Discover Paris in 1928 through the exceptional film by André Sauvage

Paris 1928. These are still "the Roaring Twenties", this extraordinary post-war period. Because any crisis, whether warlike or health, causes a change in society. Post-Franco Spain experienced a similar revival, which we called “Movida”. Will the coronavirus episode cause us such a transformation? A century ago, the 1920s saw the birth of a new France marked by the emancipation of women. While conscription had sent the majority of men to the front in 1914, it was they who took charge of the running of society. We were able to see this Paris of 1928, immortalized in the feature film by André Sauvage, set to music by Cristofer Bjurstrom during a film-concert evening at the Arsenal in Paris. The great depression had not yet pointed its nose, the capital was in turmoil. Customs were freer, trade flourished, merchants of the four seasons roamed the shopping streets and the cabarets of Montmartre and Montparnasse filled up. 1h30 very beautiful images for a striking testimony, from which we have selected some tasty extracts for you.

"Cinema craftsman" as he defined himself, André Sauvage was at the same time a musician, writer and filmmaker. This Bordeaux resident who had already filmed Greece had gone to Paris before the war to capture its beauty with his camcorder. Like a painter composing studies, Sauvage delivered us a succession of short films which take us from the ports of Paris to the Petite Ceinture passing by the islands of the Seine, from the Tour Saint-Jacques to the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève. With Cristofer Bjurstrom, composer of the music for the film played during his presentation at the Pavillon de l'Arsenal, we have chosen to group these exceptional views of the capital into 4 extracts.

How did you get around Paris in 1928? This excerpt shows us the astonishing cohabitation of horse-drawn carriages and their horses, cars, small buses and pedestrians. Thanks to the war, new means of transport have jumped and the automobile is supplanting the reign of equines. We still walk a lot, however: the sidewalks are full of people. In 1928, the population was never so large. The capital has almost 3 million inhabitants against 2.2 million today! We go, we come freely despite the appearance of red lights which are not yet three-colored. The first was installed in 1923 at the crossroads of boulevards Saint-Denis and Sébastopol.

Paris seen from above in 1928 - Watch on Figaro Live

Long before La Terre seen from the sky by Yan Arthus Bertrand, André Sauvage knew how to use aerial shots, for which he carried his camcorder on top of monuments, on the roofs of buildings and balconies.

Paris in 1928: how we dressed - Watch on Figaro Live

Paris was already the fashion capital of 1928. It is therefore impossible not to show you the outfits in vogue at that time! The hat is omnipresent for men as for women, even for children in beautiful neighborhoods. For ladies, it is the reign of the bell hat, and the bowl cut for the hair, without forgetting the essential pearl necklace adorning a bare throat. The woman is emancipated, she is rebellious and independent and her appearance very androgynous. Fashion was then French and Paris the center of the world. Coco Chanel or Jeanne Paquin organize parades that are so many shows. For men it is the advent of the automobile. Fashion is therefore sporty: golf pants, cricket jacket that descends to the bottom of the buttocks. For the bath, men wear tank tops that stick to the body but whose straps fall at the slightest dip! Women of the lower classes continue to wear very loose dresses with several layers of fabric. The habit is then an important social mark.

Paris in 1928: the capital and its children - Watch on Figaro Live

Last theme we have chosen: children. On a tricycle, with hoops, playing skipping rope, on a swing. Of all ages and all social conditions.

Take a sweet trip back in time thanks to this exceptional panorama of Paris in 1928. We thank the succession of André Sauvage who authorized us to broadcast these images, the collective 109 and with Cristofer Bjurstrom, composer of music from film played at its presentation at the Arsenal, and with the agreement of the Arsenal of Paris we have chosen to group in 4 extracts these exceptional views of the capital. The full movie DVD is available.