A working class town

Puteaux, where my girlfriend lives, is a working class town with a large Arab population and a right woman mayor. It is also low crime, many of the Arabs own butcher and vegetable shops, the orientals own restaurants and the second generation of immigrants seem to have the internet cafés. Perhaps it is so low crime because there is so much effort made to beautify it and to fill it with activities such as free concerts, welcome dinners to new comers, celebrations of different faith holidays. The is the town hall.

Of course, there is politics. During the marché they were gathering signatures against the new Lisbon treaty. The French do not take any of their liberties casually and fight even the thought that maybe, just maybe, on the off chance someone is considering thinking about reducing their rights and benefits. This may be why they have such excellent health care and child care.

The old lamp posts in themselves are beautiful carved iron with decorative lamp shades but that is not enough. Flower baskets are hung on them as well.

And although the normal blue signs are on the corners of the buildings, decorative street signs are in the shopping area.

Even the school menus that are posted are decorative. Last year the school system featured different national cuisines.

This the newest in a series of playgrounds scattered around the town. Children and parents fill them during good weather and sometimes not so good weather.

The green and red walk and don't walk men peek throught the flowers in one of the many, many bakeries.