroes of Greece's War of Independence in 1821. “A friend of mine played rebetiko there,” says Giannis, an Erasmus student in musicology from Thessaloniki, the second biggest city after Athens. “But I would not say there is that strong of a Hellenic influence in Paris.”
Julien and Jean-Philippe, two French business partners in their thirties, opened a restaurant last summer called 'Gallika,' which means 'French' in modern Greek. Bt the restaurant is not taverna-style: according to them, this concept would not be successful in France – a preconception that Ouzeri's positive reviews seem to challenge.
Julien had never been particularly interested in visiting Greece at first. Then Jean-Philippe took him there on vacation, where they stayed in his family’s house in the small town of Drepano in the southern Peloponnese region. “I fell in love with the country!” Julien admits. “We both loved the conviviality of the place, the good food, the way of life. That’s when we realized we wanted to set up a business to bring this kind of lifestyle to France.”
The two Frenchies wanted to “mix modernity with authenticity,” and they go all the way: “everything, besides our fresh vegetables and meat, comes from Greece – our beer and sodas, our pita bread, our oil, our spices... at some point, we would even like to import Peloponnesian lemons. And our cook, Katerina, is from there. She's actually a dancer but works with us on the side to make a little money. We really want it to be, look, and taste real.” While their customers are mainly French people from the neighborhood, they do have Greeks who come in every day.
Through their restaurant, Julien and Jean-Philippe are striving to change people's definition of the Mediterranean country: going from 'crisis-stricken Greece' to 'beautiful and lovable Greece.' “As far as the crisis goes, I think French people compare it to Italy. However, they view this country in a harsher light. It's represented as the black sheep of Europe, the ones for whom we pay, but I think there are more and more people trying to change that image; that's also what we are trying to do.”
“Compared to last year when the country was all over the news and harshly condemned for its crisis, I think there is now a growing empathy for its citizens, for what they are enduring. It might be silly, but I think Greece is starting to finally ‘come out’ thanks to tourism articles published in Elle Magazine, for instance. There are also a couple of specialized grocery stores now, while there were not so much a few years ago. Things are starting to change.”
Julien firmly believes that an individual’s knowledge of a foreign country’s culture strongly influences the way they perceive its people. Being familiar with cultural elements such as food and music helps to have a deeper understanding of the country as a whole, rather than painting it in black and white. “We just want to remind people that, yes, Greece is cool.”
His father migrated in the 1980s: “There were several reasons for his departure – the Turkish invasion of Cyprus of 1974, for starters, and economic reasons. My father lived in the mountain town of Kapilio. A lot of people left to find work in Europe at that time, and since his brother had left to study in France, he followed him.” After his military service at 21 years old, he came to France, dropped out of university early and started working. “Together, they had a good bunch of Greek friends with whom they would hang out all the time. Eventually, he married a French girl.” According to Sebastian, the Greek population was more visible at that time, compared to now.
Indeed the “grassroots” Greek community is not very prominent and its presence in the French capital is only felt if one really looks for it. Data released by the Greek Embassy in Paris in 2014 say there are only 15,000 Greek nationals living in the three French cities of Paris, Lyon and Lille combined. In comparison, 285,703 Algerians live in Paris’ larger metropolitan area alone, according to 2011 Insee data.
And for those who find themselves in Paris and seek to learn about the Greek way of life, Greek shops are really the way to go: forget about the Hellenic Cultural Center. As it turns out, while the center has a perfectly decent website, it does not actually have any physical center to welcome you: their only business offices are located in the same building as the Cyprus Consulate, in the 16th arrondissement. One should not try to e-mail them either: they will not respond. If one calls directly, they will tell you to e-mail them: error 404. "Greek style."
A small sphere of influence: music and food
So one can go to the handful of Greek restaurants that survive in the neighborhoods of Saint Michel and Buttes-Chaumont. “I do have a couple of musician friends who play in restaurants here,” says Sebastian. “And my sister has been a part of the 'Parthenon' dance group - a dance academy for Greeks and Serbs - since she was a kid.” Although he was enrolled in a Hellenic school in Buttes-Chaumont for seven years during his childhood, he admits that he has not been keeping up with the cultural trends.
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"Parthenon" dancers performing at the Théâtre du Gymnase in Paris, 2008 / Picture: Youtube
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Buttes-Chaumont does seem to be a small Greek stronghold. One taverna restaurant in particular, 'Ouzeri', is known for the quality of its cuisine and its lively atmosphere. Coincidentally, the closest metro station is Botzaris, as in Markos Botzaris, one of the heroes of Greece's War of Independence in 1821. “A friend of mine played rebetiko there,” says Giannis, an Erasmus student in musicology from Thessaloniki, the second biggest city after Athens. “But I would not say there is that strong of a Hellenic influence in Paris.”
Julien and Jean-Philippe, two French business partners in their thirties, opened a restaurant last summer called 'Gallika,' which means 'French' in modern Greek. Bt the restaurant is not taverna-style: according to them, this concept would not be successful in France – a preconception that Ouzeri's positive reviews seem to challenge.
Julien had never been particularly interested in visiting Greece at first. Then Jean-Philippe took him there on vacation, where they stayed in his family’s house in the small town of Drepano in the southern Peloponnese region. “I fell in love with the country!” Julien admits. “We both loved the conviviality of the place, the good food, the way of life. That’s when we realized we wanted to set up a business to bring this kind of lifestyle to France.”
Bringing ‘true’ Greek culture to Paris to break down stereotype
The two Frenchies wanted to “mix modernity with authenticity,” and they go all the way: “everything, besides our fresh vegetables and meat, comes from Greece – our beer and sodas, our pita bread, our oil, our spices... at some point, we would even like to import Peloponnesian lemons. And our cook, Katerina, is from there. She's actually a dancer but works with us on the side to make a little money. We really want it to be, look, and taste real.” While their customers are mainly French people from the neighborhood, they do have Greeks who come in every day.
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"Gyros," a Greek specialty and go-to offered at the Gallika restaurant / Picture: Gallika |
Through their restaurant, Julien and Jean-Philippe are striving to change people's definition of the Mediterranean country: going from 'crisis-stricken Greece' to 'beautiful and lovable Greece.' “As far as the crisis goes, I think French people compare it to Italy. However, they view this country in a harsher light. It's represented as the black sheep of Europe, the ones for whom we pay, but I think there are more and more people trying to change that image; that's also what we are trying to do.”
“Compared to last year when the country was all over the news and harshly condemned for its crisis, I think there is now a growing empathy for its citizens, for what they are enduring. It might be silly, but I think Greece is starting to finally ‘come out’ thanks to tourism articles published in Elle Magazine, for instance. There are also a couple of specialized grocery stores now, while there were not so much a few years ago. Things are starting to change.”
Julien firmly believes that an individual’s knowledge of a foreign country’s culture strongly influences the way they perceive its people. Being familiar with cultural elements such as food and music helps to have a deeper understanding of the country as a whole, rather than painting it in black and white. “We just want to remind people that, yes, Greece is cool.”
This article was written as a university assignment.
