Gens de la Seine

PRESS RELEASE I PARIS I 22 JULY 2016
Gens de la Seine: a soundwalk among the Parisians of
the Eighteenth Century
What did the Seine look like during the eighteenth century? With its sandy banks, bustling
ports, and bridges crammed with houses, it was at the center of Parisian life, and all kinds
of trades depended on it for their activity. It is this history, embodied by its everyday
actors, that is brought back to life in the form of sound modules by Sarah Gensburger, a
sociologist of memory at the CNRS, Isabelle Backouche, a historian at l’EHESS
specializing in the history of Paris, and Michèle Cohen, artistic director. Gens de la Seine
[People of the Seine], a soundwalk along the banks of the river, is a genuine voyage back
in time for the connected wanderer. It is available in French and English at
gensdelaseine.com (compatible with smartphones and tablet computers).
The Seine has played a major role for Paris’ inhabitants for a long time. During the eighteenth century,
people lived on its bridges, and also came there to shop, take a ferry or a boat, wash laundry, clean tripe,
listen to hawkers, or simply to work, whether one was a washerwoman, dyer, peddler, or fruit seller.
People also bathed in its waters, drank it, and sometimes even drowned in it, for at the time very few
Parisians knew how to swim.
It is this history of everyday life that can be (re)discovered thanks to the Gens de la Seine soundwalk. You
can listen to it on your telephone while walking along the riverbanks, or at home on a tablet or computer
(gensdelaseine.com). Available for free in French and English, it offers Parisians a different view of their
city, and tourists an innovative way of discovering Paris and its history.
Gens de la Seine is made up of 19 stories that bring so many colorful figures to life, each located at a
specific point along the river: the travelers of the Port Saint Paul, the watchman of the pump of la
Samaritaine, the lottery ticket seller of the quai des Grands Augustins, the washerwoman on her laundry
boat...The twenty-first century stroller can trace the steps of residents from the time, imagine their daily
lives, hear them, and almost catch glimpses them.
A fun and accessible audio presentation of historical research
There is the emotion and pleasure of meeting these Parisians of olden times, but this stroll is also a way of
learning from history and understanding how the Seine was transformed, gradually losing its essential role
in the life of the capital.
Gens de la Seine in fact makes the most learned historical research available to everyone in an amusing
and pleasing format. It is based on a social history seeking to giving a voice back to the small folk whose
traces can be found, after years of research, in police reports, complaint letters, and regulations. These
archival documents are often surprising, and resonate in the different stories.
With lively performances by actors (including Christian Hecq of la Comédie-Française and Olivia Bonamy)
and a wide variety of the sounds, laughs, arguments, and stories of the residents of yesteryear, the
soundwalk is also enriched with music, and includes research by the musicologist Mylène Pardoen (ISHLyon1) on the sounds of the eighteenth century. It was produced by par Nova Spot.
Gens de la Seine was conceived and developed by two researchers and an artistic director. Isabelle
Backouche works at the Centre de recherches historiques (EHESS/CNRS). She is a recognized specialist
on the history of Paris and the Seine, and is a member of the Comité d'histoire de la ville de Paris. Sarah
Gensburger is a sociologist of memory as well as a historian specializing in Paris during World War Two at
l’Institut de sciences sociales du politique (CNRS/UPOND/ENS Cachan). Together they created the
concept of these audio accounts of the past located in the urban environment. Finally, Michèle Cohen, who
came from France Culture and the world of advertising, was tasked with writing stories accurately based
on the historical data, and then developing lively and moving sound modules that can be heard by all.
Together they met the challenge, in their own way, of developing the social sciences in an original way,
and contributing to the democratization of academic knowledge.
Gens de Paris: a collection of soundwalks throughout the city, exploring all periods
Gens de la Seine is the first circuit of Gens de Paris [People of Paris], a collection of soundwalks aiming to
present different locations in the capital from the point of view of their former inhabitants from various time
periods. These diverse circuits will include Gens du Louvre [People of the Louvre], Gens de Belleville
[People of Belleville], Gens de 39-45 [People of 1939-1945], Gens du sport [People of Sport], Gens de la
Commune [People of the Commune], and Gens de la Nuit [People of the Night], among many others. The
entire series of these soundwalks will eventually be available in an application aiming to transform the
relation to the city and its past.
Gens de la Seine received support from la Mairie de Paris, le CNRS, l'EHESS and the Roger-Viollet/Paris
en Images agency.
Listen to the stories to learn more:
Website: gensdelaseine.com (compatible with computers, tablets, smartphones)
Download the list of stories and a map showing their locations.
The sound file for a story is available in mp3 format upon request: [email protected].
Some images are available upon request (sample below): [email protected].
1
CNRS/ENS de Lyon/Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3/Sciences Po Lyon/Université Lumière Lyon 2/Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne.
Image from the Gens de la Seine
soundwalk
© Roger-Violet/ParisenImages. Creation by
Olivier Verdon.
Contacts
CNRS Researcher l Sarah Gensburger l [email protected]
EHESS Researcher l Isabelle Backouche l [email protected]
CNRS Press Officer l Véronique Etienne l T +33 (0)1 44 96 51 37 l [email protected]